Showing posts with label Arbutus Ridge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arbutus Ridge. Show all posts
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| Overlooking Arbutus Ridge and beyond from King Edward Ave. and Arbutus St. |
Homes, home, homes and more homes, That's one strong impression you get looking over the Arbutus Ridge neighbourhood. The other impression is that it all appears to be comfortably well off if not flat-out wealthy.
This impression of comfortable hominess continues for several kilometres in three directions beyond the Arbutus Ridge neighbourhood, south into Kerrisdale, west into Dunbar-Southlands and north into Kitsilano.
How many people driving by this construction site will have already forgotten what used to be here?
It's probably about time to stop calling the crest at Arbutus Street and 16th Avenue the former site of the Ridge shopping centre. It is now the future site of Cressey's Arbutus Ridge condominium development. I say that without caring for it to be true.
I'll always miss the Ridge Centre. Over the course of 30 years, I shopped there, did my laundry there. went there with friends and by myself to see a lot of movies, and I ate a lot of meals there. I regret never trying the bowling alley.
It was a big old shopping mall with character that was associated with some of my fond memories. Now it only exists in my memory -- all the physical details I remember, down to the date stamped into original sidewalk on the south side: "1950" --all gone.
Soon to be replaced by an uninteresting condo for rich people. In three to ten years when it starts leaking I'll try not to feel good about it. Click the image to enlarge it.
[caption id="attachment_9207" align="alignnone" width="497"]
Evidence of trench warfare? Looking south into the ditch of the Arbutus Ridge development.[/caption]
By the looks of things today the battle for the Arbutus Ridge is finally over. Who lost is open to discussion but the developer, Cressey, definitely won. I can only hope it was a bloodless victory.
The decisions leading up to the redevelopment and demolition of the 63-year-old landmark Ridge shopping and recreational complex. located on Arbutus Street at 16th Avenue. were certainly cold-blooded, but it was just business after all, right?
The existing businesses tenants such as McDonald's and Ridge Garden which were all pointedly not given a opportunity to be involved in the new development might disagree.
Construction on the the 49- to 52-unit "Arbutus Ridge" condo is scheduled to be completed some time in 2015, with the single retail tenant opening soon afterwards.
Evidence of trench warfare? Looking south into the ditch of the Arbutus Ridge development.[/caption]By the looks of things today the battle for the Arbutus Ridge is finally over. Who lost is open to discussion but the developer, Cressey, definitely won. I can only hope it was a bloodless victory.
The decisions leading up to the redevelopment and demolition of the 63-year-old landmark Ridge shopping and recreational complex. located on Arbutus Street at 16th Avenue. were certainly cold-blooded, but it was just business after all, right?
The existing businesses tenants such as McDonald's and Ridge Garden which were all pointedly not given a opportunity to be involved in the new development might disagree.
Construction on the the 49- to 52-unit "Arbutus Ridge" condo is scheduled to be completed some time in 2015, with the single retail tenant opening soon afterwards.
[caption id="attachment_6936" align="alignnone" width="497"]
This is the back end which conveys the asphalt debris into a dump truck.[/caption]
This beast is a CMI PR-800-7/12 pavement profiler. Basically its used to plane the asphalt or concrete layer off of roadways, and parking lots -- like the one it's parked in, just across 15th Avenue from the demolition site that was the Ridge Centre. This lot was parking for the Ridge Centre. It's now been sold for development. Across Arbutus, is another Ridge parking lot. This one's the length of the block, straddling the alley. It has a development coming also. A slapped-together, temporary, sales centre, takes up half the lot, pre-selling imaginary condos.
This is the back end which conveys the asphalt debris into a dump truck.[/caption]This beast is a CMI PR-800-7/12 pavement profiler. Basically its used to plane the asphalt or concrete layer off of roadways, and parking lots -- like the one it's parked in, just across 15th Avenue from the demolition site that was the Ridge Centre. This lot was parking for the Ridge Centre. It's now been sold for development. Across Arbutus, is another Ridge parking lot. This one's the length of the block, straddling the alley. It has a development coming also. A slapped-together, temporary, sales centre, takes up half the lot, pre-selling imaginary condos.
One more document of the fog up at 16th and Arbutus. Thanks to the higher elevation, I guess, the fog was much thicker than down at Broadway, and Granville. Click the image above to enlarge it.
