Leonard Frank mLion’s Gate Bridge from Lumberman’s Arch, Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC, 1938. Photographer: Leonard Frank. Source: Jewish Museum & Archives of BC, Leonard Frank Photos Studio; LF.02722
Bridge City: Links for a Fragile Peninsula 1895 - 1980
March 15 – June 22, 2010
Teck Gallery
The Vancouver area was once a group of separate villages accessible to each other mainly by water. Vancouver’s bridges changed that: they are the links that keep the various parts of the Lower Mainland together. They may not be world-famous, but we like them and many, especially those who use them daily, identify with them. These photographs by Leonard Frank and Otto Landauer document local bridge construction—they all emphasize bridges as “structure”. Now, in 2010, they also show the effort that went into making it possible for cars to navigate Greater Vancouver’s cities and town—what you see here is money and effort dedicated to aiding automobile circulation. Traffic, which until 1960 had been directed at local trips, such as shopping within Kerrisdale, became a regional experience, as it remains today. The exhibition texts discuss the histories of our bridges as well as offering a sampling of literature taking ‘the bridge’ as its subject.
The exhibition is circulated by the Jewish Museum & Archives of British Columbia. Thanks to Mick Henry for sharing his archive of bridge memorabilia with the SFU Gallery.