Bloedel Floral Conservatory Plaza Cherry Blossoms in spring Park in autumn Duck Pond Queen Elizabeth Park is a 130-acre

municipal park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is located on top of Little Mountain approximately above sea level and is the location of former

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...

quarries dug in the beginning of the twentieth century to provide materials for roads in the city.

History

Before European settlement, the park was an old-growth forest and a spawning ground for salmon. Grey wolves, elk and bears would frequent the area. The settler population which began in earnest in the 1870s exterminated the grey wolves, elk and bears, chopped down all the old growth forest and paved over the salmon creeks. The salmon creeks that extend from Queen Elizabeth to False Creek do still exist today, however, they have been paved over. In 1936, the BC Tulip Association suggested the creation of sunken gardens within the old quarries to the city's park board. By the end of that decade, the site had been turned over to the Vancouver Park Board for park and recreation purposes. The park was dedicated by King George VI and his consort, Queen Elizabeth (the mother of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

) during their

visit Visit refer as go to see and spend time with socially. Visit may refer to: *State visit, a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country * Conjugal visit, in which a prisoner is permitted to spend several hours or days in private with a visi ...

to Vancouver in 1939, as

King and Queen of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarchy is the found ...

. From that time, Park staff incrementally transformed the overgrown hillsides into Canada's first civic

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

, with a generous donation from the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association. The popular quarry gardens were designed by Park Board Deputy Superintendent Bill Livingstone and were unveiled in the early 1960s. Prentice Bloedel's gift of $1.25 million funded the open reservoirs and built the country's first

geodesic In geometry, a geodesic () is a curve representing in some sense the shortest path ( arc) between two points in a surface, or more generally in a Riemannian manifold. The term also has meaning in any differentiable manifold with a connecti ...

conservatory, which is surrounded by covered walkways, lighted fountains and a sculpture,

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Mo ...

's '' Knife Edge Two Piece 1962–65''. The Bloedel Floral Conservatory opened on December 6, 1969 amidst much jubilation. Its enclosed tropical garden houses 500 exotic plants and flowers and more than a hundred free-flying tropical birds.

Attractions

There are several other attractions in the park including: * Arboretum * Celebration Pavilion * Bloedel Floral Conservatory * Fountains/Plaza * Quarry Gardens * Painters' Corner * Sculpture Several episodes of the long running TV show ''

Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, ...

'' were filmed there.

Activities

Activities at Queen Elizabeth Park include: *

Pitch and putt Pitch and putt is an amateur sport very similar to, and derived from, golf, where the hole length is typically up to and just 2–3 clubs are typically used. The game was organised and developed in Ireland during the early 20th century, befor ...

golf course * Little Mountain

disc golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...

course *

Tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be ...

s * Lawn bowling club * Tai Chi * Jogging

References

External links

City of Vancouver - Queen Elizabeth Park

1939 film footage of the park
{{Authority control Arboreta in Canada Gardens in Canada Parks in Vancouver