We were reminded recently of a series of short TV pieces entitled Secrets of the City that we created about 10 years ago for Shaw TV. They were popular items that pointed out many overlooked or unknown features of the town. One of the pieces is connected to the Royal Engineers’ time here in New Westminster and relates to their important surveying in the Colony. Near the northwest corner of East Columbia at Richmond Street, there is a survey monument which marks the number one survey point for the engineers’ work. It is duly marked with the location’s specifics and has been used in a few formal ceremonies.
Many people are unaware that Friendship Gardens, near city hall, ultimately owes its inception to a massive storm, 1962’s typhoon Freda, and the creative landscaping ability of a senior member of the city’s parks department. The storm brought down many large trees and, in what is now the park, their stumps left huge holes. These holes, stepped down the hill, were developed into a water park with a Japanese theme, and have been a popular site with an interesting background story ever since.
In Queen’s Park, if you know where to look, you can see the site of an old railroad bed as it goes through the park from First Street towards McBride Boulevard. Look near the Fourth Avenue entrance to the park and you will see a flat, road-like area of lawn heading downhill, eventually behind the tennis courts toward McBride. This was a rail spur that connected the streetcar line on First Street to a brickyard in the Glen Creek ravine.
Prospect Park, usually identified as Albert Crescent, offers a great view of the bridges and, on a clear day, Mount Baker. The “secret” lies at the park’s top area, where, along the old sidewalk, can still be found sections of old wall and even gateposts from a time when the area beyond the wall and former fence was the home of St. Ann’s Academy. This Catholic school was located there from 1865 until it was demolished in 1968.
The Simon Fraser monument at Westminster Quay moved several times before arriving at its current location. The monument started out near the top of Albert Crescent where it was unveiled in two sections during two events in 1908 and 1911. Later, it was moved farther down the Crescent’s hillside, eventually being close to Columbia St. It was moved to its present prominent waterfront site with the Westminster Quay development.
These are five examples from the Shaw series from 2004/05. We will tell of a few more from this series in a future Our Past column.
