Victory Square, Vancouver
Encyclopedia
Victory Square is a park in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, Canada
. The square is bordered by West Hastings Street
to the northeast, West Pender Street to the southwest, Cambie Street
to the southeast, and Hamilton Street to the northwest. The term is also used to refer to the neighbourhood immediately surrounding the square.
was opened (now the Vancouver Art Gallery
). The location had significance when it was chosen, as it stands at the intersection of the old Granville townsite (aka Gastown
) and the CPR Townsite, which was the downtown-designated land grant obtained by the CPR as part of the deal to locate the terminus and thereby found the city (the corner of Hastings and Hamilton is the northern tip of the CPR Townsite). An area of 0.9 acres (3,642.2 m²) out of the 480 acres (1.9 km²) allotted to the CPR was held aside as "Government Square" on February 13, 1886. The southwest corner of Hamilton and Hastings Streets is where L. A. Hamilton drove the first survey stake to commence laying out the street system for the city.
Boyd & Clendenning were contracted by the CPR to begin felling the forest at a rate of $26 per acre and an extra $2 per acre for lopping off large branches. A tangled mass soon built up to 20 feet (6.1 m) thick that was to be the kindling for the great fire that leveled the townsite.
It was down the park's hillside that the clearing crews of the CPR entered Gastown a few steps ahead of the firestorm that destroyed the city on June 13, 1886, heading for their quarters in the Regina Hotel at Cambie
and Water where they had themselves stored water and wetted blankets as safety precaution (it was the only building in that part of the city to survive the fire). Until that year, however, the site of Victory Square as with all of the downtown peninsula outside of Gastown had been dense west coast rainforest, with trees standing in dark, thick groves hundreds of feet high and also a small creek (now vanished).
granite engraved with suitable inscriptions, and is kept continuously banked high with wreaths of flowers and adorned with national flags.
The Cenotaph was unveiled by His Worship W.R. Owen, Mayor of Vancouver, in the presence of an assemblage of 25,000 persons; naval, military and civilian, and including the Old Contemptibles, 7th British Columbia, 29th Vancouver, 72nd Seaforths, 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles
, 47th New Westminster, and 102nd North British Columbian Battalions, C.E.F., and others, on Sunday, 27 April 1924. It was dedicated by Hon. Major the Rev. Cecil C. Owen, M.B.E., V.D., D.D., chaplain of the 29th (Vancouver) Battalion, C.E.F.
"To the Glory of God, and in thankful remembrance
of those who served their King and Country overseas
in the cause of truth, righteousness and freedom."
The 24th Psalm was read by Hon. Lt.-Col. the Rev. G.O. Fallis, C.B.E., E.D., D.D., of the Methodist Church, and the music included "O Canada" (Buchan); "O God, Our Help in Ages Past"; "Lochaber No More" (bagpipes); "For All the Saints"; "Last Post" and "God Save the King". The first wreath, being the tribute of the Corporation and Citizens of Vancouver, was reverently placed by Mrs. W.R. Owen, wife of His Worship the Mayor.
The ornamentations on the stone include one long sword and two wreaths, one of laurels, the other of poppies; both entwined with maple leaves. A stone replica of the steel helmet, as used in the war of 1914-1918, adorns three corner buttresses. A larger wreath of laurels surrounds the numerals "1914-1918" at the base of the front. Slots in a receptacle of three bronze maple leaves hold the staffs of the Union Jack, the White
and Canadian Ensigns, always flying, which are placed there by the Canadian Legion, British Empire Service League, and renewed four times each year.
Of the monument faces; one side faces Hastings Street, the others Pender and Hamilton Streets, and was designed thus by Major G.L. Thornton Sharp, architect, town planner, and park commissioner, to conform to the triangular shape of the park. It is so placed that, when approached from the east, it appears in the distance centrally at the end of busy Hastings Street. The granite was supplied by the Vancouver Granite Co., Ltd., and the erecting contractors were Messrs. Stewart and Wylie. Mr. Stewart died from the effects of an accident whilst preparing the memorial. The Vancouver War Memorial Committee of twenty-four, of which twelve represented the Canadian Club of Vancouver, and twelve the Civic War Memorial Committee, the whole under the chairmanship of F.W. Rounsefell, Esq., pioneer, and with J.R.V. Dunlop, Esq., of the Canadian Club, as honorary secretary, were the public-spirited sponsors. The Cenotaph cost $10,666.000.
