The Lions Gate Bridge, officially known as the First Narrows Bridge, opens for vehicle traffic with a toll fee of 25 cents to cross Burrard Inlet.
Initially conceived as an investment scheme to help develop the real estate market of West Vancouver and financed by brewing tycoon Sir Arthur Guinness through a syndicate called British Pacific Properties Ltd., the 1,500-metre suspension bridge soon became one of the city’s main arteries.
Construction on the project provided much-needed work towards the end of the Great Depression, and the structure became a symbol of hope for many of better economic times ahead although perhaps not for everyone seeing as how a 1933 bylaw authorizing construction included a provision that “no Asiatic person shall be employed in or upon any part of the undertaking or other works.”
When finished, it became the longest suspension bridge in the British Empire and one of the biggest construction projects undertaken in Canada during the 1930s.
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth presided over the official opening during a royal visit to Canada the following May.
The name refers to “The Lions,” a pair of North Shore mountain peaks that northbound traffic heads towards. A pair of concrete lions, designed by sculptor Charles Marega, were installed at the Stanley Park entrance in 1939.
The Lions Gate Bridge was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2005.
