Uncovering Burnaby: The story behind Central Park's entrance gate

Have you ever noticed Central Park’s entrance gate?

You may have passed it without thinking twice, but it has quite an interesting history that ties back to one of Burnaby’s earliest and most significant transportation routes.

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The Central Park gate is the ceremonial entrance to the park on Kingsway, and is marked by two large stone pillars standing 7.5 metres high.

Today, it stands as a reminder of the interurban Central Park line built in 1891, which ran between Vancouver and New Westminster and passed through the park on a diagonal right-of-way, according to Heritage Burnaby

The significance of the Central Park interurban line

The route of the interurban’s Central Park line may be familiar, as the current SkyTrain line (built in 1986) follows the transit corridor.

The Central Park Line itself was a busy route that grew to include 16 stations, writes Jhenifer Pabillano, of TransLink’s Buzzer Blog.

Pabillano notes that the Central Park interurban functioned more like a streetcar from its downtown Vancouver station to Cedar Cottage, beside Trout Lake, and on the other end as it entered New Westminster.

The Central Park Line had a significant impact on the growth of Burnaby as the development of the railway was followed by the incorporation of the municipality in 1892.

The transportation corridor was also an enticing factor for potential homeowners and businesses, as they relocated to be close to the line.

“Settlers could use the railroad to send their eggs, chickens, and market crops for sale in the cities,” writes Pabillano.

“Bricks from New Westminster and cord wood and shingle bolts from Burnaby were also transported via rail to Vancouver.”

The gate

In 1912, the British Columbia Electric Railway (which succeeded the interurban company) and the Central Park Provincial Park Board reached a deal for additional land allowing for an expanded right-of-way through the park in exchange for several upgrades, including the construction of a stone wall and gate.

The gate was completed in 1914, and included an archway on top with “Central Park” in illuminated letters.

“This was an early and rare example of an electric gate used for a public recreation facility,” notes Heritage Burnaby.

The gate was designed by Robert Lyon of Edinburgh, who was considered one of British Columbia’s most successful early architects.

He “worked on a broad range of projects including some of the grandest and most innovative local industrial structures of the time,” states Heritage Burnaby.

The gate’s decorative ironwork was removed in 1968 (a few years after the Central Park line shut down in 1954) due to corrosive damage.

Want us to dig into the history of other Burnaby landmarks or buildings? Let us know here.