History of Queen Elizabeth Park Essay Example

Introduction

Queen Elizabeth Park is a park located on a 52 hectare (130 Acre) piece of land. The surface of the park was first scarred at the turn of the twentieth century where the park was quarried for rock. The rock was used to build Vancouver's first roadways. Initially, the park was known affectionately as Little Mountain (Vancouver, 2018). This is so because the landmark was just over five hundred feet above sea level. After the excavation of the rock, the Canadian Pacific railway in 1919 offered the quarry to the Vancouver Park Board Libraxus. (Hall & Robertson, 1995). However, no action was taken on the real estate at that time. The Vancouver Park Board later acquired the property in 1929. At this time the park contained two water reservoirs used by the city for drinking water (Vancouver, 2018).

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The park was renamed Queen Elizabeth Park on April 1940 after the park was visited by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to Vancouver. The park is a major tourist attraction in the world. The park to date comprises of an Arboretum, quarry gardens, the Bloedel floral conservatory, restaurant, sculptures, pitch and putt celebration pavilion, fountain, and reservoir (Vancouver, 2018). This essay will describe and analyze the area covered by the park and describe how humans have altered the space. The Essay will also discuss the reflections of culture, economics, and environmental forces, show how Elizabeth Park affects the values, tastes, and aspirations of the people associated with the park.

The Bloedel Conservatory

The Bloedel Conservatory sits on top of Queen Elizabeth Park. The idea to build the conservatory was conceptualized by Stuart Lefeaux, a Superintendent of the Vancouver Park Board and his deputy Bill Livingstone during the Centennial celebrations. The idea was to build a conservatory for exotic plants which would serve as an icon for the city as well as serve educational purposes. The two approached timber industrialist Prentice Bloedel who was the co-founder of MacMillan Bloedel Company. The company contributed $1.4 million to build the conservatory, surrounding plaza and fountains with contributions from the provincial government and the city of Vancouver (Sketchley & Clowes, 1976). This donation by MacMillan Bloedel was the largest gift ever received by the city and was exemplified by the post-war trend of philanthropy where business people wished to have their names associated with developments of cities.

The Bloedel Conservatory was designed by renowned Architect McKinley Underwood. It is a triodetic dome inspired by Buckminster Fuller's iconic Expo '67 dome located in Montreal. The park board in 2009 proposed demolition of the conservatory but faced a lot of opposition from different groups.

Fountain

Queen Elizabeth Park also has a water fountain which consists of five high-pressure nozzles fused together. The nozzles are surrounded by a field of 65 shorter jets and operate on a program to vary the heights of the jets. The fountain is one of the central signatures of the park. The fountain is also an integral part of the new Queen Elizabeth Plaza which was put up in 2007 (Vancouver, 2018).

The addition of the fountain to the Queen Elizabeth Par has been a creation which has had advance effects on the life of the society and those that visit the par every day Libraxus. (Hall & Robertson, 1995). The atmosphere created by the fountain is a cool and friendly environment which cools the mind (Vancouver, 2018).

The fountain landscape has been altered by the introduction of the Henry Moore's bronze sculpture "Knife Edge Two Piece. This sculpture was installed adjacent to the new fountain thus acting as an addition to the beauty of the fountain. A visit to the fountain leaves one with wonderful memories and the urge to visit the park more and more.

Sculptures, Pitch and Putt, Celebration Pavilion

Other additional features at the Queen Elizabeth Park are the Pitch & Putt which was added in 1963, the Lions Clock in 1995 and the popular photo session sculpture by J. Seward Johnson Jr. Most recently the park has received an uplift which has changed the entire landscape (Sketchley & Clowes, 1976). The Queen Elizabeth Plaza which is situated adjacent the Bloedel Conservatory was redeveloped at the cost of over six million dollars. The Plaza was officially opened in 2007. The plaza is located on a 1.2-hectare area. It includes the celebration pavilion, the dramatic dancing waters fountain, ornamental gardens, and tai-chi arbors.

Reservoir

The reservoir at Queen Elizabeth Park is but at the top of Little Mountain. The reservoir is the principal source of drinking water in Vancouver. Metro Vancouver operates the water reservoir. The location of the reservoir was influenced by the fact that it is the highest point within the city thus the flow of water would be influenced by gravity. The Open-air reservoir was built in the 1920's. Later in 1965 concrete roof was added to the open-air water supply (Vancouver, 2018).

