Capilano Suspension Bridge

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The Capilano Suspension Bridge is a free-swinging rope bridge in North Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada . It was first built between 1888 and 1889 and spans the Capilano River today at a height of 70 meters with an extension of 136 meters (446 feet). It is part of 11 hectares of private, paid parking, which, as part of the Vancouver area's tourist attractions, attracts around 800,000 visitors annually from around the world. The bridge can be reached quickly and easily from Downtown Vancouver via the Lions Gate Bridge .

Capilano Suspension Bridge, view from the east side of the canyon

history

Indian derivation of today's name Capilano
Mighty Douglas fir trees and blossoms
View from the west to the east side of the canyon towards the former tea house and today's Trading Post Gift Store

The Scottish engineer George Grant Mackay (born September 26, 1827 in Inverness , Scotland , † 1893 ) was after his move to Canada in 1888 commissioner of the urban parks of Vancouver. In this role he was responsible for the rededication of the area of ​​today's Stanley Park as an urban recreation area. At the same time he was the founder of the city of Vernon in the Okanagan Valley , where he bought and traded land.

On both sides of the Capilano River, Mackay acquired 24 square kilometers of dense forest by building a hut right on the steep western edge of the canyon . In order to make the access to this hut from the eastern edge of the canyon much easier for himself, he spanned a rope bridge made of cedar planks and ropes made of hemp over the river with the help of two local Indians and draft horses . The Indians named this bridge "Laughing Bridge" because of the noise it made when there was wind. Thanks to the rope bridge, the hut soon became a popular destination. In 1903, ten years after Mackay's death, the hemp rope was replaced by a steel rope.

In 1910, Edward Mahon acquired the bridge and the surrounding area. In the following year, he had a log house built from cedar tree trunks that served as a tea house. In 1914 he reinforced the bridge with additional steel cables to improve its stability.

In 1935 “Mac” MacEachran bought the area with the rope bridge. He invited Indians of the area to erect their totem poles within the park area and thus give it its own character. The result is what is now probably the largest private collection of Indian totem poles that is open to the public.

In 1945 MacEachran sold to Henri Aubeneau, who in turn sold the area to Rae Mitchell in 1953.

The Capilano River runs in a north-south direction through the Coast Mountains of British Columbia and flows into Burrard Inlet in North Vancouver across from Stanley Park . The Capilano River is one of the three resources that the Greater Vancouver Area draws its drinking water from. For this purpose, the Cleveland Dam was built in 1954.

Mitchell began marketing the Capilano Suspension Bridge worldwide. In 1956, the bridge was completely rebuilt within five days to ensure its durability and safety. With this aim in mind, the ends of the steel cables on both sides of the canyon were poured into almost 12 tons of concrete . In addition, Mitchell had the forest trails on the west side of the bridge expanded and converted the former tea house on the east side into a gift shop with mostly handicrafts from the indigenous people. After Mitchell retired from the business for reasons of age, sales fell sharply. The commercial park initially faced an uncertain future for years.

In 1983 the area was sold to Nancy Stibbard. Since then, the number of visitors has increased steadily again. In 2004 the so-called Treetops Adventures were opened, seven rope bridges up to 30 meters above the forest floor, between ancient, giant Douglas fir trees on the west side of the canyon. In 2011, the park was enriched with another attraction, the Cliffwalk. A path made of steel, wood and partly glass leads on the steep slope over the trees. The most striking feature in it is a semicircle that is about 5 m away from the rock face.

For sightseeing trips with limited time, the local highlights Capilano Suspension Bridge, Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain can be easily combined.

Events

The park administration offers ecologically oriented rainforest tours for children, guided tours through the wooded nature, the permanent exhibition "Living Forest", performances by Indian groups with dance, masks, storytelling, seasonal highlights and decorations.

Events

In the winter of 2006 a 300 year old Douglas fir fell against or on the western part of the rope bridge during a heavy snow storm. As a result, the bridge was closed for some time in order to examine it for possible damage and to carry out repairs. On June 2, 2012, a man had a fatal accident on the Cliffwalk when he fell 60 m after leaving the Walk to climb the rock face.

media

The Capilano Suspension Bridge has appeared in a number of different TV series including MacGyver , Sliders , The Crow .

See also

Web links

Commons : Capilano Suspension Bridge  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Treetops Adventures

Coordinates: 49 ° 20 ′ 34 "  N , 123 ° 6 ′ 53.7"  W.