At the mouth of the alley on the northeast side of 16th Avenue, and Arbutus Street. Looking west, across Arbutus at the slumbering front end loader on the, now leveled, former site of the Ridge Centre. It needs it's rest, there are still days of demolition debris to load and cart away. Click the image to enlarge it.
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Spared from the wrecking ball![/caption]
A worker involved in the demolition of the Ridge Centre complex at 16th Avenue, and Arbutus Street, told me, for a September 26 post, that someone had taken away the iconic bowling pin. I didn't find out who had saved it from the wrecking ball until last night, when I was laying down a "bed" of newspaper pages for my wet bike, and trailer. According to this Vancouver Sun article, two well-to-do Vancouverites, Eric Cohen, and Yosef Wosk teamed up to preserve the landmark neighbourhood fixture which sat atop the North-East corner of the centre, advertising the 15-lane bowling alley, for 63 years.
Spared from the wrecking ball![/caption]A worker involved in the demolition of the Ridge Centre complex at 16th Avenue, and Arbutus Street, told me, for a September 26 post, that someone had taken away the iconic bowling pin. I didn't find out who had saved it from the wrecking ball until last night, when I was laying down a "bed" of newspaper pages for my wet bike, and trailer. According to this Vancouver Sun article, two well-to-do Vancouverites, Eric Cohen, and Yosef Wosk teamed up to preserve the landmark neighbourhood fixture which sat atop the North-East corner of the centre, advertising the 15-lane bowling alley, for 63 years.
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Arc du Cressey? Point of sale advertising for the developer, after a fashion.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_6053" align="alignright" width="180"]
Two months ago we'd be nearly in the alley looking at the yoga studio.[/caption]
The bowling alley still sits off in the North-West corner, and the facade of the former supermarket stands facing Arbutus like a remnant of the London Blitz; otherwise the former site of the old Ridge Centre is just a mess of rubble. The entire North-South alley behind the lot, between 15th, and 16th Avenue, is fenced off -- understandably, but this will be a big inconvenience for the residents along the first East-West block of 15th, and 16th directly behind the lot, which will continue for as long as the construction project does.
I had to sneak onto the site to take the photo of the supermarket facade without the fence getting in the way. Eventually security woke up to the fact that I was inside the perimeter and came over and insisted I stay behind the fence. I didn't press the point; it was a genuine security issue, and there was a sign indicating an asbestos "abatement" specialist was involved in the demolition of the 1950s structure. The security guard told me that the previous night a group of people had broken into the site -- I couldn't imagine why -- there was nothing left to take, and few surfaces worth tagging with graffiti. Police came with dogs, but the guard said he couldn't let even the police onto the site. I didn't know what to make of that story, but he was a very nice security guard, and, when he saw I was bottle-collecting binner, he emptied his car of a remarkable number of two-litre 7-Up bottles, Apparently his secret to staying alert was sugar. Click the images to enlarge them.
[gallery type="slideshow" ids="6056,6057,6058,6059,6060,6061,6062"]
Go back to my first post about the redevelopment of the Ridge Centre ►
Arc du Cressey? Point of sale advertising for the developer, after a fashion.[/caption][caption id="attachment_6053" align="alignright" width="180"]
Two months ago we'd be nearly in the alley looking at the yoga studio.[/caption]The bowling alley still sits off in the North-West corner, and the facade of the former supermarket stands facing Arbutus like a remnant of the London Blitz; otherwise the former site of the old Ridge Centre is just a mess of rubble. The entire North-South alley behind the lot, between 15th, and 16th Avenue, is fenced off -- understandably, but this will be a big inconvenience for the residents along the first East-West block of 15th, and 16th directly behind the lot, which will continue for as long as the construction project does.
I had to sneak onto the site to take the photo of the supermarket facade without the fence getting in the way. Eventually security woke up to the fact that I was inside the perimeter and came over and insisted I stay behind the fence. I didn't press the point; it was a genuine security issue, and there was a sign indicating an asbestos "abatement" specialist was involved in the demolition of the 1950s structure. The security guard told me that the previous night a group of people had broken into the site -- I couldn't imagine why -- there was nothing left to take, and few surfaces worth tagging with graffiti. Police came with dogs, but the guard said he couldn't let even the police onto the site. I didn't know what to make of that story, but he was a very nice security guard, and, when he saw I was bottle-collecting binner, he emptied his car of a remarkable number of two-litre 7-Up bottles, Apparently his secret to staying alert was sugar. Click the images to enlarge them.