The engraved inscriptions are:
Facing Hastings Street: "Their name liveth for evermore" and, within a stone wreath, "1914-1918."
Facing Hamilton Street: "Is it nothing to you"
Facing Pender Street: "All ye that pass by"
The first, commencing "Their name", is from Sirach, Chapter 44, Verse 14.
The second, commencing "Is it nothing", from Lamentations
, Chapter 1, Verse 12.
The third side represents the continuation of the verse from Lamentations.
In his valedictory address, Major the Rev. Mr. Owen said:
"Those whose sacrifices this Cenotaph commemorates, were among the men who, at call of King and Country, left all that was dear, endured hardship, faced danger, and finally passed out of the sight of men by the path of duty, giving their own lives that others might live in freedom. Let those who come after see to it that their names be not forgotten."
The Cenotaph continues to be the focus of the city's annual Remembrance Day
services.
The site of the Cenotaph is significant because it was at tables at the foot of the old courthouse steps where men signed up for World War I
in 1914—which was symbolic for the enlistees because of the strong royalist sentiment in the city, as it was on the courthouse steps where the main ceremonials of the various royal visits to Vancouver had taken place. The courthouse was the location of many official ceremonies, particularly the royal visits of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York in 1901 and the Duke of Connaught in 1912.
in the 1970s, which severed the old pedestrian link between Woodward's, a block east of Victory Square, and Eaton's, two blocks west (now the SFU
Harbour Centre campus). On the south side of Victory Square originally stood the Central School, which later became the original Vancouver Community College
(then named Vancouver College), adjacent to which was the city's original main hospital (both were in a brickwork Gothic style).
Even once it was known that the courthouse was to be demolished, major construction continued to line the square where it had been. The Province
, Sun
and Dominion Building
s went up in rapid succession in the last years of the courthouse's existence, and remain today, although no longer as newspaper buildings. The maple trees on the Pender Street side of the park are the oldest street trees in the city, planted in 1897.
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The square is bordered by West Hastings Street
Hastings Street (Vancouver)
Hastings Street is one of the most important east-west traffic corridors in the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, and used to be a part of the decommissioned Highway 7A...
to the northeast, West Pender Street to the southwest, Cambie Street
Cambie Street
Cambie Street is a street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is named for Henry John Cambie, chief surveyor of the Canadian Pacific Railway's western division ....
to the southeast, and Hamilton Street to the northwest. The term is also used to refer to the neighbourhood immediately surrounding the square.
Location
Victory Square was at one time the grounds of the city's provincial courthouse, which was torn down in 1911-13 when the new Rattenbury-designed courthouse on Georgia StreetGeorgia Street
Georgia Street is an east-west street in the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Its section in Downtown Vancouver, designated West Georgia Street, serves as one of the primary streets for the financial and central business districts, and is the major transportation corridor...
was opened (now the Vancouver Art Gallery
Vancouver Art Gallery
The Vancouver Art Gallery is the fifth-largest art gallery in Canada and the largest in Western Canada. It is located at 750 Hornby Street in Vancouver, British Columbia...
). The location had significance when it was chosen, as it stands at the intersection of the old Granville townsite (aka Gastown
Gastown
Gastown is a national historic site in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the northeast end of Downtown adjacent to the Downtown Eastside. Its historical boundaries were the waterfront , Columbia Street, Hastings Street, and Cambie Street, which were the borders of the 1870 townsite survey, the proper...
) and the CPR Townsite, which was the downtown-designated land grant obtained by the CPR as part of the deal to locate the terminus and thereby found the city (the corner of Hastings and Hamilton is the northern tip of the CPR Townsite). An area of 0.9 acres (3,642.2 m²) out of the 480 acres (1.9 km²) allotted to the CPR was held aside as "Government Square" on February 13, 1886. The southwest corner of Hamilton and Hastings Streets is where L. A. Hamilton drove the first survey stake to commence laying out the street system for the city.
