Misplaced Pages

#671328

76-622: Stanley Park is a 405-hectare (1,001-acre) public park in British Columbia , Canada, that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver 's Downtown peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay . The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and Coal Harbour to its southeast, and is connected to the North Shore via the Lions Gate Bridge . The historic lighthouse on Brockton Point marks

152-451: A 10-minute walk , provides multiple benefits. A park is an area of open space provided for recreational use, usually owned and maintained by a local government. Grass is typically kept short to discourage insect pests and to allow for the enjoyment of picnics and sporting activities. Trees are chosen for their beauty and to provide shade , with an increasing emphasis on reducing an urban heat island effect. Some early parks include

228-471: A clear central area. Many are known from Japan and the southeastern United States, and at least one from South America. The word is of Scandinavian via Middle English derivation (from early Scandinavian; Danish: mødding , Swedish regional: mödding ). The word "midden" is still in everyday use in Scotland and has come by extension to refer to anything that is a mess, a muddle, or chaos. The word

304-421: A distant location. Some shell middens are directly associated with villages, as a designated village dump site. In other middens, the material is directly associated with a house in the village. Each household would dump its garbage directly outside the house. In all cases, shell middens are extremely complex and very difficult to excavate fully and exactly. The fact that they contain a detailed record of what food

380-808: A few tens of metres long are claimed to be middens, but are in fact shell cheniers (beach ridges) re-worked by nest mound-building birds. Some shell middens are regarded as sacred sites, linked to the Dreamtime , such as those of the Anbarra group of the Burarra people of Arnhem Land . The Ohlone and Coast Miwok peoples built over 425 shell mounds in the San Francisco Bay Area. These mounds were used as: The mounds were constructed over thousands of years. They were often discovered by accident during construction, mining, or farming. Some of

456-475: A half million trees, some of which stand as tall as 76 metres (249 ft) and are hundreds of years old. Thousands of trees were lost (and many replanted) after three major windstorms that took place in the past 100 years, the last in 2006. Significant effort was put into constructing the near-century-old Vancouver Seawall , which can draw thousands of people to the park in the summer. The park also features forest trails, beaches, lakes, children's play areas, and

532-578: A handful of individuals, others are many metres in length and width and represent centuries of shell deposition. In Brazil , they are known as sambaquis , having been created over a long period between the 6th millennium BCE and the beginning of European colonisation. European shell middens are primarily found along the Atlantic seaboard and in Denmark and primarily date to the 5th millennium BCE ( Ertebølle and Early Funnel Beaker cultures), containing

608-454: A large village in the park. From the lower Fraser River area, Musqueam Nation used its natural resources. Where Lumberman's Arch is now, there once was a large village called Whoi Whoi, or Xwayxway, roughly meaning place of masks . One longhouse , built from cedar poles and slabs, was measured at 61 metres (200 ft) long by 18 metres (60 ft) wide. These houses were occupied by large extended families living in different quadrants of

684-399: A lighthouse for Brockton Point around the same time. Before the causeway, a wooden footbridge provided the only access route into the park from Coal Harbour. Construction of the causeway (and new roads within the park for emergency access) was completed by 1926. In 1923, the saltwater pipes entering the lake from Coal Harbour were shut off, turning it into a freshwater lake. A lit fountain

760-510: A number of homes on lands he had claimed for the park. Some, who had built their homes less than twenty years earlier, would continue to live on the land for years. Most were evicted by the park board in 1931, but the last resident, Tim Cummings, lived at Brockton Point until his death in 1958. Sarah Avison, the daughter of the first park ranger, recalled when the city evicted the Chinese settlers at Anderson Point in 1889: The Park Board ordered

836-520: A road to be constructed around the park, and their midden was used for construction material. The popular landmark Siwash Rock , located near present-day Third Beach, was once called Slahkayulsh, meaning he is standing up . In the oral history , a fisherman was transformed into this rock by three powerful brothers as punishment for his immorality. In 2010, the chief of the Squamish Nation proposed renaming Stanley Park as Xwayxway Park after

