The Vancouver bridge arson attack took place on April 29, 1915, when two key bridges in the West Coast Canadian city of Vancouver,

Granville Street Bridge The Granville Street Bridge or Granville Bridge is an eight-lane fixed cantilever/truss bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia, carrying Granville Street between Downtown Vancouver southwest and the Fairview neighborhood. It spans False Creek a ...

and

Connaught Bridge Connaught Bridge (2 May 1976 – after 1994) was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. Trained in the United Kingdom by Henry Cecil she raced for two seasons, winning five of her nine races. As a two-year-old she showed some promise, winning ...

were set on fire.

Background

The

was completed in 1911 for $740,000, opening to traffic on May 24, 1911. The following year, Canada's Governor General, the

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (Arthur William Patrick Albert; 1 May 185016 January 1942), was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He served as Gov ...

, accompanied by the Duchess and their daughter,

Princess Patricia Lady Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth Ramsay, (born Princess Patricia of Connaught; 17 March 1886 – 12 January 1974) was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Upon her marriage to Alexander Ramsay, she relinquished her title of a British prin ...

, visited Vancouver to officiate at a ceremony renaming the new crossing as the "Connaught Bridge" on September 20, 1912. The name "Connaught" never caught on, and most people continued to call it simply the "Cambie Street Bridge", after the street that runs across it,

Cambie Street Cambie Street is a street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is named for Henry John Cambie, chief surveyor of the Canadian Pacific Railway's western division (as is Cambie Road, a major thoroughfare in nearby Richmond). There are two d ...

, named for pioneer Vancouver resident

Henry John Cambie Henry John Cambie (October 25, 1836 in County Tipperary, Ireland – April 23, 1928 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) was a Canadian surveyor and civil engineer and a notable figure in the completion of Canada's transcontinental railway. H ...

Fire

The fires happened on April 29, 1915. The American media widely reported that the fires were set by German immigrants celebrating the Imperial German victory over the Canadians at Ypres, Belgium. The fire on the caused a span of the

to collapse and caused about $90,000 in damage.

Arrests

Four Germans were arrested and interned Baron von Luttowitz (related to the Imperial German Kaiser), Dr. Otto Grumert, Paul Koop and Frederich Spritzel.

Bibliography

Notes References * - Total pages: 882 * * * * {{German sponsored acts of terrorism during WWI Conflicts in 1915 1915 crimes in Canada Rail transport in British Columbia Disasters in British Columbia History of British Columbia World War I spies for Germany Acts of sabotage Canada in World War I Transportation disasters in British Columbia 1915 in rail transport 1915 in British Columbia Terrorist incidents in the 1910s Canadian home front during World War I April 1915 events Attacks on bridges Terrorist incidents in Canada

Background

Fire

Arrests

See also

Bibliography