Boyd & Clendenning were contracted by the CPR to begin felling the forest at a rate of $26 per acre and an extra $2 per acre for lopping off large branches. A tangled mass soon built up to 20 feet (6.1 m) thick that was to be the kindling for the great fire that leveled the townsite.
Cambie Street
Cambie Street is a street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is named for Henry John Cambie, chief surveyor of the Canadian Pacific Railway's western division ....
and Water where they had themselves stored water and wetted blankets as safety precaution (it was the only building in that part of the city to survive the fire). Until that year, however, the site of Victory Square as with all of the downtown peninsula outside of Gastown had been dense west coast rainforest, with trees standing in dark, thick groves hundreds of feet high and also a small creek (now vanished).
The Cenotaph and the Old Courthouse
On the northern side of the square, on a plaza flanking Hastings Street, lies the Vancouver war memorial, the Victory Square Cenotaph. The cenotaph is approximately 30 feet (10m) tall, and is a triangular edifice whose shape conforms to that of the square. The pillar is of Nelson IslandNelson Island (British Columbia)
Nelson Island is an island in the Sunshine Coast region of the South Coast region of British Columbia. It is surrounded by Hotham Sound, Agamemnon Channel, and Malaspina Strait. The closest communities are Pender Harbour, British Columbia and Egmont, both on the Sechelt Peninsula.The island is...
granite engraved with suitable inscriptions, and is kept continuously banked high with wreaths of flowers and adorned with national flags.
The Cenotaph was unveiled by His Worship W.R. Owen, Mayor of Vancouver, in the presence of an assemblage of 25,000 persons; naval, military and civilian, and including the Old Contemptibles, 7th British Columbia, 29th Vancouver, 72nd Seaforths, 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles
Canadian Mounted Rifles
Canadian Mounted Rifles was part of the designation of several mounted infantry units in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.* The Canadian Mounted Rifle Corps, formed in 1885, now part of The Royal Canadian Dragoons...
, 47th New Westminster, and 102nd North British Columbian Battalions, C.E.F., and others, on Sunday, 27 April 1924. It was dedicated by Hon. Major the Rev. Cecil C. Owen, M.B.E., V.D., D.D., chaplain of the 29th (Vancouver) Battalion, C.E.F.
"To the Glory of God, and in thankful remembrance
of those who served their King and Country overseas
in the cause of truth, righteousness and freedom."
The 24th Psalm was read by Hon. Lt.-Col. the Rev. G.O. Fallis, C.B.E., E.D., D.D., of the Methodist Church, and the music included "O Canada" (Buchan); "O God, Our Help in Ages Past"; "Lochaber No More" (bagpipes); "For All the Saints"; "Last Post" and "God Save the King". The first wreath, being the tribute of the Corporation and Citizens of Vancouver, was reverently placed by Mrs. W.R. Owen, wife of His Worship the Mayor.
The ornamentations on the stone include one long sword and two wreaths, one of laurels, the other of poppies; both entwined with maple leaves. A stone replica of the steel helmet, as used in the war of 1914-1918, adorns three corner buttresses. A larger wreath of laurels surrounds the numerals "1914-1918" at the base of the front. Slots in a receptacle of three bronze maple leaves hold the staffs of the Union Jack, the White
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
and Canadian Ensigns, always flying, which are placed there by the Canadian Legion, British Empire Service League, and renewed four times each year.
Of the monument faces; one side faces Hastings Street, the others Pender and Hamilton Streets, and was designed thus by Major G.L. Thornton Sharp, architect, town planner, and park commissioner, to conform to the triangular shape of the park. It is so placed that, when approached from the east, it appears in the distance centrally at the end of busy Hastings Street. The granite was supplied by the Vancouver Granite Co., Ltd., and the erecting contractors were Messrs. Stewart and Wylie. Mr. Stewart died from the effects of an accident whilst preparing the memorial. The Vancouver War Memorial Committee of twenty-four, of which twelve represented the Canadian Club of Vancouver, and twelve the Civic War Memorial Committee, the whole under the chairmanship of F.W. Rounsefell, Esq., pioneer, and with J.R.V. Dunlop, Esq., of the Canadian Club, as honorary secretary, were the public-spirited sponsors. The Cenotaph cost $10,666.000.