SECTION 10

#1732783746672

912-495: Is an archaeological feature consisting mainly of mollusc shells. The Danish term køkkenmøddinger (plural) was first used by Japetus Steenstrup to describe shell heaps and continues to be used by some researchers. A midden, by definition, contains the debris of human activity, and should not be confused with wind- or tide-created beach mounds. Some shell middens are processing remains: areas where aquatic resources were processed directly after harvest and prior to use or storage in

988-473: Is an old dump for domestic waste . It may consist of animal bones , human excrement , botanical material, mollusc shells , potsherds , lithics (especially debitage ), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation. These features provide a useful resource for archaeologists who wish to study the diets and habits of past societies. Middens with damp, anaerobic conditions can even preserve organic remains in deposits as

1064-541: Is examining a midden or a beach mound. There are good examples on the Freycinet Peninsula in Tasmania where wave action currently is combining charcoal from forest fire debris with a mix of shells into masses that storms deposit above high-water mark. Shell mounds near Weipa in far north Queensland that are mostly less than 2 metres (6.6 ft) high (although ranging up to 10 metres (33 ft) high) and

1140-409: Is now used internationally. The English word "midden" (waste mound) derives from the same Old Norse word that produced the modern Danish one. Shell middens are found in coastal or lakeshore zones all over the world. Consisting mostly of mollusc shells, they are interpreted as being the waste products of meals eaten by nomadic groups or hunting parties. Some are small examples relating to meals had by

1216-650: Is used by farmers in Britain to describe the place where farm yard manure from cows or other animals is collected. Grants are sometimes available to protect these from rain to avoid runoff and pollution . In the animal kingdom, some species establish ground burrows , also known as middens, that are used mostly for food storage. For example, the North American red squirrel ( Tamiasciurus hudsonicus ) usually has one large active midden in each territory with perhaps an inactive or auxiliary midden. A midden may be

1292-525: The First Narrows , the [natives] in their canoes threw these feathers in great handfuls before him. They would of course rise in the air, drift along, and fall to the surface of the water, where they would rest for quite a time. It must have been a pretty scene, and duly impressed Captain Vancouver, for he speaks most highly of the reception he was accorded. No significant contact with inhabitants in

1368-562: The La Alameda de Hércules , in Seville , a promenaded public mall, urban garden and park built in 1574, within the historic center of Seville. The Városliget ( City Park ) in the City of Pest , what is today Budapest, Hungary , was a city property when afforestation started in the middle of the 18th century, from the 1790s with the clear aim to create a public park. Between 1799 and 1805 it

1444-555: The Vancouver Aquarium , among many other attractions. On June 18, 2014, Stanley Park was named "top park in the entire world" by Tripadvisor , based on reviews submitted. Archaeological evidence suggests a human presence in the park dating back more than 3,000 years. The area is the traditional territory of multiple coastal Indigenous peoples . From the Burrard Inlet and Howe Sound regions, Squamish Nation had

1520-623: The Village of Yorkville Park in Toronto , which won an award from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Parks are sometimes made out of oddly shaped areas of land, much like the vacant lots that often become city neighborhood parks. Linked parks may form a greenbelt . There is a form of an urban park in the UK (officially called a "recreation ground", but commonly called a "rec" by

1596-528: The British during the 1858 Fraser Canyon Gold Rush and was one of the first areas to be explored in the city. For many years after colonization, the future park, with its abundant resources, would also be home to non-Indigenous settlers . The land was later turned into Vancouver's first park when the city incorporated in 1886. It was named after Lord Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby , a British politician who had recently been appointed Governor General of Canada . It

SECTION 20

#1732783746672

1672-543: The Brockton sports fields. The future park was selectively logged by six different companies between the 1860s and 1880s, but its military status saved the land from further development. Most of today's trails in Stanley Park got their start as old skid roads. Near the end of the 1800s, the city's principal reservoir was built in the area south of Prospect Point that is now a playing field and picnic area. Despite

