Do you remember the fountain at Lonsdale Quay? It had sails on top of a tiled base of green and blue swirls and whales and octopus and starfish. When my kids were small it was the best part of a visit next to ice cream and the ball room.
It broke down in 2020 and cost $300,000 to fix, now the only thing left to remember it by, is a round piece of asphalt used to patch the hole in the concrete.
At least it no longer blocks our view of the $225 million-dollar super yacht that is perpetually parked at the dock. It’s called Attessa 1V—I’m not sure what happened to one, two and three, but looks like it’s time for an upgrade. The Attessa 1V went up for sale earlier this year.
White Winds:
“White Winds” the fountain, was created in 1985 by Gerald Gladstone. The metal sculptures in the centre represented sails in a nod to the boats in Burrard Inlet.
No sails on this super yacht but it does come with a helicopter.
The 100-metre-long yacht is owned by US billionaire Dennis Washington, who also owns Seaspan which owns Vancouver Shipyards, Vancouver Drydock and Victoria Shipyards, and presumably why his yacht is parked by our former fountain.
Centennial Fountain:
Speaking of fountains. The Centennial Fountain, which was built outside the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1983, developed a leak in 2013 and was gone a year later. Now there’s nothing to get in the way of the protestors, just a sterile looking plaza.
Lost Lagoon Fountain:
We still have the Lost Lagoon fountain; it just doesn’t work. In 2016, the Parks Board put out a Facebook post: “Due to an unfortunate flood in the electrical chamber the fountain is now inoperable until renovations are complete. The fountain is currently undergoing mechanical upgrades. Hope to have it ready by this time in 2017!”
Nope, didn’t happen. According to a Daily Hive story last December, the price tag to get it up and running and delighting residents and tourists alike is an inexplicable $7 million dollars.
But enough about fountains, it’s not like you can swim in one. If you want an outside swimming experience, you can always go to Kits pool. Oh wait, no you can’t, it’s broken as well. The good news is that Mayor Sim says it will be fixed by August 7. Maybe.
Related:
- Our Missing Heritage: The Centennial Fountain
- The Real Story Behind the Lost Lagoon Fountain
- The North Shore’s Spirit Trail: Lonsdale Quay
- Missing Heritage
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13 comments on “Three Fountains and a Super Yacht”
Interesting Article the lost lagoon fountain was built initially by a company that my wife’s grandfather worked for back in the 30”s . He was a plumber who did the plumbing for the fountain . Everytime we drive by it she reminds me of this LoL .
I would love to hear what he would have thought of the $7 million price tag to fix it!
Seven million is outrageous. A cost breakdown should be provided. And yeah, why not get the billionaires to foot the bill for these things? It’s a “drop in the bucket” for them, LOL!
Agreed, but I’d rather see billionaires taxed appropriately so that we can put money where we need or want to, not name hospital wings after them.
There’s always a cost breakdown with these types of proposals. But basically, the cost to do it with that company is $7m and they are free to solicit someone else to do it if they don’t like it.
Some good news for swimmers! The mayor has announced the Kits Pool will reopen next month on August 7th.
And, I certainly hope that happens. But reading the Sun story just now, there are a lot of hoops to jump before they can open. I’ll put an update on the post when and if it does.
…..and the fountains in Rome, built over 2000 years ago continue to work. Hmmm?
It’s the eternal Vancouver mystery!
I find your observations about areas in Vancouver and B.C. invaluable. Thanks!
Thank you! Appreciate you stopping by
Hi Eve, the last place I lived at before I moved away from Vancouver in 1993, was in the Lonsdale/13th ave area. I used to ride my MTB down the hill to Lonsdale Quay and grab the Sea Bus across to that beautiful terminal heritage building/”Waterfront Station” DT Vancouver. It was such a scenic area to live in back then! Thanx for the memories Eve!
The disappearance of favourite places. Not recommending
the swim, but back in the day my brother & pals put a Grad
sign on Lost Lagoon fountain.