[gallery type="slideshow" ids="6056,6057,6058,6059,6060,6061,6062"]
Go back to my first post about the redevelopment of the Ridge Centre ►
My post showing the demolition at the end of September ►
[caption id="attachment_5821" align="alignnone" width="497"]
The Ridge Theatre is open, but not for business.[/caption]
The Ridge Centre at 16th Avenue, and Arbutus Street, has been subjected to slow motion demolition for some weeks now, but the ordeal is nearly over.
At the time of my first post on the fate of the Ridge Centre, back on May 7, it was almost business as usual, with only the theatre shuttered, by my September 2 post, the Centre was closed, and the demolition process was already underway inside.
The block-long, 1950s era, shopping centre is clearly coming down. The three store fronts on the North-side of the Ridge Theatre are gone -- reduced to ruble and trucked wherever such construction debris goes. The giant bowling pin which stood on top of the North-most shop, the Ridge Garden Restaurant, was not destroyed. A worker today told me someone took it away intact. The entire front face of the theatre is gone -- cleanly sheared off -- leaving an open box. Strange effect. More than three-quarters of the structure appears to remain, but it's largely an empty shell; the time up till now has been spent gutting the structure. I would expect knocking down the remaining facade would be quick work. Click the images to enlarge them, except for the animated GIF.
[caption id="attachment_5822" align="alignnone" width="497"]
A big mess! As it looked today. spliced together from three photos,[/caption]
The Ridge Theatre is open, but not for business.[/caption]The Ridge Centre at 16th Avenue, and Arbutus Street, has been subjected to slow motion demolition for some weeks now, but the ordeal is nearly over.
At the time of my first post on the fate of the Ridge Centre, back on May 7, it was almost business as usual, with only the theatre shuttered, by my September 2 post, the Centre was closed, and the demolition process was already underway inside.
The block-long, 1950s era, shopping centre is clearly coming down. The three store fronts on the North-side of the Ridge Theatre are gone -- reduced to ruble and trucked wherever such construction debris goes. The giant bowling pin which stood on top of the North-most shop, the Ridge Garden Restaurant, was not destroyed. A worker today told me someone took it away intact. The entire front face of the theatre is gone -- cleanly sheared off -- leaving an open box. Strange effect. More than three-quarters of the structure appears to remain, but it's largely an empty shell; the time up till now has been spent gutting the structure. I would expect knocking down the remaining facade would be quick work. Click the images to enlarge them, except for the animated GIF.
[caption id="attachment_5822" align="alignnone" width="497"]
A big mess! As it looked today. spliced together from three photos,[/caption]
Almost all gone, but not quite ►
By slides I mean digital photos. By trip, I mean a business trip -- going up there to collect bottles, and cans. By "going up there" I mean that to get to the Oakridge/Kerrisdale area from West Broadway Avenue, at Granville Street, you go 32 blocks South, and 150 to 160 metres up. It's some of the highest ground in Vancouver. Getting there means passing through some of the richest neighbourhoods in Vancouver, and when you finally get there, you are in another, ever-so-slightly-less, rich neighbourhood. I started in the late afternoon on Sunday. I didn't make a direct bee-line for Kerrisdale; first I needed to travel due West some, through part of the Arbutus Ridge area, before turning South. The travelogue picks up as I swing back up to Arbutus Street, and King Edward Avenue, to begin my ascent. Click the images to see larger versions. All except the garage GIF.
[caption id="attachment_5112" align="alignnone" width="497"]
Looking West along King Edward Avenue. It finally ends way, way in the distance, at a wall of green marking University Endowment lands, at a cross street called Crown.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_5112" align="alignnone" width="497"]
Looking West along King Edward Avenue. It finally ends way, way in the distance, at a wall of green marking University Endowment lands, at a cross street called Crown.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_4777" align="alignnone" width="497"]
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! ►
Here are some photos of a few Super Robot toys, all mid-1980s vintage, which some family left in a pile by their recycling. Someone had gone to the trouble to rebox the toys in their original compartmentalized styrofoam inserts, and cardboard boxes, but all the packaging was falling apart, and none of the toys I really looked over had all their original bits. So I settled for grabbing one boxed bot, and taking some photos.
