PROGRESS...planting change

As we inch our way closer to completion of “the village” of project 851 one can’t help but notice the progress of flow on the property. I just love the way the individual units come together yet remain distinct and unique. It literally “feels” good to see Landscapers bring the landscape architecture plan (thank you Hapa ) to life; the reality is better than anything I could have imagined, or tried to decipher from drawings.

Drawings: (might be hard to read but you get the idea aaaaaand you can always come and ask me …)

OLD: (best to look at it from land only perspective— ‘cause there will be changes)

NEW: now remember the drawings… now think about all the choices in materials; concrete, stone, wood, glass, paint etc.)

Getting closer to final stages:

and you gotta love the Bird’s eye view:

but wait there’s more…(never get tired of being a bird):

Looks great in real life right? Now there is a big check for the Katsura Tree which is growing out of the back deck and I’m looking forward to the arrival of the following: hedges, deciduous trees (other than the katsura), shrubs, perennials and ground cover and grasses. Hmmm, so the question becomes what are you looking forward to the most? The white roses! No, wait the pink climing roses. Oh no, now that the Katsura is in it will be the corsican mint and mexican feather grass. Owwww, wait, I forgot about the Italian plum tree. How could I forget the Italian plum tree? I’ve always had a plum tree in the yard, since I was a kid? Oh heck I don’t know I’m looking forward to them all!!

ART...do we need a stair update?

I was talking to Dino the other day trying to figure out exactly when we started the construction phase of Project 851; It would have been too easy, or made too much sense, to actually look back on the blog I’ve been writing to figure it out (lol). At any rate, I was pretty sure we started work in May 2017 but Dino pointed out that it was actually earlier and we are at that two year point now. WOW! It came as a surprise since life seems to present itself in moments and only when you reflect do you, or at least its the case for me, connect the dots to the bigger picture: I’ve been trapped in moment to moment land for quite sometime. So here we are 2 years into what I originally thought was my swan song project heading into early retirement!! haha we’ll see when all is said in done if it’s more like Dua Lipa’s version…

This weeks bigger picture is going to reflect on the moments for the stairs going into the BIG PINK HOUSE. Fingers crossed it won’t take two more years to get them finished. When they’ll be done it will truly be a work of art.

First your start with a ladder, until working stairs arrive and then you need to talk to the experts who can take it from paper to reality.

Experts, experts…. ??? How do they get in the door and to the top floor? ??? more experts, experts…Okay let’s just take out the top floor stairs all together… Oh my, there’s a lot of prep going down to make this happen.

It gets serious when the work horses they bring in are heavier than your car… The Templates are transformed into the actual steel pieces of staircase and side structures… Owwww and the hoisting gear… (“by the way Mira did we mention this was going to look industrial?”)

Above are details, taking pause before the drum roll and the stairs getting installed… (and drum roll please)

WOW, right? From coming in the door to gracefully placed in their perfect spot — it was an industrial dance!

These last 4 are just ‘cause I can, and I love them, and they allude to things to come (hopefully not in 2 years) — fingers crossed it will be 2 weeks..

Swan song — swan dive …https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO8fTk6oKQg

PEOPLE... (it takes a village to make change) continued...

March 7th 2019 we made history, at least it felt like that to me. Here’s what happened. Members of the neighbourhood met with 6-7, maybe 8, city staff from the engineering department and “WE” working together actually had a “real and productive” community engagement session. I’ve attended many, many, many city meeting and this is the first one where I felt we accomplished something on both sides. Quelle Surprise!!! Bravo to the city staff and bravo to the people in this community.

The meeting opened with the city apologizing for their disregard in consultation for the street lamps paid for by the community that were removed. It wasn’t that direct but I like to put it into that framework and acknowledge it was a great start on the side of the city. The people present gave thoughtful feedback on solutions to the present debacle. . Discussion ensued as a large group and then we broke out into 3 tables working together to focus on solutions.

Upon conclusion of the meeting we requested all notes to be sent to us and Claudo, our champion, will pass things along to the community. We are so fortunate to have such great people in our neighbourhood and a score of champions not afraid to respectfully take things on; now that’s what I call a community!

