Map of Stanley Park
Photo: Rebecca Bollwitt – Creative Commons, Flickr
Adapted from The Vancouver Sun
Level 3
Stanley Park opened on Sept 27, 1888. It was a big forest.
People lived in the park area. Most moved away by 1931.
One person lived in the park until he died in 1958.
His house was torn down.
Read the PDF. Try the Exercise.
Visit the links
- Click here for a history of Stanley Park. John Atkin from the Vancouver Park Board created the timeline.
- Click here for more pictures of Stanley Park in the past and the present.
First nation’s people lived in the area for over 3,200 years.
Visitors to the park crossed a small bridge from Georgia Street.
They could also come by boat for 25 cents.
An old postcard from around 1910 shows the bridge over Lost lagoon.
The bridge linked downtown with Stanley Park.
Photo: The Vancouver Sun from the collection of John Mackie
The road through Stanley Park was built in 1916. Later, sports fields
were built. The natural trees were replaced by Douglas fir.
Big storms damaged the forest. In 1962, Typhoon Frieda blew down
thousands of trees. In 2006, a big windstorm destroyed more trees.
People damaged trees in popular places in the forest.
They trampled the tree roots. The Seven Sisters was a group of
seven giant trees. The trees were cut down in the 1950’s.
“They were so popular that people basically killed them by walking on their roots.”
Photo: The Vancouver Sun from the collection of John Mackie
The Hollow Tree is also a famous attraction. Many visitors want their
picture taken by this tree too. The cedar tree was 700 year old.
It was already dead. It almost fell over in 2006 during the big storm.
A base was built to hold it up.
This old postcard shows the Hollow Tree.
Photo: The Vancouver Sun from the collection of John Mackie
The most popular tourist attractions now are the totem poles.
The first four poles came from the North coast in 1920.
Robert Yelton of the Squamish nation carved a new totem pole in 2009.
Yelton’s mother was born in Stanley Park.
An old postcard of Prospect Point shows a totem pole.
Photo: The Vancouver Sun from the collection of John Mackie
The most popular tourist attractions now are the totem poles.
The first four poles came from the North coast in 1920.
Robert Yelton of the Squamish Nation carved a new totem pole in 2009.
Totem poles in Stanley Park, 2009
Photo: Sonson – Creative Commons, Flickr