The Mural

Master designer, Tony Heinsbergen, wanted to put a mural on the ceiling of the newly renovated Orpheum but that wasn't in the budget. Tony kept arguing that the ceiling needed a mural and the architects kept having to say no. Finally Heinsbergen made them an offer they couldn't refuse so the architects paid for the mural out of their own pockets. (Eventually they were able to get the Vancouver Foundation to reimburse them the monies.)

During the winter of 1975/76 the mural was painted on 24 large canvas panels in his Los Angeles studio. Heinsbergen and his 61-year-old cousin and associate of 45 years, Frank Bouman, oversaw the work.  The panels were then shipped to Vancouver where they attached to the dome. Heinsbergen, Bouman and their assistants then added final details and background on the site.

The mural that Heinsbergen and his staff created may be mythical but some of the people in the painting are based on real people. There is a bearded man serenading a muse and that man is architect Paul Merrick. Merrick supplied Heinsbergen with photos of his children and they are up there in different guises as well. There is a tiger in the mural and that is to represent Heinsbergen's Nova Scotia born wife who Tony referred to as his 'little tiger'. Project architect Ron Nelson is the man conducting the orchestra.

Leonard Frank took this photo on February 9, 1928. From the Vancouver Public Library.

The mural was 75 feet by 50 feet. The technique that Heinsbergen used to attach the canvas to the dome, to make it flexible enough, was a formula that his master in the Netherlands had used. Before sailing to the United States, Heinsbergen had asked his master for his secret. As Heinsbergen went to board the ship that would take him to his new land, his master gave him an envelope he was to open once at sea. In it was the formula and Heinsbergen used that for over seventy years.

Heinsbergen told a Los Angeles interviewer that he was most proud of the mural he created for the Vancouver Orpheum. (He celebrated his 82nd birthday while working on it) His previous decoration that he had done in 1927 had been covered with felt and plastered over. This time though his work should remain for people to see for many more decades.

Leonard Frank January 2, 1929. Vancouver Public Library.

Leonard Frank, August 1932. Vancouver Public Library.

The Mural.

The Orpheum wasn't Heinsbergen's first foray into Vancouver. He had worked on the former Orpheum in 1918. From 1916 to 1924, he visited three times to work on the first Pantages Theatre, which was at 20 West Hastings.

On June 14, 1981, at the age of 86, Tony Heinsbergen died. However, the work has left behind will be admired for generations to come.

This blog entry first appeared in May of 2012.

For those of you who have read my book Missing Flowers, the house that Devon and Darius rented an apartment in was inspired by the house in the back.

Thank you goes to The History of Metropolitan Vancouver website for the above information.

I hope you find the beauty  around you.

MM

Can you guess what the MM stands for? Yup. This is the last of the photos related to the mural - Mural Memories. I hope you enjoy it.

Carnegie Centre. It has had some work done on it this year and is looking pretty good for being 109 years old. American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie donated money for Vancouver to build a library with certain conditions applied. It was also the last building of any civic importance - besides law enforcement buildings - to be built in the downtown eastside.

This was the first fire hall and the last  fire hall to have horse drawn wagons. It was built in 1905.

The York Rooms at 259 Powell Street is on the mural. All it says though is that this building, and the one next to it which I am going to show you, were built around 1908.

When this building was built in 1912 it was called the Toronto Apartments. Now, as you can see, it is called The Astoria Hotel and has one of the city's oldest boxing rings in the basement. I've mentioned this before and I intend on getting down there to take photos.

Remember when I wrote on the Ferrera Court? Built in 1912 by Agostino Gabrele Ferrara who was a well known restuaranteur. Jack Benny's wife once lived in this building.

The Hotel Patricia was built between 1912-1914 as a medical center. Later it became a hotel and welcomed such legendary musicians as Duke Ellington and Ferdinand 'Jelly Roll' Morton.

 300 Alexander was originally the Victoria & Vancouver Stevedoring Co. This building sits on one of the first addresses in Vancouver to receive water service in 1888.

Wow! I got a lot of entries out of that wall painting and I didn't get to everything. Some buildings are no longer there and some I couldn't get to.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill, Andrew Carnegie, Vancouver,York Rooms,Strathcona,Powell Street,History,Astoria Hotel

Nourishment

I was strolling down to Chinatown today. The sun was out, there was a cool breeze and everything still seems fresh from yesterday's downpour. I realize that I go to the Strathcona area a lot to take photos but there is a reason for that. Not only is it close to me but there is so much history to write on.

At the corner of Gore and East Pender I noticed this building shining in the sun.

It is gorgeous. Then I remembered that a few weeks ago there had been an artist working on a mural at the parking lot. The parking lot that was right behind me so I turned around to see how the artwork was coming along and I was blown away. As I think you may be too.

Just look at the talent that has gone into creating this. It takes up the entire outside wall of a building. And the artists even left a message for those who gaze upon their work.

This will be a wall I will stop to admire whenever I am in the area. If you happen to be nearby take the time to see it. You won't regret it.

There was a reason though that I was going to Chinatown today. My father told me to check out a restaurant that his friend Esther had told him about.

This is the oldest Chinese restaurant in Vancouver and dates back to the late 1940s. It is also the last of the 'village-style' Cantonese restaurants. Foo's Ho Ho still follows a peasant style method of cooking that was brought over with certain Chinese immigrants during the California Gold Rush.

The interesting thing about writing this blog is not only searching out a certain landmark such as the restaurant but also finding other little tidbits. Like the fact that Foo's Ho Ho is located on the ground floor of the New Sun Ah Hotel. This hotel was built in 1910 with additions being added in 1911. The top three floors had rooms that were homes for the Chinese labourers. 

Once I got a few pictures around here I did start to wander again. It was such a beautiful day and my landlord is renovating the suite above me which means I didn't really want to go home and deal with the noise. So I decided to give my soul a bit more nourishment.

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen was a Chinese revolutionary who is referred to as the founding father of  Republican China and was instrumental in inspiring the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty. He is also considered to be one of China's greatest political leaders.

The design of this garden is based on that balance and harmony of the four elements - rock, water, plants and architecture. Styled after a classic Chinese gardent, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park is an experience in the eternal yin and yang.

Sometimes nature can have such a calming effect. When combined with the beauty of what humans can create I can see where how it is a balance. It is so beautiful to look at and I can think of at least two television series that had scenes in this garden - Poltergeist, The Legacy and Highlander, The Series - both favorites of mine.

I even managed to catch one park resident getting ready for his (or her) close up.

Notice the iconic 'W' in the background that used to be on the roof of the Woodwards department store. The building behind that contains the new condos that have gone up on the ground where Woodwards used to be.

And some inhabitants seemed to be a little camera shy.

While others just carried on with the day.

There wasn't any admission to the park that I went to though there is to go through the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. Someday I will have the honor of going through there too.

Before I left I had to be certain to take a picture of this sign in the distance.

A comforting thought. When I started to do a little research on it I found out more information. Too much for just a little entry. More on this another day.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

TAGS:Vancouver, Karen Magill, Foo's Ho Ho Restaurant, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen,mural,Gore,gardens,history,