While council came to a decision to support the Bowen Island library in its efforts to build an extension this week, they were also confronted by a new request concerning the library’s property. David Smith, who led the charge to save the historic building in which the library is housed, asked council for permission to have the statue which sits in front of the main doors to be moved.
“I request your permission to relocate the sculpture because I feel that it dramatically diminishes the view and the positive impact of this historically significant, beautiful structure on visitors and residents alike,” Smith told council.
The statue was built and designed by local artists Shane Tweten and Simon James in 2010 in order to commemorate the spirit of the Olympic torch when it came through Bowen Island.
Originally, the statue was to be erected at the centre of a round-about designed to solve the ferry marshalling issue on Government Road. When plans for the round-about fell through, the Chamber of Commerce (which commissioned the statue) asked the library if it could be placed on its property.
“I said it wasn’t up to us, that it’s municipal property. When I was told the municipality had already approved the idea, I said that would be fine, as long as the statue was placed on the east side, near the bus stop,” says Bowen Island’s chief librarian, Tina Nielsen.
The Old General Store building dates back to the days of the Union Steamship Company. Standing much closer to the road and in severe disrepair, the building was slated to be demolished in 1978.
“I’d been here for a year at that time, and I was sitting in the café with a friend of mine who had the contract to demolish the building and I thought, that’s just stupid, there’s no reason that building should be torn down,” says Smith, who proceeded to speak with the land owner, Glenn Crippen, as well as Vancouver’s department of highways to ask for the demolition to be delayed.
Smith proceeded to lead a coalition of community members who managed to stop the demolition altogether, and after five years, raise enough money to have the building moved to its current location and restored.
“It was a remarkable community effort, and in 1984 at the building’s dedication ceremony we had hundreds of people there, and we took a big community photo in front of it,” says Smith. “To mark the 30th anniversary of that date, I would like to have a similar photo taken, but without the statue.”
Following Smith’s presentation to council, Lonnie Hindle told council that when it comes to a totem, there is a certain protocol and part of that protocol is that once a totem is in the ground, it doesn’t move.
Council decided that before making a decision on what to do with the poles there should be a conversation about the sculpture with the artists.
Smith says he is extremely dissatisfied with this result.
“Of course the artists will want their work to stay right where it is,” he says. “I don’t want to get into a conversation about aesthetics, because that is extremely subjective, but the statue really doesn’t belong there.”
Despite the agreement to place the statue on the east side of the library’s property, Nielsen said she returned to Bowen after being away for a few weeks to find the placement stone right in the centre of the library lawn.
“There was a lot of disagreement about how that happened and whose fault it was, but by that time, the invitations for the blessing ceremony had already been sent out. We were told it was too late to move the stone,” says Nielsen.
