Lumberman's Arch

In the open clearing, four unfinished cedar trunks meet in a broad arch, but they do not mark a passage into the park. People gather here for picnics and major city celebrations. The name recalls British Columbia's forest industry and the association connected with the creation of this structure. The commemorative plaque retains the name of the architect who devised its early appearance.

Four enormous cedar logs beside the path gave the entire clearing its name. Picnics and major city events are held here, although the arch itself marks neither an entrance nor the park boundary. It ended up here after serving its first purpose in downtown Vancouver.

In September nineteen twelve, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, Governor General of Canada and son of Queen Victoria, arrived in the city. He was to open a bridge and a new courthouse. Civic communities and professional associations erected their own welcome arches along the route of his carriage. Manufacturers of lumber and wooden roof shingles wanted to showcase the industry that supported them and brought the province its main revenue.

Thus, “Lumberman” in the name refers primarily to the members of the industry association that commissioned the structure. They hired George Pegram Bowie, an architect who had recently opened his own practice. Bowie created a wooden likeness of the façade of a Greek temple. One giant Douglas fir was cut into eight logs, each about six meters long and more than a meter in diameter. The bark was left on, the logs were set up as columns, and a pediment with flags was laid across the top. Contemporaries maintained that the entire structure contained not a single nail. It sounded like an advertisement for the craftsmanship and durability of local timber.

The arch stood over the intersection of Pender Street and Hamilton Street, and the royal procession passed beneath it. After the duke's departure, the temporary street decoration was no longer needed. The association gave it to Stanley Park; in nineteen thirteen, the structure was taken apart, transported to this clearing, and reassembled. In this way, a greeting intended for a single passage became a permanent gathering place.

Bowie soon left his architectural practice and volunteered for the First World War. He rose to the rank of captain and died of wounds on the Western Front in nineteen fifteen. Four years later, the Vancouver Park Board named the structure Bowie's Arch. The official dedication did not displace the familiar name: city residents continued to call it Lumberman's Arch.

By nineteen forty-seven, part of the old structure had collapsed. The rotted logs were deemed dangerous and dismantled. In nineteen fifty-two, the Vancouver Park Board and the BC Lumber Manufacturers Association installed the present arch of unfinished cedar trunks. The eight columns and triangular pediment are no longer here. Bowie's name remained on the commemorative plaque, while the clearing and the second arch retained the name of its first commissioners.