Anyone visiting Queen Elizabeth Park recently will have noticed the scaffolding, a large cross beam and what essentially is shrink wrap placed around and across the iconic dome of the Bloedel Conservatory.
It’s hard to miss.
The scaffolding marks the start of a large restoration project, which includes the replacement of 400 damaged and aging panels in the centre of the dome and above the entrance and the installation of the fan and ventilation system.
Vision Vancouver park board commissioner Aaron Jasper says the board approved $1 million for this first phase of the project in the 2011 capital plan, but only after the VanDusen Botanical Garden Association partnered with the board and Friends of Bloedel to take over operations of the popular attraction. In 2010, the Vision Vancouver-dominated park board approved a budget that included a recommendation to tear down the dome due to the fact it was losing $300,000 annually.
Jasper says the park board is so confident the attraction will eventually make a profit, or at least break even, it included the $1 million in the 2011 capital plan. Jasper hopes more funds for Bloedel will be made available in the 2014 capital plan. The board also sought funding from the federal government, which dedicated another $225,000 to the first phase of the restoration project.
According to the Friends of the Bloedel blog, there are 1,490 “bubbles” in 32 different sizes that make up the dome and 12 panels will be replaced each day during this first phase of the project. Beginning Feb. 1, the Bloedel Conservatory will be open seven days a week during regular hours.
For more information visit bloedel.wordpress.com.
Dude, where’s my sign?
Well, Vancouverites have made it very clear where their priorities lie.
While 370 beach users responded to a public consultation regarding a proposed 12-foot wide paved bike path through Kits Beach and Hadden parks, 372 gave their opinion about the fate of the Dude Chilling Park sign. (Sigh.)
For anyone not familiar with the now infamous piece, it mysteriously appeared in Guelph Park in November 2012 as an exact replica of an official park board sign. The name pays homage to the Reclining Figure sculpture by Michael Dennis, which, basically, chills in the park.
The sign was quickly removed, but by the power that is social media, a petition was quickly launched to bring it back.
A four-page report from park board staff shows 66 per cent of the 372 who responded want the sign installed where it was originally erected. Staff also recommends installing a plaque adjacent to the sign describing the piece and referencing the Coast Salish connection to the land.
The report goes to the park board Feb. 3.
(This story has been revised since it was first published.)
sthomas@vancourier.com
twitter.com/sthomas10
