From Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History
When I think of all the demolition and destruction that we’ve put Vancouver through over the last century, it amazes me that we still have Stanley Park. It’s not from lack of trying though, developers have been trying to chip away at it for years.
I first heard of the All Seasons Park when I was flipping through Kate Bird’s new release: City on Edge. The photo, taken by Province photographer Gordon Sedawie over 46 years ago, shows a peace sign garden. As the caption explains, the site was occupied by people opposed to the development of a Four Seasons hotel and condo complex at the Coal Harbour entrance to Stanley Park.
Kate sent me the photo and some articles explaining the context.
There were three attempts to turn the 14-acre entrance to Stanley Park into a developer’s paradise. The first was by a New York developer in the early ‘60s.
The second was by a local outfit called Harbour Park Developments that bought the land in 1964 and proposed a $55 million development with 15 towers ranging between 15 and 31-storeys in height.
The third, and most promising for Vancouver City Council at least, was a plan by the Four Seasons Hotel chain to build a 14-storey hotel, three 30-storey condos towers, and a bunch of townhouses.
This was the era when Mayor Tom Campbell (1967-72) and the NPA were replacing swaths of heritage buildings with the Pacific Centre and Vancouver Centre, pushing for freeways that would knock out large parts of the city, and lobbying for Project 200, that if it had gone ahead, would have destroyed most of Gastown.
On May 30, 1971 a few dozen hippies took over the site and set up camp (coincidentally, around the same time that the District of North Vancouver was destroying many of the squatter shacks at Maplewood). The Stanley Park protesters planted maple trees and vegetables, dug a pond, and called it All Seasons Park.
They stayed for nearly a year.
Campbell issued a plebiscite where only property owners could vote. It succeeded when less than 60% voted to reject the Four Season’s plan. But while our city council was gung-ho, the plan fell apart in 1972 when the Federal government refused to hand over a crucial piece of land.
Five years later the land was annexed to Stanley Park and oddly renamed Devonian Harbour Park.
Sources:
- City on Edge: A rebellious century of Vancouver protests, riots, and strikes
- The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver
- “This week in history” – Vancouver Sun, May 26, 2017
- Yippies in Love (2011)
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16 comments on “Aborted Plans: All Seasons Park”
Not for publication.
The park was “ oddly renamed Devonian Harbour Park” because the Devonian Foundation of Calgary put up the cash to buy the land.
The Hardie family was hugely wealthy from oil and gas, and were the originators of the Glenbow Foundation.
They put up the money following an approach from my father, Dr. Bill Gibson.
He was a famous fundraiser, and became a Vancouver Alderman in the TEAM sweep of 1972.
Time we had a chat, methinks.
Thanks so much David for the back story on that! Yes, definitely let’s chat.
I remember those days in 1971. But looking at the park that’s there today it’s mostly open space with a lawn full of green Canada goose turds, I think they may as well have allowed development there.
What would we do without the dear hippies?
I absolutely ADORE Stanley Park. I hope the power greedy wealthy people never ever win.
Recently we had relatives from Australia visit and we took them to this beautiful oasis in the middle of our rapidly becoming ugly city. They loved it, especially all the different trees near the rose garden. It’s more than a lawn full of green Canada goose turds for sure; it’s a relaxing bit of luxuriant natural beauty in the midst of man-made chaos. I should write a poem….
[…] Eve Lazarus explores the lost history of All Season Park, where several developers tried to build hotels in the early 1960… […]
In a city that has people living in tents, and a mayor and council that ran on a platform to end homelessness and utterly failed to do so, it’s time for massive changes.
One obvious change would be to remove them and ensure that they never enter the public political realm again. They lied. They failed.
The second and less obvious change would be to zone a portion of Stanley Park into rental housing at rents that are set an no more than 40% of the income of a Vancouver minimum wage earner. The rezoned portion would be equal to the area needed to fully house the homeless.
Housing is a human right. And, to Anthony’s point in an earlier comment, lawns covered in goose turds are not.
I agree that housing is a human right and we’ve done a shocking job at this. But opening up and destroying Stanley Park for future generations is most certainly not the solution.
This blog is usually non confrontational. Opinions that are somewhat diverse now and then. This particular post is so far to the extreme that it make me wonder what sort of logic would think that any public park (never mind a world famous park) should be sacrificed to create subsidized housing.
Without agreeing to the premise presented by Grandview Citizen, may I suggest that the city and province have plenty of public property to use in your desired fashion without touching one blade of grass in Stanley Park. goose turds not withstanding.
Stanley Park is our gem to pass on to other generations to have access to green space , wooded areas to rest and regain strength from our daily concrete lives. I am all for helping the homeless but not by populating Stanley Park. There are already a number of campers there who unofficially take care of the Park.
I am more for setting boundaries regarding off shore investment that then leaves rental units vacant. Also supporting facilities for the mentally ill and addicted who genuinely need housing in a protective, supportive environment.
Thank you for the history lesson and to the those who helped make it.
I know this comment may not belong here but I do love Stanley Park and do not want it developed. I always thought it was in business owner’s best interest to have the housing that is above all stores/ shops/ etc., to be available for rent by the minimum wage workers they so desperately need working for them. If all business owners got together and contributed, or looked for, space that could accommodate their workers, there’d be more loyalty and a sense of community for the success of their building/ business
Just a late thought on this bit of insanity. Stanley Park is NOT a local Vancouver Parks Board entity. It (thank God) is a Federal park. With any luck that should keep it out of the clutches of the loony left Vision crowd.
Merry Christmas
[…] the 1960s and ‘70s there were three attempts to turn Seasons Park—the 14 acres at the entrance—into a massive hotel and condo […]
[…] Aborted Plans: All Seasons Park […]
I have read some of articles written recently about All Seasons Park — and those accounts are not the park that I remember. I was on an American cargo ship that had come to Vancouver to offload cargo in September 1971, as there was a dock strike on the US West Coast. We anchored in English Bay, just off Stanley Park and awaited permission from the port to offload, but as we had cargo intended for US destinations, we would wait over five weeks for a berth.
In the meantime, our company arranged launch service for us every four hours, landing us near the Stanley Park Zoo. We needed to pass All Seasons Park to get into town. Being 22, I met some of the campers and was invited by one to stop by. I met many, if not all, of the people living there over the next five weeks. Well my story is far to long to tell here, but it was a very interesting time and I met a lot of very nice people, who happened to living in tents at the time.
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