The Columbian recently reported on the move into Vancouver’s new City Hall. In the early 1960s, I worked in an office at Mill Plain Boulevard and C Street where I watched the construction of the new (at the time) Vancouver City Hall being built across the street. Following the demolition of the Memorial Pool building, the tailings had been pushed into the hole where the swimming pool had been. It was fun to watch the daily progress of all the men and machinery. We witnessed men and cranes lift huge decorative cement panels and fasten them to the exterior of the building.
One day we heard a loud crash. Cement dust and dirt climbed into the air across the street. One of the huge cement panels had fallen off. More correctly, it slid down the side and made a lot of noise as it dug itself into the ground. To this day, I remember the incident and think of the hole under the building that was filled with broken cement, dirt and swimming pool tile. No wonder a “sink hole” opened up by the now old City Hall on 13th Street.
Linda Bakshas
Vancouver