1748-477: The Indigenous peoples probably first saw Vancouver's ship from Chaythoos, a location in the future park that in today's terms lay just east of the Lions Gate Bridge (or First Narrows Bridge as it is sometimes called). Speaking about this event later in a conversation with archivist Major Matthews , Andy Paull , whose family lived in the area, confirms the account given by Vancouver: As Vancouver came through

1824-631: The Squamish to repel an attack by an indigenous raid from the Euclataws . Stanley Park was not attacked, but this was when it started to be thought of as a strategic military position. The peninsula was a popular place for gathering traditional food and materials in the 1800s, but it started to see even more activity after the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858, going through a succession of uses when non-Indigenous settlers moved into

1900-602: The UK, with around 2.6 billion visits to parks each year. Many parks are of cultural and historical interest, with 300 registered by Historic England as of national importance. Most public parks have been provided and run by local authorities over the past hundred and seventy years, but these authorities have no statutory duty to fund or maintain these public parks. In 2016 the Heritage Lottery Fund 's State of UK Public Parks reported that "92 per cent of park managers report their maintenance budgets have reduced in

1976-522: The United States and the world, though cow grazing did not end until the 1830s. Around the country, the predecessors to urban parks in the United States were generally rural cemeteries . The cemeteries were intended as civic institutions designed for public use. Before the widespread development of public parks, the rural cemetery provided a place for the general public to enjoy outdoor recreation amidst art and sculpture previously available only for

2052-842: The United States are Central Park in New York, Lincoln Park in Chicago, Mission Bay Park in San Diego. In the early 1900s, according to Cranz, U.S. cities built neighborhood parks with swimming pools, playgrounds and civic buildings, with the intention of Americanizing the immigrant residents. In the 1950s, when money became available after World War II , new parks continued to focus on both outdoor and indoor recreation with services, such as sports leagues using their ball fields and gymnasia. These smaller parks were built in residential neighborhoods, and tried to serve all residents with programs for seniors, adults, teens and children. Green space

2128-518: The Vancouver Park Board to promote stewardship and conservation in Stanley Park. Construction of the 8.8-kilometre (5.5 mi) seawall and walkway around the park began in 1917 and took several decades to complete. The original idea for the seawall is attributed to park board superintendent W. S. Rawlings, who conveyed his vision in 1918: It is not difficult to imagine what the realization of such an undertaking would mean to

2204-511: The [Chinese settlers] to leave the park; they were trespassers; but [they] would not go, so the Park Board told my father to set fire to the buildings. I saw them burn; there were five of us children, and you know what children are like when there is a fire. So father set fire to the shacks; what happened to the Chinese I do not know. Most of the dwellings at Xwayxway were reported vacant by 1899, and in 1900, two of such houses were purchased by

2280-462: The area was recorded for decades, until around the time of the Crimean War (1853–1856). British admirals arranged with Chief Joe Capilano that if there were an invasion, the British would defend the south shore of Burrard Inlet and the Squamish would defend the north. The British gave him and his men 60 muskets . Although the attack anticipated by the British never came, the guns were used by

2356-497: The area were evicted by the early 20th century, the municipal government still owns a number of field homes used by the park's "live-in caretakers". Caretakers that occupy the field homes are not charged rent by the city, although they are required to assist in park operations and provide a permanent presence for the park board. In 2006, the City of Vancouver decided it would no longer replace live-in caretakers who retired or moved out from

Stanley Park - Misplaced Pages Continue

2432-526: The area. The shallow waters around the First Narrows and Coal Harbour were popular fishing spots for clams, salmon, and other fish. August Jack Khatsahlano , a celebrated dual chief of the Squamish and Musqueam who once lived at Chaythoos, remembered how he used to fish-rake in Coal Harbour and catch many herrings . They would also hunt grouse, ducks, and deer on the peninsula. Second Beach

2508-423: The attractions of the park and personally I doubt if there exists anywhere on this continent such possibilities of a combined park and marine walk as we have in Stanley Park. James "Jimmy" Cunningham, a master mason, dedicated 32 years of his life to the construction of the seawall from 1931 until his retirement in 1963. Cunningham continued to return to monitor the wall's progress until his death at 85. The walkway

