Where should the East Van cross go? Locals weigh in

The East Vancouver cross sitting at Clark Drive and East 6th might have to move, a building is springing up around it. While the city tells Angela Bower the cross isn’t going anywhere, some East Van neighbourhoods say they’d like it to host it next.

By Angela Bower

Posted February 6, 2023 10:04 pm.

The iconic East Vancouver cross that sits at Clark Drive and East 6th Avenue might have to move.

A new building is springing up around Ken Lum’s famous cross, which has been lighting up the corner after dark for more than a decade.

Construction is already underway on the new building, and a few Business Improvement Associations (BIAs) in East Vancouver feel the art piece deserves a better home.

Some even want to claim it for their neighbourhood. This desire to give the cross a better home prompted Patricia Barnes of the East Village BIA to start a petition.

“We see ourselves as an icon neighbourhood, and we love the cross, so we thought, “what the heck!” If you want to move the cross, we would love to have it,” said Barnes.

The City Of Vancouver says the new 10-storey building will be offices, and that “the most current decision has been to keep Ken Lum’s Monument for East Vancouver at it’s current location.”

But Neil Wyles with from the Mount Pleasant BIA says that’s not a good idea.

“Right now, a building is going to be blocking it and it’s not going to be seen, and I think it is really something that needs to be seen,” Wyles explained.

“It’s sort of has become that huge symbol of being in East Van and being proud of being in East Vancouver,” Barnes added.

The East Village stretches from the Grandview-Woodlands area to Hastings-Sunrise, which Barnes says makes it the heart of East Vancouver, and the art piece would be best suited by one of Vancouver’s most popular attractions.

“I think there is a number of spots where we think it would be really accessible and great for photography, and of course draw people into the neighbourhood,” said Barnes.

“I don’t think East Village has a standing in this case, they are part of East Vancouver but not the beginning of East Vancouver, they’re the end of it,” said Wyles.

Although, Wyles thinks Mount Pleasant is the true heart of East Vancouver, adding he believes the artist behind the art piece would most likely agree.

“This is truly the gateway to East Van, Ken Lum the artist originally intended for the monument to go right over there on the Island,” he explained.

CityNews asked viewers on Twitter where the East Van cross should go be moved to, and more than 50 per cent voted for Mount Pleasant.