It’s a pretty rare thing these days to have a sporting venue named after an actual person and not a car manufacturer, internet company or soft drink, but what makes Nat Bailey more than a baseball stadium and the namesake of a Pale Ale at White Spot?
1956 President of the Junior Chamber of Commerce presenting an award for the cleanest kitchen to Nat Bailey for the White Spot. VPL Number: 83008. Photographer: Vic Spooner.
In 1924 Nathaniel Bailey (originally of St Paul, Minnesota) drove around to local baseball games in Vancouver, selling peanuts and refreshments to the crowds. He, “transformed his 1918 Model T truck into a travelling lunch counter, parking every Sunday at Lookout Point on SW Marine Drive… …a dime for a hot dog, a nickel for an ice cream.” [VancouverHistory]
Four years later Bailey opened the first White Spot Barbecue with its main feature – the car hop service located at 67th and Granville. Nine years later he replaced it with the White Spot Restaurant and Drive-in.
Unfortunately in 1986 this original location burned down, “One of the city’s most beloved buildings, White Spot #1 was more than a restaurant to the people who had grown up with it. As it burned beyond repair, crowds stood on the street with tears in their eyes. Rush-hour traffic in south Vancouver came to a halt, and for a month afterwards, a solemn procession of cars passed through the deserted parking lot.” [WhiteSpotFAQ]
The Vancouver Mounties, who played at Capilano Stadium built in 1951 (on the edge of Queen Elizabeth Park) were sold to local businessmen in 1956, Nat Bailey being one of them. “The Mounties played in the Pacific Coast League from 1956 through 1962 as the relocated Oakland Oaks franchise, and from 1965 through 1969 when the Dallas Rangers moved back to Canada.” [wiki]
In 1978 Cap Stadium, with its new PCL team the Vancouver Canadians, was renamed in Nat’s honor after his passing that year.
As I started walking along the pier of Westminster Quay, the first thought that came to my mind was “I *have* to take photos here for Rebecca’s series on Metro Vancouver Park Series“. This park has just about everything – playground, beautiful urban views, and gorgeous river/forest views too.
Photo credit:
Raul on Flickr
History While New Westminster was originally the capital of British Columbia, with time its relevance shifted as Victoria became the capital of BC. In the mid 1980s, a new development was created (Westminster Quay), apparently to revitalize the development of New Westminster during Expo.
Those who visited the area for Expo ’86 can relive the experience by taking a “dive” on the submarine from Highway ’86 in Quayside Park, or playing captain at the Expo Tugger near the Public Market. [Tourism New Westminster]
How to Get There The easiest way is Skytrain to New Westminster Station. The next easiest way is driving east along Marine Drive. There is a lot of heavy traffic (trailers and trucks) so public transit makes most sense. [Editor’s note: You can also take Hwy 1 to the Canada Way exit and ride that all the way down to the waterfront, or take the Brunette Exit and take Columbia. Coming from the East hang a right on Royal Ave from the Pattullo]
Photo credit:
Raul on Flickr
Fun Tidbits While there is a sign that clearly says this park is called “Quayside Park”, New Westminster’s parks page calls it “Waterfront Esplanade”
Water-based play features such as a submarine, a tugboat and a cargo net unite the theme. Benches were made to look like parts of an old dock and heritage monuments explain the City’s history and give the area a quaint feel. Flower beds and creative landscaping help to separate, but meet the needs of, bikers and strollers.[New Westminster Community Parks]
You can read more from Raul on his blog, Hummingbird604.
It’s official, there will be a Blogathon in Vancouver this year (and by official, I mean that I created a wiki page with useful information and a sign up sheet).
Based on the Blogathon of the past, which is not in operation this year, bloggers are encouraged to sign up, pick a non-profit of choice, collect pledges (which can be a flat donation, or a certain amount for every hour the blogger manages to stay awake), and blog every 30 minutes for 24 hours straight. No excessive post-dating entries, no making money (except for the charity) just purely and simply donating 24 hours of your time for a cause in hopes that your readers will pledge to keep you going.
Last year my amazing readers raised over $400 for the Surrey Food Bank. I’m hoping to shatter that record this year [Read my 2007 Blogathon Posts]
I put the call out earlier this month and the response was quite positive so I have setup the wiki and we’re all systems GO for the weekend of July 26-27.
- Sunshine Shift: 7/26/08 0500 GMT
(10:00pm PT Friday until 10:00pm PT Saturday)
- Swing Shift: 7/26/08 1200 GMT
(5:00am PT Saturday until 5:00am PT Sunday)
- Moonlight Shift: 7/27/08 0400 GMT
(9:00pm PT Saturday until 9:00pm PT Sunday)
The wiki is there to get an idea of how many people are interested, and it’s also one big link-love blogroll. If you are not in Vancouver, you can still sign up and participate – this is simply the Vancouver initiative for the Day of Blogs a spin off of the original Blogathon which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities all across North America.
I encourage all bloggers to save the date and make this effort to make a difference, especially at a time of year when charitable donations are at their lowest. You’ll have a support system of everyone else who is participating, lots of link love and many warm fuzzies.