2584-570: The causeway at the entrance to the park from Georgia Street. By the 1950s, visitors could take rented rowboats on Lost Lagoon, but boating and other activities were banned in 1973 as the lake became a bird sanctuary. By 1995, the old boathouse had been turned into the Lost Lagoon Nature House. It is operated by the Stanley Park Ecology Society , which is a nonprofit organization that works alongside of

2660-544: The coast and are several meters deep. The midden in Namu, British Columbia is over 9 metres (30 ft) deep and spans over 10,000 years of continuous occupation. Shell middens created in coastal regions of Australia by Indigenous Australians exist in Australia today. Middens provide evidence of prior occupation and are generally protected from mining and other developments. One must exercise caution in deciding whether one

2736-496: The confines of a serpentine carriageway, put in place the essential elements of his much-imitated design for Birkenhead Park in Birkenhead . The latter commenced in 1843 with the help of public finance and deployed the ideas which Paxton had pioneered at Princes Park on a more expansive scale. Frederick Law Olmsted visited Birkenhead Park in 1850 and praised its qualities. Indeed, Paxton is widely credited as having been one of

2812-514: The debris of daily life are tossed on the pile. Each individual toss will contribute a different mix of materials depending upon the activity associated with that particular toss. During the course of deposition sedimentary material is deposited as well. Different mechanisms, from wind and water to animal digs, create a matrix which can also be analysed to provide seasonal and climatic information. In some middens individual dumps of material can be discerned and analysed. A shell midden or shell mound

2888-453: The designed landscape as a setting for the suburban domicile (an idea pioneered by John Nash at Regent's Park in London) and re-fashioned it for the provincial town in a most original way. Nash's remodelling of St James's Park from 1827 and the sequence of processional routes he created to link The Mall with Regent's Park completely transformed the appearance of London's West End . With

2964-499: The establishment of Princes Park in 1842, Joseph Paxton did something similar for the benefit of a provincial town, albeit one of international stature by virtue of its flourishing mercantile sector. Liverpool had a burgeoning presence in global maritime trade before 1800, and during the Victorian era its wealth rivalled that of London itself. The form and layout of Paxton's ornamental grounds, structured about an informal lake within

3040-422: The evolution of a forest and urban space over many years. Most of the manmade structures present in the park were built between 1911 and 1937 under the influence of then-superintendent W.S. Rawlings. Additional attractions, such as a polar bear exhibit, aquarium, and a miniature train , were added in the post–World War II period. Much of the park remains as densely forested as it was in the late 1800s, with about

3116-401: The field homes, with the city opting to convert several unoccupied field homes into artist studios. From 1913 to 1916, a lake was constructed in a shallow part of Coal Harbour , a project that was not without its detractors. The lake was named Lost Lagoon due to its history of "disappearing" at low tide. The lake and a causeway into the park were designed by Thomas Mawson , who also designed

Stanley Park - Misplaced Pages Continue

3192-609: The first archaeological excavations of the Omori Shell Mounds in Tokyo, Japan in 1877, which led to the discovery of a style of pottery described as "cord-marked", translated as " Jōmon ", which came to be used to refer to the early period of Japanese history when this style of pottery was produced. Shell middens were studied in Denmark in the latter half of the 19th century. The Danish word køkkenmødding (kitchen mound)

3268-779: The form of walking, running, horse riding, mountain biking, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing; or sedentary activity such as observing nature, bird watching, painting, photography, or picnicking. Limiting park or open space use to passive recreation over all or a portion of the park's area eliminates or reduces the burden of managing active recreation facilities and developed infrastructure. Many ski resorts combine active recreation facilities (ski lifts, gondolas, terrain parks, downhill runs, and lodges) with passive recreation facilities (cross-country ski trails). Many smaller neighborhood parks are receiving increased attention and valuation as significant community assets and places of refuge in heavily populated urban areas. Neighborhood groups around

3344-508: The house. The larger houses were used for ceremonial potlatches where a host would invite guests to witness and participate in ceremonies and the giving away of property. Another settlement was further west along the same shore. This place was called Chaythoos, meaning high bank . The site of Chaythoos is noted on a brass plaque placed on the lowlands east of Prospect Point commemorating the park's centennial. Both sites were occupied in 1888, when some residents were forcefully removed to allow

