Larwill Park, also known as the Cambie Street Grounds, is a former park and sporting field in what is now downtown

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia, Canada. Larwill Park was the location of the bus depot of Pacific Coach Stage Lines and

Greyhound Bus Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as intercity buses in Mexico. B ...

from

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

until 1993, when the bus depot moved to

Pacific Central Station Pacific Central Station is a railway station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which acts as the western terminus of Via Rail's cross-country ''Canadian (train), The Canadian'' service to Toronto, Ontario, and the northern terminus of Unite ...

. Since then, Larwill Park has been a parking lot. The

Vancouver Art Gallery The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Fr ...

has selected it for the location of a new museum building.

Location and history

Bounded by Cambie, Dunsmuir, Beatty and

Georgia Street Georgia Street is an east–west street in the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Its section in Downtown Vancouver, designated West Georgia Street, serves as one of the primary streets for the financial and central busi ...

s, the former park occupied a whole city block and was laid out at the time of the

CPR Townsite Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure used during cardiac or respiratory arrest that involves chest compressions, often combined with artificial ventilation, to preserve brain function and maintain circulation until spon ...

survey in the early 1880s. It was Vancouver's second sporting grounds, the first being on

Brockton Point Brockton Point is a headland off the Downtown Peninsula of Vancouver, on the north side of Coal Harbour. Named after Francis Brockton, it is the most easterly part of Stanley Park and is home to a 100-year-old lighthouse and several hand-carve ...

in what is now Stanley Park, and was used for various sports. A house on the corner of the lot was occupied by an Alfred Larwill ("Al" or "Fred"), who good-naturedly stored a variety of game equipment in his toolshed and allowed team members to use his dining room as a dressing room. Located midway between the city's old downtown around Hastings Street in

Gastown Gastown is the original settlement that became the core of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and a national historic site and a neighbourhood in the northwest section of the Downtown Eastside, adjacent to Downtown Vancouver. Its ...

and newer areas uptown around Granville, the park naturally became a centre for public meetings, the most infamous a rally by the

Knights of Labour The Knights of Labor (K of L), officially the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was the largest American labor movement of the 19th century, claiming for a time nearly one million members. It operated in the United States as well in ...

, which led to the

1907 Vancouver anti-Asian riots The Vancouver riots occurred September 7–9, 1907, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. At about the same time there were similar 1907 Bellingham race riot, anti-Asian riots in Bellingham, Washington, Pacific Coast race riots of 1907, San Fran ...

, with the

Beatty Street Drill Hall The Beatty Street Drill Hall is a Canadian Forces armoury located at 620 Beatty Street in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the home of The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own), an armoured reconnaissance reserve regiment, the old ...

, across Beatty Street on the block's northeast flank, serving as a stage and podium. Baseball, cricket and lacrosse teams made use of the field year round. The playing fields also served as military drill-grounds, with the city's first muster being called up for the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

using the site for that purpose, as well as for World Wars I and II. The site was also a main site for rallies by the unemployed and labour organizations in the 1930s. In July 1943 (during World War II), a ceremony was held to dedicate the park to Al Larwill, some 32 years after his death in 1911. However, later that year, while the men who had used it for sport and politics were away at war and not around to prevent it, the site was converted into the bus depot.

2010 Olympics

Often used for parking by

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (, trading as Canada Post (), is a Canadian Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operating name of the Post Office Department of the Can ...

trucks and for film production "circuses", the lot was one of two main sites for cultural events and "nightly celebrations", although not an official venue, during the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Future Vancouver Art Gallery site

After the bus depot vacated Larwill Park in 1993, it became the only block of vacant public land in downtown Vancouver. It was proposed as a location for various cultural facilities, including the

. On April 24, 2013, Vancouver City Council voted to designate the property as the site for a new art gallery building. On September 29, 2015, the gallery unveiled drawings by architects

Herzog & de Meuron Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd. is an international architecture firm headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, with additional offices in Berlin, Hong Kong, London, Munich, New York City, Paris, and San Francisco. Founded in 1978 by Jacques Herzog and ...

for a new museum building. Relocating to Larwill Park will double the gallery's exhibition space. They were to break ground in 2017, but construction was delayed until funding was secured."Director’s exit reframes debate over Vancouver Art Gallery’s future." Vancouver Courier.
Accessed September 30, 2020.

References

{{coord, 49, 16, 46.43, N, 123, 6, 42.96, W, type:landmark_region:CA, display=title Parks in Vancouver History of Vancouver Venues of the 2010 Winter Olympics