The reservoir was completely rebuilt in 2001 to 2005 with the aim of increasing the capacity to 45 million gallons of water in two separate earthquake proof cells. The salient reservoir features include; double roofing membrane, two independent reservoir cells for operational flexibility and a state of the art valve chamber and inlet/outlet system. The reservoir is also earthquake resistance since it has a maximum credible earthquake level design of 1/10000 year. The capacity of the newly built reservoir has increased the supply of water by 25% which is equivalent of 175 million liters (Vancouver, 2018). A wheelchair-accessible viewing platform for safe viewing has also been constructed at the reservoir. This is used by the public to view the reservoir.

The reservoir has been integrated into the park environment and forms the foundation for a centerpiece addition to the public recreation facilities which are available at the Queen Elizabeth Park. The project construction is also expected to impact on the future generations. The society was involved in the design and construction of the reservoir.

Restaurant

Queen Elizabeth Park landscape has also been influenced by the Seasons in the Park Restaurant. The restaurant was part of the original plan of the park but was only built in 1974 (Sketchley & Clowes, 1976). The restaurant is owned by the park board but leased to an independent operator (Vancouver, 2018). This addition to the park supplements the recreational facilities located within the Queen Elizabeth Park.

Reflections of Culture, Economics, and Environmental Forces

Queen Elizabeth Park is significant for its historical, symbolic, cultural, technological and social values. The landscape of the park and in particular the integration of technology and building methods used in the construction creates both an exotic ecological environment and futuristic design. Queen Elizabeth is an important example of landscape rehabilitation since the construction of the park created an open space and amenities for public use. The park is an integral part of the cultural experience and development of the city.

The conservatory has influenced the lives of the society as it acts as a recreational site as well as an educational site. The conservatory is famous for the 230 colorful, free-flying birds. There are handy bird guides and species ranging from exotic finches, Chinese pheasants, African parrots, and dwarf macaws among others. These different species can be studied and researched.

The Bloedel conservatory demonstrates the importance of environment conservation through habitat protection and plant conservation. The conservatory also houses many of the endangered ecosystems due to its different climate zones. The tropical rainforest habitat contains tree species which are considered to be threatened. The subtropical rainforest habitat contains banyan and fig trees as well as orchids due it's less humidity and brighter light. The desert zone humidity is kept low to stimulate a desert habitat. Succulents and cacti are grown here.

The Bloedel conservatory housing a variety of tropical birds and plants represents a cultural extension of the early horticultural tradition of Vancouver. Vancouver Park and in particular the Queen Elizabeth park have always been time-honored depositories for exotic animal and plant life which are displayed for education and entertainment of the Vancouver society. The conservatory also reflects the spirit of philanthropy which the community can emulate.

Queen Elizabeth Park has had direct and indirect economic value to the city of Vancouver. Economic values from parks may result from immediate human use and interaction with the park while in other cases the value is achieved from a distance. Park's value can be categorized as both functional and instrumental. In the case of instrumental parks, the society receives direct benefits from the use of the parks. On the other hand, functional parks contribute value without the interaction of human consciousness. Queen Elizabeth Park can be classified as an instrumental park as well as a functional park. The society derives direct economic value from the use of the park. The park receives a high number of visitors and is a major tourist attraction site in the city. The gate charges, as well as other charges in the park, are all repatriated back to the city authorities. These proceeds are then used by the authorities to provide social amenities and services to the society. Though the value from the park is indirect, the residents of the city have benefited over the years since the park was opened. The park is also a source of the city's drinking water. This represents a high economic value which the society derives from the park. Regarding functional value, Queen Elizabeth Park is used for educational and recreational purposes. The park is widely used as a venue for weddings. There is a distinctive and beautiful wedding venue, the Celebration Pavilion. The venue provides incredible views and a picture-perfect setting which has been used widely for weddings.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Queen Elizabeth Park has widely influenced the city of Vancouver and the world through its cultural, economic and environmental implications. The landscape of the park has changed over the years since the park opened in the early twentieth century. The landscape of the area continues to change to date.

References

Hall, L., & Robertson, C. (1995). Vancouver. BC 93-06-02 13).(1995). For seven generations: An information legacy of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

Sketchley, D. A., & Clowes, R. M. (1976). A gravity survey of the igneous body at Little Mountain Vancouver BC: J. Can. Soc. Expl. Geophys, 12, 64-74.

Vancouver, C. (2018). History of Queen Elizabeth Park. [online] Vancouver.ca. Available at: https://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/Story-of-Queen-Elizabeth-Park.aspx [Accessed 28 Sep. 2018].