Peace Arch Gazebo
16855 Peace Park Drive, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Formally Recognized:
1939/11/07
Other Name(s)
Peace Arch Gazebo
Gazebo
Links and documents
Construction Date(s)
1940/01/01
Listed on the Canadian Register:
2011/02/24
Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The Gazebo is the hexagonal open single-storey pavilion set in an intensely planted area in the East Lawn of Peace Arch Provincial Park, in Surrey, British Columbia.
Heritage Value
The Gazebo is of scientific, historical, social, and cultural importance, and is particularly notable for its pedagogical nature: plaques commemorating the dedication of the park are sheltered under a timber structure that showcases lumber and logs of the native woods of British Columbia.
The Gazebo is valued for its historical and social significance, having been constructed in the early years of the Second World War by a camp of unemployed relief workers and Youth Forestry Training boys. It is valued as the culmination of the general grading and finishing of the six-hectare Canadian portion of Peace Arch Park, originally set aside for park use in 1931.
The Gazebo and its surrounding garden are valued as a key part of the overall cross-border park plan designed by John Booth, who worked as a gardener at the impressive Riverview Hospital arboretum grounds in Coquitlam. The Gazebo is valued as a part of the planted slope that welcomes northbound travellers into Canada.
The building's form and materials are culturally significant because they reflect both the conservative society that commissioned it - through the use of traditional materials and log construction - and the sober purpose that characterized the time of its construction.
Source: Ministry of Environment, BC Parks
Character-Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage character of the Peace Arch Gazebo include its:
Site:
-intensely planted mixed planting beds immediately surrounding the pavilion
-bridge access to pavilion, in the Oriental style
-planted slope behind building as viewed from Highway 99
Structure:
-mortared stone base structure
-log structure above stone
-lumber of differing indigenous species forming ceiling and roof
-labels identifying tree species used in construction
-dedication table and inscriptions
Recognition
Jurisdiction
British Columbia
Recognition Authority
Province of British Columbia
Recognition Statute
Park Act, s.5
Recognition Type
Provincial Park (Establishment)
Recognition Date
1939/11/07
Historical Information
Significant Date(s)
n/a
Theme - Category and Type
- Building Social and Community Life
- Social Movements
- Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
- Sports and Leisure
Function - Category and Type
Current
Historic
- Leisure
- Park Fixture
Architect / Designer
John Booth
Builder
n/a
Additional Information
Location of Supporting Documentation
Ministry of Environment, BC Parks
Cross-Reference to Collection
Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier
DgRq-90
Status
Published
Related Places
n/a