On Sunday, June 22 I led a mixed group of Richmond residents (and a few visitors from Vancouver) on a walk that was at once pointed and wandering. After introducing myself and giving a brief background on the chapel's history, we did a quick round of names and were just about to head on our journey when a bird flew overhead and relieved itself directly on Keely's head. Luckily for her, more than one tissue appeared at the ready to clean things up and get us moving.
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| Faces of joy & disgust following a surprise bird gift. |
Our first stop was just outside the Gateway Theatre where there was a quick and general consensus that we did not like the silver sculpture that looked like a theatre arena. A moment later, one of our group walked up to the sculpture and realized it's reflective surface allowed him to see himself and the rest of us. Our dislike quickly turned to delight, and this early reminder to take a moment and examine again set the pace for our walk of discovery.
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| Taking an extra moment for discovery! |
I had planned a route that went from the current site of the Chapel in Minoru Park to its original spot at the intersection of River and Cambie Road. The path was designed to go through a range of public (and semi-public) spaces--cultivated parks, temporary sidewalks, pedestrian paths through office building parking lots, play areas, semi-natural walkways--and bring awareness of change to the fore. The mix of new (so many buildings!), old (historical photos, the river), and missing (where were all the old buildings?) raised larger questions of who the city was (being) built for and why it was so hard to walk around. Until we reached the pathway along the river, cars and traffic were a constant presence. Gathering spaces outside the T&T were lovely, but who would want to sit & relax at an intersection with so many cars zooming past?
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| Leftover Christmas lights hang from the trees next to the temporary sidewalk. |
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| Trying to get a vantage of the city from the concrete bunker that is WorkSafeBC. |
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| Safety first at WorkSafeBC |
Everything seemed to change when we reached the Richmond Oval and the pathway of
Water Sky Garden,
Janet Echelman's large-scale installation. I didn't realize until later that the wooden pathway and the hanging sky nets were part of the same piece, but the change in possible walking surfaces sent us all exploring. Almost immediately we were lounging on oversized chairs, touching plants, discovering lost basketballs, leaping on rocks, and trying to figure out just what those big red nets in the air were all about. I know that space inspires and encourages behaviours, and it was clear that the ordered disorder (at least in comparison to the straight sidewalks and concrete enclave of the WorkSafeBC campus) allowed us all to stretch ourselves.
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| Discovering the possibilities of public space outside T&T |
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| Old and new: examining historical photos in the shadow of new development |
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| A moment of pause and a bit of wonder outside the Oval |
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| Looking up and looking across at Water Sky Garden |
The bulk of our walk took us along the Fraser River where we picked salmon berries, watched logs and boxes of food being loaded into the UBC boathouse for a wedding, and clapped, listened and sang into the Sound Garden. We remarked on the terrible design of the washroom sinks, the confusing practice of benches missing most of their backs, and how the quiet beauty of the water called people to slow down.
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| Taking time to feel the flora |
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| A lost basketball, found! |
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| Listening to the sound of Pat Talmey's Spawning |
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| Checking out the development application... |
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| ...and playing where the new dock will go. |
By the time we reached the former home of the Minoru Chapel our eyes were full and out feet tired. We gathered around the printed photo of the site and walked through the gravel parking lot, but found it hard to reconcile the past with the present. It is a strange truth that once something changes, retrieving a memory that wasn't yours feels nearly impossible.
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| Picking salmon berries |
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| Halfway through our journey |
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| The mysteries of the half-backed benches of Richmond |
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| Wishes along the Fraser |
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| Making music, or at least noise, with the local grasses |
Much of the group said goodbye at Aberdeen Station -- off to haircuts and afternoon appointments -- and our much smaller group walked on towards City Centre. The final leg of our walk, beneath the rumble of the SkyTrain and past car dealerships, felt at once crowded and lonely. After pedestrian company along the river pathway, we were often the only people on foot, despite it being a temperate Saturday afternoon.
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| Playing and listening in the Sound Garden |
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| Whispering secrets |
Though this walk was billed as a Walk Back in Time, in the end it felt more like a glimpse into the future, or perhaps simply a snapshot of the present moment: this empty lot before the next building, this row of one story businesses before development applications, this foot in front of the other before arriving somewhere else.
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| At the former home of the Minoru Chapel |
Enormous thanks to everyone who came out to walk, wander, discover, and share stories of what was and what we imagine will be next.
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| Wrapping up with the Chapel site behind us |
