1927 – Leonard Frank Photos. Archives item# CVA 1477-51
66 years ago yesterday Vancouver’s most-elected Mayor, Louis Denison (“L.D.”) Taylor, passed away. Between 1910 and 1934, Taylor served as Mayor eight times, spending 11 years in the city’s top office.
Taylor was born in Michigan and lived in Chicago before coming to Vancouver in 1896 [source]. With Taylor as Mayor, the Sun Tower was built (at the time it was the World Tower), he pushed for South Vancouver and Point Grey to amalgamate with Vancouver, and the airport at Sea Island opened.
According to Chuck Davis’ Vancouver History: “We have recently learned, thanks to a fascinating book by Daniel Francis (L.D. Taylor and the Rise of Vancouver) that Taylor left Chicago—where he had an interest in a bank—in a bit of a hurry, and fled to Canada when the cops started sniffing around. And we also learned that he was briefly married to two women at the same time.”
More from MemoryBC: “In August 1896, L.D. was arrested for charges of embezzlement relating to his partnership in the North and Taylor Bank on West Madison Avenue in Chicago, and fled north to Canada. He arrived in Vancouver, on September 8, 1896.”
June 12, 1925: The Sun had an item on Page 2 about “Vancouver Day.” The Province followed with a story the next day. This first tribute to the city’s pioneers (June 13 was chosen because it was the day in 1792 on which Capt. Vancouver explored Burrard Inlet and the date in 1886 on which the Great Fire occurred) was marked by the unveiling of a drinking fountain at the corner of Carrall and Water Streets, “where once stood a great maple tree.” In a speech by Mayor L.D. Taylor he said that the event would be marked annually. But there’s no other reference to the day until June 13, 1929, four years later. And the 1929 report seems to be the last time Vancouver Day was heard of.
1915 – Throwing out the first pitch. Archives item# CVA 1477-194. Canadian Photo Company.
Taylor saw his share of controversy in Vancouver as well. In 1923 he claimed he lost the municipal election because a woodpecker had flown into a transformer, shutting down the streetcar lines and keeping his working-class supporters from the polls.
Then there was an exhaustive inquiry in 1928, toward the end of his time in office: “Allegations of corruption in the police department and city hall revealed that he had associations with known vice operators in the city. Although he was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, the inquiry blamed his “open town” policy on the proliferation of vice and crime in Vancouver. Mayor Taylor claimed that he had no intention of running a “Sunday School town” and argued that police resources should be spent on major crimes, not victimless vice crimes.” [source]
Taylor’s “Open Town” policy for Vancouver meant that police resources would focus on major crimes and not “victimless vice crimes”. This lead to Hogan’s Alley turning into a red-light style district, more brothels, illegal drinking establishments, gambling dens, and the like. [source: Vancouver Courier “The End of L.D. Taylor“]
Still, Taylor served as Mayor of Vancouver more than anyone else in history.
1930s campaign poster. Archives item# CVA 677-807. Photographer: Philip Timms.
W.H. Malkin was elected mayor in 1929 and oversaw the amalgamation of Vancouver that L.D. Taylor had envisioned. Taylor left Vancouver on a world tour in 1929 and would try again (unsuccessfully) to be elected in 1934.
The Surrey Fusion Festival returns July 21 and July 22, 2012 for two full days of free entertainment and activities, cultural displays, music, and food from dozens of countries around the world. Taking place in Holland Park, the Fusion Festival is one of our favourite community events. This year’s musical lineup has just been announced and once again it doesn’t disappoint.
Artist Lineup
The Mocking Bird, Walk Off The Earth, Delhi 2 Dublin, Indanation, Bocephus King, Good For Grapes, Marlin Ramazzini and headliners Hawksley Workman (Saturday) and Los Lobos (Sunday).
Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr
Flavours of Surrey
A showcase of local produce and growers all weekend long. Surrey Urban Farmer’s Market will be on hand along with featured farms like Painted River, Rondriso, M&M, Clover Valley and Training Wheels.
Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr
Cultural Pavilions
Stop by tents with representatives of the following nations to buy crafts, sample food, listen to music, and more. Barbados, Canada, China, Columbia, Ecuador, Fiji, Ghana, Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Trinidad & Tobago, Ukraine, and Vietnam.
There’s also the popular Kids World and Coast Capital Savings’ Wally’s World. A full schedule for the free two-day festival will soon be released but be sure to mark it on your calendar now. Holland Park is located just to the south of Central City and is easily accessible by either the King George or Surrey Central SkyTrain stations.
Follow @Surrey_Events on Twitter for more information about the City of Surrey’s festivals this summer.
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by Michelle KimDisclosure: Review — Michelle was invited to the Bearfoot and her meal was complimentary although this did not affect the outcome of her coverage. Miss604.com was not paid to write this post. Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.
The first time I went to the Bearfoot Bistro was in 2008, my first year covering the Whistler Film Festival (WIFF) for Miss604. The restaurant was the venue for the Director’s Guild of Canada’s WIFF party and I remember sitting at a table with woman I had recently met, filmmaker Eunhee Cha, talking about film and life. Canapés floated by and we kept stopping mid-conversation to taste things and to say things like “Canapés are never this good a film festival parties” and “This food is truly gorgeous.”
Fast forward to last Tuesday afternoon: I’m staying with my now-very-close friend Eunhee’s at her home in Whistler when I get the message that my request to review The Bearfoot Bistro for Miss604 has been confirmed and that dinner will be a couple of hours.
Owned by French-Canadian André Saint-Jacques, Bearfoot Bistro has a reputation of being one of if not the best restaurant in Whistler, BC, even Canada. Their Executive Chef, Melissa Craig, was once awarded the gold award at the Gold Medal Plates Canadian Culinary Championships — one of the most prestigious culinary events in Canada.
The second we walk through the doors, we are warmly greeted by Saint-Jacques, who immediately escorts us down to the 1,500-square-foot wine cellar which constantly wins the Award of Excellence by Wine Spectator magazine, with its over 20,000 bottles stacked up along the walls lit by blue lights. Saint-Jacques shows me how to saber a bottle of champagne. He just so happens to be an expert, holding the Guinness World Record for sabering the most bottles in a minute – 21, to be exact. He gives me the sword and I lightly graze the neck of the bottle with the blade and tap—opening a beautiful bottle Moet & Chandon Rose champagne.
We are seated upstairs and the 5-course Chef’s tasting menu begins. The amuse bouche is an Atlantic Lobster Salad with crème fraiche and a couple adorable baby potato chip in spoon. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
The Burnaby Heights Merchants Association hosted their very popular Hats Off Day festival this past Saturday. Spanning almost a dozen blocks, from Hastings to Gamma, tens of thousands of people showed up to enjoy a parade, street-side barbecue, activities for kids, a vintage car show and shine, performances, and more. John Bollwitt and John Biehler set out on foot with cameras in hand for Miss604.com to capture the atmosphere of the day.
The skies opened up and dumped rain down, making the crowd disperse. John and John took refuge in the Burnaby Legion (stumbling across cheap beers and hot dogs) and most returned to the streets when the wind cleared off the showers a short while later.
The Port Mann Bridge is now connected to the Surrey side of the highway and soon it will be fully connected to the Coquitlam approach. This massive project, part of a larger overhaul for the Highway 1 route through Surrey, Coquitlam, Burnaby, and Vancouver, is starting to take shape.
The Port Mann Highway 1 website and Twitter account have been actively providing updates on everything from lane closures, exit changes, and overpass openings. They have also shared some great photos and videos of the construction process so far:
Construction progress, taken from Johnson Hill between 2009 and 2011.
The total length of the new bridge will be 2,020 metres with 288 support cables (totalling 45kms in length) from towers reaching 160 metres in height. They will support 10 lanes of traffic and a 5-metre wide multi-user path for pedestrians and cyclists. Once complete, the new Port Mann will be the second largest main river span in North America.
Continuing on after a setback in February where a gantry crane collapsed, the bridge should be operational by winter 2012/2013 with full project completion in the end of 2013.