The engraved inscriptions are:
Facing Hastings Street: "Their name liveth for evermore" and, within a stone wreath, "1914-1918."
Facing Hamilton Street: "Is it nothing to you"
Facing Pender Street: "All ye that pass by"
The first, commencing "Their name", is from Sirach, Chapter 44, Verse 14.
The second, commencing "Is it nothing", from Lamentations
Book of Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations ) is a poetic book of the Hebrew Bible composed by the Jewish prophet Jeremiah. It mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in the 6th Century BCE....
, Chapter 1, Verse 12.
The third side represents the continuation of the verse from Lamentations.
In his valedictory address, Major the Rev. Mr. Owen said:
"Those whose sacrifices this Cenotaph commemorates, were among the men who, at call of King and Country, left all that was dear, endured hardship, faced danger, and finally passed out of the sight of men by the path of duty, giving their own lives that others might live in freedom. Let those who come after see to it that their names be not forgotten."
The Cenotaph continues to be the focus of the city's annual Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth...
services.
The site of the Cenotaph is significant because it was at tables at the foot of the old courthouse steps where men signed up for World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1914—which was symbolic for the enlistees because of the strong royalist sentiment in the city, as it was on the courthouse steps where the main ceremonials of the various royal visits to Vancouver had taken place. The courthouse was the location of many official ceremonies, particularly the royal visits of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York in 1901 and the Duke of Connaught in 1912.
Around Victory Square, then and now
During the old courthouse's tenure the vicinity was the hub of the city's financial and legal district, with the Vancouver curb exchange operating just across Hastings Street, mostly in a passageway cutting the corner diagonally behind the Astor Hotel (see photos in External links). The Inns of Court, a ramshackle and infamously leaky (if decorative) structure on the west side of Courthouse Square, was the location of adjutant legal services and offices connected to the Court House. The Oddfellows Hall and what is now the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans Hall still stand further south (uphill) along Hamilton Street from where the Inns of Court used to be (now a modernist bank-cum-film studio). Most of the original main branches of the major banks were within the next few blocks west along Hastings, which in both directions was the hub of the city's shopping district until the completion of Pacific CentrePacific Centre
Pacific Centre is a shopping mall located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is operated by Cadillac Fairview Corporation. Based on the number of stores, many of which are underground, it is the largest mall in Downtown Vancouver with over 100 stores and services...
in the 1970s, which severed the old pedestrian link between Woodward's, a block east of Victory Square, and Eaton's, two blocks west (now the SFU
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
Harbour Centre campus). On the south side of Victory Square originally stood the Central School, which later became the original Vancouver Community College
Vancouver Community College
Vancouver Community College is a public post-secondary institution in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1965, it is the largest and oldest community college in British Columbia, with over 140 certificate and diploma programs...
(then named Vancouver College), adjacent to which was the city's original main hospital (both were in a brickwork Gothic style).
Even once it was known that the courthouse was to be demolished, major construction continued to line the square where it had been. The Province
The Province
The Province is a daily, tabloid format newspaper published in British Columbia by Postmedia. It has been a daily newspaper since 1898.According to a recent NADbank survey, The Provinces average weekday readership was 520,100, making it British Columbia's most read newspaper...
, Sun
Sun Tower
The Sun Tower is a 17 storey Beaux-Arts building at 100 West Pender Street in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is known for its faux-patina steel dome painted to imitate copper cladding. Nine nude muses, the "nine maidens" supporting the cornice line can be seen...
and Dominion Building
Dominion Building
The Dominion Building , is a commercial building in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located on the edge of Gastown , it was Vancouver's first steel-framed high-rise. At 53 m , the thirteen-storey, Second Empire style building was the tallest commercial building in the British Empire upon its...
s went up in rapid succession in the last years of the courthouse's existence, and remain today, although no longer as newspaper buildings. The maple trees on the Pender Street side of the park are the oldest street trees in the city, planted in 1897.
External links
- BC Archives Photo: Old Courthouse, January 1896
- BC Archives Photo: Old Courthouse, c.1905
- http://www.cdli.ca/monuments/bc/victory.htm
