I have no photos of the removed wooden walkways and pergolas and water features… does anyone?

One of the arguments against the tropical conservatory is the cost of heating it. Well, the solution is obvious. Make it a properly Pacific Northwest temperate rainforest biosphere; forget the tropics. Repatriate the plants and the birds in a fundraising private auction – I’m sure there are private buyers who’d want some of the amazing trees for their large Vancouver houses. The birds could be donated to aviaries or trained owners. And the Parks Board should work with its own botanists or the forestry/botany departments at the universities to do great displays that could be tended by students. Anything. Come on, Vancouver, you can be more creative than this. Don’t just knock it down. So it’s a little colder in winter in there… people will arrive in coats and can keep them on. And there could be a cafe there, and it would still be romantic. You can still have birds – local birds. Rufous-sided towhees, for instance, might like it, or song sparrows, or other birds having a tough time competing with the common sparrows. I’m sure it could be done. It could have a fantasy component – hologram of Gassy Jack dispensing wisdom, sparrows alighting on his hat… oh, you know what I mean. Figure out a way, Vancouver.

What I find appalling is that Vancouver has no heroes – developers and realty firms made a killing over the last few years – is there no firm or firms who would become a sponsor? I just had a horrible thought – is the rush to demolish the Conservatory related to establish housing for the poor (haha) – can you imagine the value this land has and all the many $$$ it would bring? Condos on Top of the Hill overlooking Vancouver…..

And as for tourists, I guess sightseeing tours have to expand their territory further from Main and Hastings over to Powell Street and perhaps include back lanes in Chinatown to see discarded animal parts.

How can Vancouver be broke?
and no thanks to the NPA for allowing this structure to fall into such disrepair.
for shame!!!!!

The amount of money they are trying to save in the overall scheme of things is relatively small.

My sense is the conservatory is a victim of a certain amount of neglect which may or may not have been intentional.

I acknowledge the need for council and the various boards to manage their budgets but closing the conservatory will be viewed in future, by boards and citizens in general as insane. What’s the rush? I’d have thought it might have been prudent to postpone the vote while launching a focused campaign to promote the conservatory during the Olympics.