Lions Gate Bridge

The Guinness brewing family built the Lions Gate Bridge which opened in 1938 to provide access to its British Properties lands in West Vancouver. Ownership was transferred to the Province in 1955. Tolls were removed in 1963 and the bridge was restored in 1998 after a long debate about its heritage value and capacity. Funding for the decorative lighting to celebrate Expo 86 was provided by the Guinness family.

Identified as one of Canada’s technical and engineering landmarks, the Lions Gate Bridge is noted for its innovative civil engineering. When built it was recognized as the longest suspension bridge in the British Empire and one of the biggest construction projects undertaken in Canada during the 1930s. Despite its enormous size, the open steelwork of the twin towers and pioneering use of a thin deck gave the structure a light weightless quality that blend well with its picturesque setting.

The bridge was remarkable because of its length and the technical innovations in cable use and construction. The reconstruction of its deck at the turn of the twenty-first century was also an exceptional achievement, marking the first time that the deck, hangers and stiffening trusses of a suspension bridge were replaced simultaneously without closing the bridge to traffic. I

ts two concrete Art Deco exposed aggregate lion sculptures on pedestals at the south entrance by Vancouver sculptor Charles Marega are iconic as you travel through Stanley Park and cross the bridge going north.

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