One boxed Super Robot : DAIDEJIN
A 1984 Super Robot by Bandai America (Made in Japan) from their Godaikin series of Super Robots. Item #377033. This is a die-cast metal, transforming toy:
Unfortunately the box, which is in very bad shape, only included Daidenjin, and his two alternate "Big Punch" hands. So I'm missing the Denjin Sword, Denjin Boomerang, Denjin Ball, and the missiles.
According to the original price tag, the toy was purchased at Mannings, a chain of department stores in Hong Kong, and Macau, for $75.00. This one just sold on Ebay, last month -- complete in original box -- for $266.00 US.
Daidenjin, it turns out, is a mecha character from an ancient Super Sentai television series called Denshi Sentai Denziman (1980-1981), Power Rangers-like TV Show made by Toei, hence Toei's copyright credit on the box, along with TV Asahi, and M.C.G. Daidenjin ("giant electic man") was the first transforming robot in a Super Sentai series.
One boxed Super Robot : DAIDEJIN
A 1984 Super Robot by Bandai America (Made in Japan) from their Godaikin series of Super Robots. Item #377033. This is a die-cast metal, transforming toy:
"DAIDENJIN, the robot is transformed into DENJIN, the spaceport, with a few moves here and there."
Unfortunately the box, which is in very bad shape, only included Daidenjin, and his two alternate "Big Punch" hands. So I'm missing the Denjin Sword, Denjin Boomerang, Denjin Ball, and the missiles.
According to the original price tag, the toy was purchased at Mannings, a chain of department stores in Hong Kong, and Macau, for $75.00. This one just sold on Ebay, last month -- complete in original box -- for $266.00 US.
Daidenjin, it turns out, is a mecha character from an ancient Super Sentai television series called Denshi Sentai Denziman (1980-1981), Power Rangers-like TV Show made by Toei, hence Toei's copyright credit on the box, along with TV Asahi, and M.C.G. Daidenjin ("giant electic man") was the first transforming robot in a Super Sentai series.
[caption id="attachment_631" align="alignnone" width="497"] Demolition of the Ridge Shopping Centre begins -- artist's impression.[/caption]
The Ridge shopping Centre, situated on Arbutus Street, between 15th and 16th Avenue, is coming down soon, to make way for a condo. The Centre is particularly known for two original tenants: The Ridge movie theatre, and the Varsity Ridge bowling alley. The Ridge's neon, and bulb-lit sign, and the bowling alley's giant bowling pin, have both been area landmarks for some 63-years.
The Ridge theatre screened its last film a few months ago, and the supermarket space, has stood empty since speciality grocer Meinhardt Fine Foods left over a year ago (leaving them with their original South Granville store. Otherwise it's business-as-usual for the bowling alley, A McDonalds, a Chinese restaurant, a laundromat, yoga studio, and book store.
The Centre, which opened in 1950 (there's still original sidewalk embossed with that date) crowns a block of prime real estate which commands a stunning view North, South, and West. On those sides it is surrounded by residential neighbourhoods. Standing on the corner of Arbutus and 16th, looking South-West, you are looking out over a sea of new wealth -- well-to-do homes, cresting in a ridge, a few kilometres away, studded with mansions and gated estates of the truly wealthy. I've binned up there and it's really spiff; incredible sunrises and sunsets. Looking East -- just across Arbutus Street, in fact, you can almost see the unused Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) tracks, and the Western edge of old wealth -- Shaughnessy Heights, developed by the CPR in the first two decades of the 20th Century, and stuffed with mansions, imposing stone walls, 16-foot-high hedges, and nary 100-metres of straight road. The Ridge Centre sits in the middle of all this like a sun-dial.
Cressey Development Group bought the block-long property in June 2011, and is pre-selling condo units in its "Arbutus Ridge" development, which will include ground-level retail. As is the fashion in Vancouver real estate, when a developer eats the very old, it leaves one of the indigestible bits on display, ostensibly to pay respects to history, but it's really good marketing. In this case a facsimile of the movie theatre's sign will be a signature element of the building -- no word on the bowling pin though.
