Jane’s Walks are coming to Lynn Valley, just in time to celebrate the 100th birthday of the person after whom they were named.
Writer and activist Jane Jacobs had a significant influence on urban planning in the 1960s, when she introduced concepts such as “social capital” in designing communities that better served the overall needs of their residents.
Lynn Valley Road by Ross Road, circa 1920s. Courtesy of NV Museum & Archives.
Today, Jane’s Walks are free, citizen-led walking tours, in which people get together to explore, talk about, and celebrate their neighbourhoods. On Saturday, May 7, North Vancouver Museum and Archives Curator Karen Dearlove will lead a tour of Lynn Valley, which will be illustrated by historical facts, anecdotes, and historical images, many pertaining to the neighbourhood’s history as a logging and shingle-building community.
The tour will begin at the Community History Centre located in the former Lynn Valley school building at 3203 Institute Road. The tour will begin at 10:30 a.m. and last approximately one hour.
It will be a good chance for people to visit the Community History Centre, which Karen says has an “amazing collection” of documents, photos and artifacts. She says that it attracts a steady flow of researchers, but that anyone is welcome to visit from Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Archivists are happy to help you find materials on a topic of local interest, or to aid your research of your home or family.
Karen led a few Jane’s Walks in her hometown of Cambridge, Ontario, before moving here a few years ago. She has found that the more people know about their community, the more they enjoy it, and that events such as Jane’s Walks also provide a great way to connect with neighbours. She encourages Lynn Valleyites to come out on May 7, wearing good walking shoes and dressed for the weather!
For more information, visit the North Van Museum and Archives website, or call 604-990-3700.
Crew of Lynn Valley Lumber Co. Mill on skid road, 1906. Courtesy NV Museum & Archives.