3420-512: The land, it was again considered a strategic point in case Americans attempted an invasion and launched an attack on New Westminster (then the colonial capital) via Burrard Inlet. In 1865, Edward Stamp decided that Brockton Point would be an ideal site for a lumber mill. He cleared close to 40 hectares (100 acres) with the permission of colonial officials, but the site proved too impractical and he moved his operation east, eventually becoming Hastings Mill . The land cleared by Stamp later became

3496-525: The large amount of open space and natural habitat in the former pleasure grounds, they now serve as important wildlife refuges, and often provide the only opportunity for urban residents to hike or picnic in a semi-wild area. However, city managers or politicians can target these parks as sources of free land for other uses. Partly for this reason, some of these large parks have "friends of X park" advisory boards that help protect and maintain their semi-wild nature. There are around estimated 27,000 public parks in

3572-559: The large village once located in the area. The first European explorations of the peninsula were made by expeditions commanded by Spanish captain José María Narváez (1791) and British captain George Vancouver (1792). In A Voyage of Discovery , Vancouver describes the area as "an island ... with a smaller island Deadman's Island (the correct name being Deadman Island) lying before it", suggesting that it

3648-639: The largest mounds in the Bay Area include: Emeryville Shellmound Located between Oakland and Berkeley, this mound was estimated to be 60 feet high and 350 feet in diameter. It was demolished in 1924. Huichuin Located in Berkeley, this mound was 20 feet high and was the site of the first human settlement on the shores of San Francisco Bay. West Berkeley and Ellis Landing These mounds measured almost 200 meters in diameter and rose 9 meters above

3724-456: The legal status of Deadman Island as part of the park would remain ambiguous for many years). The park was named after Lord Stanley , who had recently become Canada's sixth governor general . Mayor David Oppenheimer gave a formal speech opening the park to the public and delivering authority for its management to the park committee. The following year, Lord Stanley became the first governor general to visit Vancouver when he officially dedicated

3800-567: The need to provide substantial space to congregate, typically involves intensive management, maintenance, and high costs. Passive recreation, also called "low-intensity recreation" is that which emphasizes the open-space aspect of a park and allows for the preservation of natural habitat. It usually involves a low level of development, such as rustic picnic areas, benches, and trails. Passive recreation typically requires little management and can be provided at very low costs. Some open space managers provide nothing other than trails for physical activity in

3876-895: The ocean, before the next high tide of clean water. For many years, children could take swimming lessons for free at Lumberman's Arch under the Vancouver Sun 's Learn to Swim program. The pool was filled in after developing persistent problems and replaced with the current water spray park in 1987. The spray park, the largest of its kind in Vancouver, consists of a series of water geysers, showers, and cannons. Public park Depending on size, budget, and land features, which varies considerably among individual parks, common features include playgrounds , gardens , hiking, running, fitness trails or paths, bridle paths , sports fields and courts, public restrooms, boat ramps, performance venues, or BBQ and picnic facilities. Park advocates claim that having parks near urban residents, including within

SECTION 50

#1732783746672

3952-430: The park board for $ 25 each and burned. One Squamish family, "Howe Sound Jack" and Sexwalia "Aunt Sally" Kulkalem, continued to live at Xwayxway until Sally died in 1923. Sally's ownership of the property surrounding her home was accepted by authorities in the 1920s, and following her death, the property was purchased from her heir, Mariah Kulkalem, for $ 15,500 and resold to the federal government. Although most residents of

4028-404: The park was built was purchased by Richard Vaughan Yates, an iron merchant and philanthropist, in 1841 for £50,000. The creation of Princes Park showed great foresight and introduced a number of highly influential ideas. First and foremost was the provision of open space for the benefit of townspeople and local residents within an area that was being rapidly built up. Secondly it took the concept of