Sign up here
A few months ago the Park Board met to discuss the fate of the Hollow Tree in Stanley Park as it began to lean – becoming a safety hazard for visitors to its site. The results of this meeting in March had the Park Board come to the conclusion that there were only two options, the first would be to build a quarter-million dollar cage around the tree to prop it up, and the second would be to knock it down.
I had a poll on my blog regarding the 40ft tall red cedar and many were in favour of whatever was most natural given the options at the time.
On Monday I picked up the Georgia Straight and found a small blurb about a group from SaveTheHollowTree.com who believed that the Park Board did not explore every possible solution. They brought in experts, arborists, consultants, engineers and produced an extensive report as they were unsure the Park Board considered every option possible when they came to their conclusion.
The Hollow Tree is listed on the Vancouver Heritage Registry (like those plaques you can spot on the side of old building downtown). This is not just a tree but actually a protected piece of nature and as such for any significant changes a meeting must be held with the Heritage Committee. The goal of the report would be to find an option that best preserves the historic value of the tree as this step was overlooked by the Park Board.
A report was presented to the Park Board on June 9th which contained a safe, upright, and practically invisible way to keep the Hollow Tree in its place using some degree of reinforcement – something that would be far more secure and pleasing to the eye than the current Frankenstein-like mess supporting it right now. They even looked into moving it if they no longer wants it in Stanley Park however, the report was ultimately shot down.
Yesterday I had the chance to speak with Lorne Whitehead, Leader of Education Innovation at the University of British Columbia. Lorne, who helped coordinate the team of experts for the report, gave me background on the tree, and the Park Board meetings. “We don’t see a reason not to keep it up,” he said. The report shows that it can remain as-is safely, while being cost-effective, and so that we can all continue to marvel at this wonder of nature.
Lorne said the form of support right now would be to visit the website and read up on the matter (and download the report in PDF). There’s no way to tell the next time this will come up on the Park Board meeting agenda but from independent surveys and public interest, it seems most cherish its heritage value and natural majesty and believe the Hollow Tree should not be tossed into the chipper.
[poll ended]
Update: The UBC Botanical Gardens put an offer into the Park Board to take the tree and display it upright. The Park Board (or members at least since I don’t believe there was a meeting) rejected the offer this afternoon and would still like to keep it in the park in “one or two pieces” to use for ecological and educational purposes (Report from the CBC)
Traditionally attending an outdoor concert in Vancouver means packing a garbage bag just in case you need to turn in into an emergency rain poncho. Hopefully this summer will be a bright one as there are so many outdoor events lined up, I’m not even sure I’ll get them all in this post but I’ll try.
TD Canada Trust Vancouver International Jazz Festival
Location: Outdoor venues include Gastown at the Steam Clock, Granville Island Market Stage, and the Capilano Suspension Bridge
When: June 20 – June 29
Artists: Too many to list, check the website for more details
Stanley Park
Location: Malkin Bowl
When: August 24 – Sept 18
Artists: Blue Rodeo, Neko Case, Destroyer, Andrew Bird, Deehoof, Evaporators, The New Pornographers, Stevie Jackson of Belle and Sebastian, The 1900’s, Visqueen (as a part of the Stanley Park Singing Exhibition), and The Raconteurs
Burnaby
Location: Deer Lake Park
What: 9th Annual Burnaby Blues + Roots Festival
When: August 10 from 2:00pm – 10:00pm
Artists: Colin James and many more – details are available on the festival’s website.
When: August 5
Artists: Feist with The Weakerthans
Haywood Bandshell
Location: Beach Ave @ Bidwell
When: June 1 to July 31
Artists: Dave Davies Trio, Urbana, Little Mountain Brass Band, Celtic Harp Choir, The Creole Jazz Band, Just Jazz Trio, Vancouver Thunderbird Barbershop Chorus, The Randy Bluegrass Boys, Rainbow Concert Band, Warren Nipp, The Tunemakers
More information can be found on the official schedule
Yaletown Concert Series
Location: 1000 block of Mainland Street
When: June 27 to August 15 from 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Artists:Dj Johnny D’erico and other live music and DJs
15th Annual Enchanted Evenings Concert Series
Location: Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden – 578 Carrall Street
When: Jul 11, 2008 to Sept 05 from 7:30pm – 8:30pm
Artists: Various
Surrey Fusion Festival
Location: Holland Park
When: July 18 to July 20
Artists: Jully Black and many more, information is available on my blog post and the official site
Canada Day Special July 1
Location: Cloverdale (Surrey)
Artists: Loverboy, Payola$, Rymes with Orange – read more in my blog post or on the official site.
Location: Canada Place, Vancouver
Artists: 54-40 and many more
Location: Waterfront Park, North Vancouver
Artists: Pipe bands, dancers, and more
Location: Steveston (Richmond)
Artists: Choirs, dancers, singers and various others
This post will be updated throughout the summer and I’ll pop it on the sidebar for easy reference.
