New Westminster will be celebrating the 120th anniversary of the Burr Block building this month. The old provincial capital was destroyed by fire in 1898 (twelve years after Vancouver’s “Great Fire”) and the Burr Block at 411-419 Columbia Street was only one of two buildings that remained. Today, it’s the home of the Met Hotel, Bar & Grill, and liquor store and they’re preparing to throw a birthday bash like no other.
1898 – Looking down Columbia Street from the top of Burr Block
Archives item# Out N582. Photographer: C.E. Bloomfield.
The Burr Block building was built by William Henry Burr (1827-1896), an early teacher and settler to the area. Mr. Burr was hard hit by the recession of the mid-1890s and eventually retired to Ladner, BC. An interesting aside, he was related to the famous actor, Raymond Burr, who played the leading role of lawyer/detective on The Perry Mason Show. [source]
1906 – Columbia at 4th, Burr Block. VPL Accession Number: 6925. Photographer: Philip Timms.
Constructed in 1892 at the height of the Victorian building and investment boom in New Westminster, the Burr Block is valued as an example of the Victorian Romanesque Revival style. It features extensive use of unglazed red brick and terra cotta ornament manufactured locally by the building’s contractor, Thomas Hemborough, and the Archibald Brothers. The Burr Block is an example of the work of architect George William Grant (1852-1925), a prolific architect, who designed many of the buildings in downtown New Westminster before and after the Great Fire.
Following the fire, he moved his office into the Burr Block, where he redesigned and restored the buildings that survived, and designed replacement blocks for those that were destroyed, much reduced in scale and opulence in comparison to pre-fire buildings. [source]
Starting with a ceremony Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 1:00pm with birthday cake and the Mayor, The Met will kick off a week of celebrations and festivities including themed drink, food specials, and discounts. There will be nightly draws for gift cards and tickets to Lafflines, pints of 1892 lager, a three-course dinner for $18.92, and more. The ceremony with local dignitaries and birthday cake will be all-ages/kid-friendly however events in the pub are for those of legal drinking age.
Walking around Stanley Park nowadays there are hardly any remnants of the zoo that once housed over 50 species of animals, from monkeys and cobras to penguins and kangaroos. However, the old cement polar bear habitat still haunts the grounds just west of Brockton Oval and south of the Vancouver Aquarium.
When I was young we would take day trips into the city and visit the animals in the zoo. The penguin tank was up closer to the aquarium. They would march up a platform, lie on their bellies, and slip down a slide into their pool of water. The process was repeated incessantly. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
IKEA in Richmond, which was one of the first IKEAs in Canada, will be moving across the parking lot to a new 334,000 square foot store this April. The new building will have a 600-seat restaurant, over 1,4000 parking spaces, and 100 bicycle racks.
Features of the new store
- Geothermal installation to heat and cool the building
- An edible rooftop garden for co-workers
- Water storage and infiltration systems that will reduce the storm water flows and volume
- The iconic IKEA navigation tower will also include rain water storage capabilities and solar panels that will be used to generate electricity to light the parking lot
- A separate solar thermal installation on the roof will be used to generate warm water for the restaurant
Everyone is invited to the Grand Opening ceremony on April 25, 2012 starting at 7:00am. The event will feature family entertainment and giveaways. You can find the new store, right near the old one which is closing April 22nd, on Jacombs Road in Richmond.
To celebrate the grand re-opening of IKEA Richmond, I have two $100 gift cards to give away. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment naming your favourite IKEA product (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw two winners at random from all entries next Monday, April 9, 2012 at 12:00pm. This contest is only open to BC residents. Must be 19 years of age or older to enter and win.
Update The winners are Curtis and @paperprincess_!
Tomorrow afternoon, Bob from Vancouver is Awesome and I will be sitting down with Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson to have a chat. What will make this opportunity unique is that we’ll be asking questions that have been submitted by our readers.
#GregorLive. Bob and I will then collect the questions and @MayorGregor will respond. Have you ever wanted to know something about Vancouver? What’s the Mayor’s favourite bike path in the city? Where does he recommend you go for Sunday brunch? Does he know if there are tunnels under Chinatown?
The live chat will take place Tuesday, April 3, 2012 from 3:00pm to 4:00pm. Follow @Miss604, @VIAwesome, @MayorGregor, and most importantly, the tag #GregorLive.
We’ll try to get to as many questions as possible and thing left over, or anything that might need an expanded answer, will be posted here – on my post – and over on Vancouver is Awesome.
Update I’m liveblogging the question and answer session with Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson right now. It will begin at 3:00pm and we’ll be using the tag #GregorLive to find questions on Twitter. The Mayor will tweet out his answers from @VanMayorsOffice account.
Update The first question comes from Bob @VIAwesome: “Kicking off #GregorLive with a q from ME!: Gregor, which did you like better, playoff beard or #Movember moustache?: http://ow.ly/i/xUq2”
Mayor Gregor Robertson: “Kicking off #gregorlive with @VIAwesome @Miss604. 1st Q: playoff beard or Movember ‘stache? @MayorGregor says playoff beard! #gocanucks”
Question from @Lazin_Ryder: “How’s your cat? #GregorLive”
Mayor Gregor Robertson: “#gregorlive my rescue cat “Kitty” is doing great, thanks for asking a great question @Lazin_Ryder”
Question from @JustinYVR: “Justin Young @justinyvr Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
.@MayorGregor What’s your stance on the possibility of free transit in #Vancouver? Especially given http://ow.ly/a3KIq #Gregorlive”
Mayor Gregor Robertson: “. @JustinYVR we need big growth in public transit in our region, Broadway is the busiest transit corridor in BC #gregorlive Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
There’s not much that beats warm summer nights with thousands of easy-going music fans gathering in a field in view of the Stawamus Chief. Live at Squamish is returning for a third year this August and they’re kicking things off in style with a launch party next week.
What Live at Squamish Launch Party & Line Up Announcement
Where Commodore Ballroom, 868 Granville
When Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at 8:00pm
Tickets Available online in advance for $10.
Peak Performance Project winners Current Swell and finalists The Matinee will be performing at the launch party.
John and I have enjoyed covering and sponsoring the first two years of Live at Squamish. International sensations, local talent and more converge in one of the most beautiful concert settings in the world. Save the date: August 25th and 26th, 2012.
Update The lineup has been announced!
The Tragically Hip, City and Colour, Chromeo, Lights, Sheepdogs
Beats Antique, Charles Bradley, Mother Mother, The Airborne Toxic Event, Wintersleep, Kathleen Edwards, Plants & Animals, Current Swell, The Pack A.D., Rich Hope, The Matinée, Wake Owl, Humans, Washboard Union, Maurice, No Sinner, Good For Grapes, Rococode, Yes Nice, Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer, Facts
Silent Disco DJs (John Morgan, Andy Chambers, Kristian Littman, Maurice Ryan, Henry Mah).