4104-400: The park's easternmost point. While it is not the largest urban park , Stanley Park is about one-fifth larger than New York City's 340-hectare (840-acre) Central Park and almost half the size of London's 960-hectare (2,360-acre) Richmond Park . Stanley Park has a long history. The land was originally used by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years before British Columbia was colonized by

4180-495: The park. Mayor Oppenheimer led a procession of vehicles around Brockton Point along the newly completed Park Road to the clearing at Prospect Point . An observer at the event wrote: Lord Stanley threw his arms to the heavens, as though embracing within them the whole of 1000 acres of primeval forest, and dedicated it "to the use and enjoyment of peoples of all colours, creeds, and customs, for all time. I name thee Stanley Park." When Lord Stanley made his declaration, there were still

4256-420: The past three years and 95 per cent expect their funding will continue to reduce". Parks can be divided into active and passive recreation areas. Active recreation is that which has an urban character and requires intensive development. It often involves cooperative or team activity, including playgrounds , ball fields, swimming pools, gymnasiums, and skateparks . Active recreation such as team sports, due to

4332-471: The peninsula, first at Brockton Point and later on Deadman Island . "Portuguese Joe" Silvey was the first European to settle in the future park. A Chinese settlement also grew in a cleared area at Anderson Point (near the present day Vancouver Rowing Club ). The peninsula was surveyed and made a military reserve in an 1863 survey completed by the Royal Engineers . Despite the houses and cabins on

4408-457: The principal influences on Olmsted and Calvert's design for New York's Central Park of 1857. Another early public park, the Peel Park, Salford , England, opened on 22 August 1846. Boston Common was purchased for public use grazing cows and as a military parade ground and dump in 1634. It first started to get recreational elements in 1728, arguably making it the first municipal park in

4484-405: The public.) and some EU states that have mostly recreation grounds for kids to play within a park, but may also have a duck pond, large grassy zones not meant exclusively for sports, many trees, and several bushy places. When it occurs as a separate facility on its own, without any parkland, at a street corner or by a shop, the play facility is called a playground . Midden A midden

4560-658: The remains of the earliest Neolithisation process (pottery, cereals and domestic animals). Younger shell middens are found in Latvia (associated with Comb Ware ceramics), Sweden (associated with Pitted Ware ceramics), the Netherlands (associated with Corded Ware ceramics) and Schleswig-Holstein ( Late Neolithic and Iron Age ). All these are examples where communities practised a mixed farming and hunting/gathering economy. On Canada 's west coast, there are shell middens that run for more than 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) along

4636-503: The reservoir's demolition in 1948, there is still a Reservoir Trail at that location. From the 1860s to 1880s, settlers in Burrard Inlet used Brockton Point, Anderson Point, and nearby Deadman Island as burial grounds. This practice stopped when the Mountain View Cemetery opened in 1887. Deadman Island had already had a long history as a burial site. In 1865, unsuspecting newcomer John Morton found old cedar boxes in

SECTION 60

#1732783746672

4712-675: The shoreline. Shell mounds are also credited with the creation of tropical hardwood hammocks , one example being the Otter Mound Preserve in Florida , where shell deposits from Calusa natives provided flood free high areas in otherwise large watered areas. There are instances in which shell middens may have doubled as areas of ceremonial construction or ritual significance. The Woodland period Crystal River site provides an example of this phenomenon. Some shell mounds, known as shell rings , are circular or open arcs with

4788-460: The trees. They turned out to be coffins that had been placed there to keep the remains of important Indigenous persons out of reach of wild animals. In 1886, as its first order of business, Vancouver City Council voted to petition the British government to lease the military reserve for use as a park. To manage their new acquisition, city council appointed a six-person park committee, which in 1890

4864-490: The wealthy. In The Politics of Park Design: A History of Urban Parks in America, (Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1982), Professor Galen Cranz identifies four phases of park design in the U.S. In the late 19th century, city governments purchased large tracts of land on the outskirts of cities to form "pleasure grounds": semi-open, charmingly landscaped areas whose primary purpose was to allow city residents, especially

4940-462: The west, connecting to an additional 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) of beaches and pathways that terminate at the mouth of the Fraser River . By 1933, there were two seaside, saltwater pools in the park, one at Second Beach and one at Lumberman's Arch. These "draw and fill" pools used sun-warmed water from the ocean. Once a week, the pool gates were opened at low tide to release the water back into

