Biography - Capilano Suspension Bridge - Circa 1906                                        < Back to Gallery 

In 1889, George Grant McKay a Scottish civil engineer and land developer, arrived in Vancouver, Canada. He immediately became involved in many projects and as City Park Commissioner, set aside Stanley Park as a
recreational area. McKay bought 6000 acres of dense forest on either side of the Capilano River and built a cabin on the very edge of the canyon wall.Assisted by two local natives and a team of horses, McKay suspended a hemp rope and cedar plank bridge across the river. Natives called it the ‘laughing bridge’ because of the noise it made when the wind blew through the canyon. After his death, the hemp rope bridge was replaced by a cable wire bridge in 1903.