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For the first time in over 60 years the iconic "RIDGE" sign is nowhere to be seen![/caption]
Work appears to be well underway on gutting the various interiors of the Ridge Centre, the 1950s-era, block long, strip mall at 16th Avenue, and Arbutus Street, which is making way for a new Cressey condo development to be called Arbutus Ridge, as detailed in an earlier post. ►
The most visible sign the Centre is coming down is the one you can't see -- the big red "RIDGE" sign, which has sat atop the movie theatre for over 60 years, is gone. It will be restored, or recreated, to add a decorative "historical" detail to the new development. However, the bowling alley's equally iconic bowling pin is still there. Are there really no plans to save it?
The McDonalds restaurant on the North-West corner of 16th, and Arbutus has been stripped bare. The franchise owner, John Marsh, will have moved everything useful to his other McDonalds locations, numbering four or five. Every window shows a view of demolition in progress. That progress may be slow given the age of the building, and the possibility that it contains nasty old things like asbestos insulation.
On the Sunday afternoon I came by to see the "progress," the only activity at the Ridge Centre was in the restaurant on the South-West corner of 15th, and Arbutus. The owner of the Ridge Garden Restaurant, an anchor tenant in the Ridge Centre for 24 years, was there for the last time ever. He was a little emotional when I spoke to him, and, it seemed more than a little "unhappy" at the way things had turned out. He told me none of the residents in the area wanted this redevelopment -- not one. I asked him if he'd been been offered the option of coming back, when the new development was finished. He said flatly he was given no option. He told me McDonalds wouldn't be back either (a McDonalds manager at the Broadway and Granville location confirmed this).
The Ridge Garden's owner told me he was still three weeks away from opening his new location on 24th Avenue, and Macdonald Street -- a good location, I suggested, in the heart of Kitsilano, and not far at all for his regular clientele, this was certainly what he was hoping, he said. Click on the images to enlarge them.
For the first time in over 60 years the iconic "RIDGE" sign is nowhere to be seen![/caption]Work appears to be well underway on gutting the various interiors of the Ridge Centre, the 1950s-era, block long, strip mall at 16th Avenue, and Arbutus Street, which is making way for a new Cressey condo development to be called Arbutus Ridge, as detailed in an earlier post. ►
The most visible sign the Centre is coming down is the one you can't see -- the big red "RIDGE" sign, which has sat atop the movie theatre for over 60 years, is gone. It will be restored, or recreated, to add a decorative "historical" detail to the new development. However, the bowling alley's equally iconic bowling pin is still there. Are there really no plans to save it?
The McDonalds restaurant on the North-West corner of 16th, and Arbutus has been stripped bare. The franchise owner, John Marsh, will have moved everything useful to his other McDonalds locations, numbering four or five. Every window shows a view of demolition in progress. That progress may be slow given the age of the building, and the possibility that it contains nasty old things like asbestos insulation.
On the Sunday afternoon I came by to see the "progress," the only activity at the Ridge Centre was in the restaurant on the South-West corner of 15th, and Arbutus. The owner of the Ridge Garden Restaurant, an anchor tenant in the Ridge Centre for 24 years, was there for the last time ever. He was a little emotional when I spoke to him, and, it seemed more than a little "unhappy" at the way things had turned out. He told me none of the residents in the area wanted this redevelopment -- not one. I asked him if he'd been been offered the option of coming back, when the new development was finished. He said flatly he was given no option. He told me McDonalds wouldn't be back either (a McDonalds manager at the Broadway and Granville location confirmed this).
The Ridge Garden's owner told me he was still three weeks away from opening his new location on 24th Avenue, and Macdonald Street -- a good location, I suggested, in the heart of Kitsilano, and not far at all for his regular clientele, this was certainly what he was hoping, he said. Click on the images to enlarge them.
September 26 update: no more bowling pin! ►
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