Hastings Mill Park — Attraction in Vancouver

Hastings Mill Park is located on the waterfront in the West Point Grey neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and has recently received an upgrade from a joint partnership between the Vancouver Park Board and local landscape architects at PWL Partnership. The renewed playground was built to engage a wider age range of children and to bring historical significance to the on-site Hastings Mill Museum which showcases Vancouver's logging history.[1]

Hastings Mill ParkOfficial Name: Hastings MillTypeUrban parkLocation1575 Alma St. V6R 3P3Nearest cityVancouver, CanadaCoordinates49°16′22″N 123°11′12″WCreated1913Owned byVancouver Park BoardDesignation1975



Close up of kids' play area at the park

HistoryEdit

The historic site of Hasting Mills Museum, is what draws significance to the park. The land where the museum resides was originally owned by the Provincial Government.[2] The building that hosts the museum was originally the Hastings Mill Store, the first general store erected in Vancouver in 1865 by British Captain Edward Stamp’s British Columbia and Vancouver Island Spar, Lumber and Sawmill Company.[3] This building was one of the few buildings to survive the Great Fire of 1886 and was moved from the burrard inlet by barge to its current location at the foot of Alma Street by the Native Daughters of British Columbia.[3] The museum was officially dedicated as a museum of B.C. historical relics in memory of the pioneers in 1932 and currently shows a wide range of First Nations artifacts as well as photographs from the Vancouver Pioneer Association.[3]

The Museum is open Tuesday-Sunday 1-4 pm and is closed during the months of December and January.[3]

ConstructionEdit

The Vancouver Park board collaborated with the architects at PWL Partnership in order to build a new playground which would be more child friendly and suitable for a wider range of ages.[1] A public open house was conducted in the summer of 2015 in order to gain feedback from the community into the new design.[4] The renovated playground opened in the fall of 2016 and now consists of two tall swings, two toddler swings, two standard swings, adventure log playground and a new playhouse with a sand area.[5] The new playground is made entirely out of wood logs and timber to recall the history of the city's logging pioneer...

Hastings Mill Park's grassy, open field allows views to the tall masts and inviting water of the harbour and ocean beyond. A children's playground, seating areas, and the charming historic Hastings Mill Store Museum make this an interesting and lovely destination.

This park area was originally owned by the Provincial Government. In 1913 the Municipality of Point Grey (before amalgamation of the city in 1929) petitioned the Province for this waterfront property but was rejected as already having enough parkland for residents. Then the Native Daughters of British Columbia leased several of these lots from the Province with their aim being to move the Old Hastings Mill Store to the site and operate it as a museum. The store was one of the few buildings that survived the Great Fire of 1886. In 1930 the Daughters got possession of the building which was moved from downtown by scow to the property they had leased. Premier S.F. Tolmie officially opened the store as a museum on January 17, 1932. Before this time the site was referred to as Alma Park and Thorley Park but after the old store arrived, the Native Daughters started calling it Pioneer Park, the designation of which was scorned by City Archivist Major Skitt Matthews.

In 1940, the Province leased lots 1- 4 for a term of 99 years to the Park Board along with lots 5 - 8. They also acquired the water lots 1- 8 from the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club (RVYC) with the City agreeing to never develop a public bathing beach on that foreshore without the consent of the RVYC . The Park Board also agreed as part of the terms of the lease, to allow the Native Daughters free access to the store building at all times and that they would be sole administrators of the building; their length of occupancy would be the same as the Park Board's lease with the Province and the Daughters must maintain and keep the store in reasonable repair to the satisfaction of the Park Board Superintendent.

In November 1975 the park's name was changed to Hastings Mill Park. This would have much satisfied the then recently departed City Archivist Major Matthews who never agreed with the...

Hastings Mill, at the foot of Alma St. is a small park where people in the area can go to enjoy the scenery that Vancouver is world famous for. Just above a marina, there are a few benches lined up so that your eyes can feast with the West & North Vancouver mountains across the water, and views of Stanley Park and the Downtown buildings. There is also the action happening in the ocean, depending on the time of the year (a regatta in Spring and Summer), the cargo ships entering the Burrard Inlet (year round). All of the above makes this secluded location very popular, specially on a sunny day, when people just pick up a spot and sit/lay on the grass for a relaxing time; if you have young children, there is a playground available there to keep them busy. For a little piece of local history, pay a visit to the Hastings Mill Store right there on on side of the park (check their website for info about it). This little park has a bit of everything, no...