The Ridge Centre didn't have much chance of dodging the wrecking ball. It's old, but not that old, and most people in the area couldn't really care less.
The entire area, sedate as it looks, is undergoing dramatic demographic change, so there's less, to no, interest in the area's historic past. The newcomers, just like the old money, see the area as a place to live, not a place to go shopping -- they don't need local services. They will pile into their Lexi and Escalades, and shop where they please, thank you very much. They'd rather not have local shops, as they just attract people who do need that sort of thing (it's the same rationale Shaughnessy residents have used when explaining to me why they don't authorize their city tax dollars towards paving their lanes). Bad enough they have to have a gas station in the area!
Like most of Vancouver, I'll miss the Ridge theatre and the giant bowling pin. Everything else is available less than a kilometre away.
Demolition of the Ridge Shopping Centre begins -- artist's impression.[/caption]The Ridge shopping Centre, situated on Arbutus Street, between 15th and 16th Avenue, is coming down soon, to make way for a condo. The Centre is particularly known for two original tenants: The Ridge movie theatre, and the Varsity Ridge bowling alley. The Ridge's neon, and bulb-lit sign, and the bowling alley's giant bowling pin, have both been area landmarks for some 63-years.
The Ridge theatre screened its last film a few months ago, and the supermarket space, has stood empty since speciality grocer Meinhardt Fine Foods left over a year ago (leaving them with their original South Granville store. Otherwise it's business-as-usual for the bowling alley, A McDonalds, a Chinese restaurant, a laundromat, yoga studio, and book store.
The Centre, which opened in 1950 (there's still original sidewalk embossed with that date) crowns a block of prime real estate which commands a stunning view North, South, and West. On those sides it is surrounded by residential neighbourhoods. Standing on the corner of Arbutus and 16th, looking South-West, you are looking out over a sea of new wealth -- well-to-do homes, cresting in a ridge, a few kilometres away, studded with mansions and gated estates of the truly wealthy. I've binned up there and it's really spiff; incredible sunrises and sunsets. Looking East -- just across Arbutus Street, in fact, you can almost see the unused Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) tracks, and the Western edge of old wealth -- Shaughnessy Heights, developed by the CPR in the first two decades of the 20th Century, and stuffed with mansions, imposing stone walls, 16-foot-high hedges, and nary 100-metres of straight road. The Ridge Centre sits in the middle of all this like a sun-dial.
Cressey Development Group bought the block-long property in June 2011, and is pre-selling condo units in its "Arbutus Ridge" development, which will include ground-level retail. As is the fashion in Vancouver real estate, when a developer eats the very old, it leaves one of the indigestible bits on display, ostensibly to pay respects to history, but it's really good marketing. In this case a facsimile of the movie theatre's sign will be a signature element of the building -- no word on the bowling pin though.
The Ridge Centre didn't have much chance of dodging the wrecking ball. It's old, but not that old, and most people in the area couldn't really care less.
The entire area, sedate as it looks, is undergoing dramatic demographic change, so there's less, to no, interest in the area's historic past. The newcomers, just like the old money, see the area as a place to live, not a place to go shopping -- they don't need local services. They will pile into their Lexi and Escalades, and shop where they please, thank you very much. They'd rather not have local shops, as they just attract people who do need that sort of thing (it's the same rationale Shaughnessy residents have used when explaining to me why they don't authorize their city tax dollars towards paving their lanes). Bad enough they have to have a gas station in the area!
Like most of Vancouver, I'll miss the Ridge theatre and the giant bowling pin. Everything else is available less than a kilometre away.
Update, September 1, 2013, demolition begins ►
This woman's name is Sunny! How cool is that?! I met her while Blue Box binning in residential neighbourhoods West of Arbutus Ridge. I was busy visualizing one particular car binner's position relative to my own, when I finally registered the voice behind me: "Hey! Guy on the bike!" Stopped. Turned. She gave me a bag of cans and bottles, and I thanked her. When she turned around, and started to walk. I almost didn't ask if I could take her picture.
[caption id="attachment_606" align="alignnone" width="497"]
Something special, but I couldn't pin it down till she turned around. Click image to enlarge.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_606" align="alignnone" width="497"]
Something special, but I couldn't pin it down till she turned around. Click image to enlarge.[/caption]See another babe named Sunny ►
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