Many of you will know Walter Draycott as the bronze figure who sits on a bench in Triangle Park at the corner of Lynn Valley Road and Mountain Highway. That he deserved to be immortalized is without question. He was a veteran of the Boer War and WWI. But his work documenting the development of Lynn Valley is what amazes me. Using his education in topography, his experience as a sketcher during the war, his talent as a photographer, and his interest in natural and social history, he published a 140-page book called Early Days in Lynn Valley. This book has become a definitive historical record and probably his most important legacy. However, I recently discovered another amazing legacy in his annual Xmas cards, drawn and annotated by him and sent to his closest friends. Many of these cards are held by the Archives of North Vancouver. I spent an afternoon there, going through his cards, laughing out loud and uttering “wow” more times than the other users of the Archives probably wished to hear! His love of the natural world, gardening and the “good old days” is evident, documented in fine detail and with a great sense of humour. But what really impressed me was how his yearly themes are still relevant today – inflation, the “cost” of development, crazy weather, thievery and so much more. Read on as I share my favourites. And watch for his signature squirrel which is present on every single card!
The Jewel in the Green Necklace
North Vancouver’s Victoria Park is an oasis of lawns, shrubs and trees set amidst high-rises and surrounded by a steady flow of traffic. The east park is the site of the North Vancouver Cenotaph and the 1950s Cold War Air Siren while the west park is home to an equestrian sculpture and granite horse trough, a reminder of the park’s beginnings in the early 19th century when horse power was indeed horse power and when Victoria Park was created as the jewel of Edward Mahon’s vision, the Green Necklace.
The Timeless Pink Palace
The Villa Maris, a pink beacon in the skies of West Vancouver, is one of the most iconic modernist apartment buildings in the Lower Mainland and is a rare Canadian example of New Sensualism, a Miami Beach offshoot of Modernism. From the outside, it screams Miami Modern with its curved wall of parabolic arches and hot pink colour! But what most people don’t know is that the inside is even more “wow”, with many of its original features including a lobby, staircase and pool that was influenced by the Hollywood Regency and Miami Modernism Styles. It’s easy to envision Elizabeth Taylor or Cary Grant sashaying through the lobby, posing by the pool or theatrically descending the staircase! Join us for a virtual walk through the interior!