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Queen Elizabeth Park, British Columbia

{{Short description|City park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada}}

{{Infobox park

| name = Queen Elizabeth Park

| photo = Queen Elizabeth Park.jpg

| photo_width = 275

| photo_caption = A view of the park

| type = Public Park

| location = Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

| created = 1939

| operator = City of Vancouver

| visitation_num =

| status =

| website = {{URL|https://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/queen-elizabeth-park.aspx}}

| coords = {{Coord|49|14|32|N|123|06|54|W|scale:7500_region:CA-BC_type:landmark|name=Queen Elizabeth Park|display=inline,title}}

| area = {{convert|52|hectare|acre}}

}}

image:Bloedel Floral Conservatory Plaza 201208.jpg

image:Cherry Blossoms @ Queen Elizabeth Park (25289155674).jpg

image:Queen Elizabeth Park in autumn 2017.jpg

image:Queen Elizabeth Park Duck Pond.jpg

Queen Elizabeth Park is a 130-acre{{cite web |url=http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/history.aspx|title=History of Queen Elizabeth Park|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402133106/http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/history.aspx|archive-date=April 2, 2015}} municipal park located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is located on top of Little Mountain approximately {{Convert|125|m|ft}} above sea level{{cite web |title=City of Vancouver - Queen Elizabeth Park |url=http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/queen-elizabeth-park.aspx |access-date=February 12, 2015 |publisher=City of Vancouver}} and is the location of former basalt quarries dug in the beginning of the twentieth century to provide materials for roads in the city.{{cite web |title=Bloedel Conservatory - History |url=https://www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org/place-that-matters/bloedel-conservatory/#historical |website=Vancouver Heritage Foundation |access-date=July 17, 2020}}

History

Before European settlement, the park was an old-growth forest and a spawning ground for salmon. Grey wolves, elk and bears would frequent the area. The settler population which began in earnest in the 1870s exterminated the grey wolves, elk and bears, chopped down all the old growth forest and paved over the salmon creeks. The salmon creeks that extend from Queen Elizabeth to False Creek do still exist today, however, they have been paved over.{{Cite web |date=July 21, 2005 |title=Rivers run beneath us |url=https://www.straight.com/article/rivers-run-beneath-us |access-date=April 16, 2022 |website=The Georgia Straight |language=en}}

In 1936, the BC Tulip Association suggested the creation of sunken gardens within the old quarries to the city's park board. By the end of that decade, the site had been turned over to the Vancouver Park Board for park and recreation purposes. The park was dedicated by King George VI and his consort, Queen Elizabeth (the mother of Queen Elizabeth II) during their visit to Vancouver in 1939, as King and Queen of Canada. From that time, Park staff incrementally transformed the overgrown hillsides into Canada's first civic arboretum, with a generous donation from the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association. The popular quarry gardens were designed by Park Board Deputy Superintendent Bill Livingstone and were unveiled in the early 1960s.

Prentice Bloedel's gift of $1.25 million funded the open reservoirs and built the country's first geodesic conservatory, which is surrounded by covered walkways, lighted fountains and a sculpture, Henry Moore's Knife Edge Two Piece 1962–65. The Bloedel Floral Conservatory opened on December 6, 1969 amidst much jubilation. Its enclosed tropical garden houses 500 exotic plants and flowers and more than a hundred free-flying tropical birds.{{cite web |url=http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/bloedel-conservatory.aspx |title=Bloedel Conservatory |publisher=City of Vancouver |access-date=October 6, 2012 }}

Attractions

There are several other attractions in the park including:

Several episodes of the long running TV show Stargate SG-1 were filmed there.{{cn|date=August 2022}}

Activities

Activities at Queen Elizabeth Park include:

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category|Queen Elizabeth Park, British Columbia|Queen Elizabeth Park}}

  • {{Official website|https://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/queen-elizabeth-park.aspx}}
  • [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqLFPcHUUwM 1939 film footage of the park]

{{Vancouver landmarks}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Arboreta in Canada

Category:Gardens in Canada

Category:Parks in Vancouver

Category:Monuments and memorials to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother