Biography - Building the Lions Gate Brige- Circa 1938                                     < Back to Gallery 

It all began when the Guiness family (of beer fame) decided to invest in land on the north shore.  In 1932 they bought 400 acres of West Vancouver mountain side through a syndicate known as British Pacific Properties Ltd.  Their plan was to build a bridge that would connect the soon to be developed West Vancouver to the heart of the city.  Construction began March 31,1937 and proved popular during the ‘depression’ period, any objections concerning the access road through Stanley Park were overcome; job creation and spin-off from developing the North Shore were hard to resist. On May 26,1939 the Lions Gate Bridge was officially opened by King George VII & Queen Elizabeth;  it was the longest suspension bridge in the British Empire. The final cost was $5,873,837.17  (Almost $126,000 under budget).