Letter from Elizabeth Toudy which appeared on the Agenda for the 1977 May 24 Meeting of Council re: Complaints Regarding Conditions in the Stride Avenue Area
Proposed Tax Sale Moneys Bylaw - Parkland Acquisition (Ron McLean Park) Lots 1, 2, 6 and 7, Block 4 East 1/2, DL 160, Plan 992 (Stride Avenue Area Land Exchange, Restonic Mattress Company and Municipality of Burnaby)
Although Burnaby was incorporated as a municipality in 1892, its first Municipal Hall was not built until 1899 and located at Kingsway and Edmonds. It was close to the tram line on Kingsway and at the population centre of South Burnaby.
In 1911, a brick building was built to replace the smaller wooden structure that had served as Burnaby's Municipal Hall since 1899. This new, larger structure was built to reflect Burnaby's growth into a large suburban municipality and remained in use for over 40 years. The old Municipal Hall became a public hall which was demolished upon the construction of the Edmonds Branch of the Burnaby Public Library in 1962. The second Municipal Hall was renovated in 1956 (when the current City Hall was built at Canada Way), and was used as a Police building. In 1966 after the construction of the new Justice Building, the old 1911 Municipal Hall was left vacant and in 1970 it was demolished. The site was redeveloped as a senior citizens residential centre with Edmonds House built on the old hall location.
Byrne Creek School opened in 2005 and accommodates students from grades 8 through 12. When built, the school was created to house as many as 1200 students, but by 2009, plans have been prepared to increase that capacity to 1500.
After a lull in construction during the World War I period, East Burnaby Neighbourhood's growth resumed during the 1920s when many homes and businesses were constructed. The post-World War Two period also saw rapid construction and the creation of new housing developments in response to a population boom. The neighbourhood remained a primarily single-family residential area.