5016-488: The workers, to relax in nature. As time passed and the urban area grew around the parks, land in these parks was used for other purposes, such as zoos, golf courses and museums. These parks continue to draw visitors from around the region and are considered regional parks , because they require a higher level of management than smaller local parks. According to the Trust for Public Land , the three most visited municipal parks in

5092-531: The world are joining together to support local parks that have suffered from urban decay and government neglect. A linear park is a park that has a much greater length than width. A typical example of a linear park is a section of a former railway that has been converted into a park called a rail trail or greenway (i.e. the tracks removed, vegetation allowed to grow back). Some examples of linear parks in North America include New York's High Line and

5168-423: Was a source of "clay ... which, when rolled into loaves, as (my people) did it, and heated or roasted before a fire, turned into a white like chalk" that was used to make wool blankets. Indigenous inhabitants also cut down large cedar trees in the area for a variety of traditional purposes, such as making dugout canoes . By 1860, non-Indigenous settlers (Portuguese, Scots, and others) had started building homes on

5244-485: Was eaten or processed and many fragments of stone tools and household goods makes them invaluable objects of archaeological study. Shells have a high calcium carbonate content, which tends to make the middens alkaline . This slows the normal rate of decay caused by soil acidity, leaving a relatively high proportion of organic material (food remnants, organic tools, clothing, human remains) available for archaeologists to find. Edward Sylvester Morse conducted one of

5320-436: Was extended several times and, as of 2023, is 22 kilometres (14 mi) from end to end, making it the world's longest uninterrupted waterfront walkway. The Stanley Park portion is just under half of the entire length, which starts at Canada Place in the downtown core, runs around Stanley Park, along English Bay , around False Creek , and finally to Kitsilano Beach . From there, a trail continues 600 metres (2,000 ft) to

5396-416: Was later erected to commemorate the city's golden jubilee . The fountain, installed in 1936, was purchased from Chicago , a leftover from its world's fair in 1933 . The causeway was widened and extended through the centre of the park in the 1930s with the construction of the Lions Gate Bridge , which connects downtown Vancouver to the North Shore . At the same time, two pedestrian subways were added under

5472-530: Was of secondary importance. As urban land prices climbed, new urban parks in the 1960s and after have been mainly pocket parks . One example of a pocket park is Chess Park in Glendale, California. The American Society of Landscape Architects gave this park a General Design Award of Honor in 2006. These small parks provide greenery, a place to sit outdoors, and often a playground for children. All four types of park continue to exist in urban areas. Because of

5548-401: Was originally known as Coal Peninsula and was set aside for military fortifications to guard the entrance to Vancouver harbour. In 1886, Vancouver City Council successfully sought a lease of the park which was granted for $ 1 per year. In September 1888, Lord Stanley opened the park in his name. Unlike other large urban parks, Stanley Park is not the creation of a landscape architect but rather

5624-484: Was originally surrounded by water, at least at high tide. Vancouver also wrote about meeting the people living there: Here we were met by about fifty [natives] in canoes, who conducted themselves with great decorum and civility, presenting us with several fish cooked and undressed of a sort resembling smelt. These good people, finding we were inclined to make some return for their hospitality, showed much understanding in preferring iron to copper. According to historians,

5700-547: Was rented out to the Batthyány family to carry out such a project but the city had eventually taken back control and in 1813 announced a design competition to finally finish the park; works started in 1816. An early purpose-built public park, although financed privately, was Princes Park in the Liverpool suburb of Toxteth . This was laid out to the designs of Joseph Paxton from 1842 and opened in 1843. The land on which

5776-474: Was replaced with an elected body, the Vancouver Park Board . In 1908, 20 years after the first lease, the federal government renewed the lease for 99 more years. In 2006, a letter from Parks Canada stated that "the Stanley Park lease is perpetually renewable and no action is required by the Park Board in relation to the renewal". On September 27, 1888, the park was officially opened (although

#671328