Here’s what we accomplished? I walked away hearing that the community wants the respect deserved to this neighbourhood and to return the lights that were paid for by this community. We understand the lighting requirements by the city and ask for those old lights to be put in the linear park at Union and Hawks, replacing the present hideous (my words) ones there. As we are a historic community we have requested to have a consistent lighting theme throughout our neighbourhood (Gore to the tracks and Prior to Hastings). To this point we would like the community to be consulted on the choice to those lights and we would like the poles to be black. Lastly, to the Union St issue we will be getting arms on those new hwy. lights that reflect the history of the neighbourhood (similar to the ones they’ve put on the west side of the city for their bike lanes) ; note: these lights referencing the past will have globes and they will be frosted glass, similar to what is on Atlantic. Oh and I happened by Commercial Dr. recently and must say those lights would be great on Union St.

It was great to share this exchange with the city staff and have them understand our position as well as tell us the parameters in which they are required to operate so we could come up with realistic solutions. In the past 2 or 3 people would have likely been the ones coming to this solution and now it takes 30- 40 to get involved. Perhaps it’s for the best, as since that meeting I learnt from a local historian that the original street lamps in this neighbourhood, the beautiful ones in the last post, were actually removed from our hood and placed in streets on the west side of the city. Yes, perhaps it’s better that these solutions are not in the hands of 2 or 3 people who lack understanding and/or integrity.

I took a wee look back as some of the overwhelming amount of photos taken with the focus of light and came up with a few to share: old and new, as well as moments of light.

Old… 2 year ongoing pole mess in the back; kitchen with paper lantern light; pink bedroom light main floor; basement or horror.

New…Garden suite kitchen; Garden suite living room pot lights; Garden suite special spot; Upstairs Sasamat lighting to come that is a reference to the Octopus out back (3 hearts and 8 arms/legs)

Just couldn’t resist the moments — light play.

COMMUNITY...It takes a village to help me stay sane

Sanity, hmmm such an interesting word, why do we strive to maintain it? Perhaps we should just roll with the ridiculous and toss cautious sanity to the wind.

Here’s a little Earth, Wind and Fire to help us see the LIGHT (hahaha) as LIGHT is the topic of this post’s community activity.

Yes, you read it correctly, we’re talking Light and street lamps. Claudio, one of our community members, has been all over this issue since the city came and put highway lights down Union street and took away our character/heritage street lamps that we paid for years ago. For so many of us that are stressed from our lives and choices these kinds of things can be dropped and just slip through, but thankfully not in this “hood” as we take care of each other.

So here’s the history on the lights in the hood, so brilliantly documented by Claudio and Angus McIntyre a local photographer. Here’s some of those images from the 70’s when, believe it or not, the neighbourhood was dealing with the same issue…(take a look at the last Community post think there may be a theme happening here?) Could we be ignoring the “locals”, dismissing those who know and understand the history of a place; a community?

Angus writes Claudio: "I was pleased to see my letter of so long ago appear in your email. It just goes to show that as time has passed the City of Vancouver, and its Engineering Department, show the same disregard for Strathcona as they did 45 years ago. 

I photographed the removal of those original light standards, as well as the streetcar tracks and wood block streets. The modern replacements, which I objected to, I likened to flying saucers. But to think that existing replica post top lights in the 800 block Union, pedestrian and bicycle friendly, could not be left in place shows a complete lack of understanding of the neighbourhood.” 

"What really upset me most back in 1973 was the fact that the original light fixtures on East Georgia, formerly Harris Street, had unique box-type bases not found on the other streets. The post top light globes were not original, but had cluster lights on top of the posts similar to those in Gastown.

Another major change you will notice in the early photographs is the lack of street trees."

East Georgia (Harris) looking west from Hawks.

641 East Georgia Street. Removed streetcar rails on sidewalk.

Georgia Street looking west from Campbell Avenue. Incandesent post top streetlights by night.

But take a look at Atlantic Street in Strathcona, and you will find newer post top lamps similar to the ones removed long ago, although they have a sodium vapour light source.

Looking east on Georgia. (With regular painting, these cast iron bases could still be in use today.)

August 13th, 1973 Vancouver Sun

Who would have guessed there was so much to know about street lamps right? Probably, James Mason the original owner and machinist foundry dude. It is and it isn’t about the street lamps in the end it’s really about being respectful and listening to each other. It’s about slowing the world down and not throw out the baby with the bathwater. It’s about doing it right not 2 or 3 or 7 times or taking 45 years …

Looking forward to see how this one unfolds and meeting up with my neighbours, yet again, this week.

Strathcona Community Centre at 5:30 pm on Thursday March 7th in the Activity Room (aka the SRA room)

(I’m extending the invitation to all — let’s shake it up and have some fun)