Helen 'The Swinging Girl' Neon Sign
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Description
- Commercial building.
- Associated Dates
- 1956
- Formal Recognition
- Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register
- Other Names
- Helen's Childrens Wear Sign
- Street View URL
- Google Maps Street View
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Other Names
- Helen's Childrens Wear Sign
- Geographic Access
- Hastings Street
- Associated Dates
- 1956
- Formal Recognition
- Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register
- Enactment Type
- Bylaw No. 12771
- Enactment Date
- 19/04/2010
- Description
- Commercial building.
- Heritage Value
- While the building here is of some importance as the former North Burnaby municipal office, its primary importance is its delightful neon sign that has become a North Burnaby landmark. Helen Arnold opened Helen’s Childrens Wear shop in the building next door to the old Municipal offices in 1948. In 1955, when North Burnaby moved out, she moved into the vacated building. As part of the renovations, Helen enlisted the assistance of her good friend Jimmy Wallace, owner of Vancouver’s Wallace Neon Company, to create a new sign for her expanded business. One of the company’s designers, Reeve Lehman, created the swinging neon girl that was installed in 1956. Designed in two parts, one section of the sign is cloud shaped and reads ‘Helen’s’ while the other section is a moving representation of a little girl on a swing. The sign is nine feet six inches high and nine feet wide, and the lower section is animated with an internal motor and gears. It immediately became a landmark on Hastings Street, and recently the sign’s design fame has spread far and wide as one of the best surviving examples of kinetic neon art in North America.
- Locality
- Vancouver Heights
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Vancouver Heights (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Willingdon Heights Area
- Community
- Burnaby
- Names
- Helen's Childrens Wear
- Subjects
- Buildings - Commercial - Stores
- Advertising Medium - Signs and Signboards
- Street Address
- 4142 Hastings Street
- Street View URL
- Google Maps Street View
Less detail
3951 and 3953 Hastings Street
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [1965]
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w negative
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the buildings at 3951 and 3953 Hastings Street. A number of business signs are visible including "Paulettes Beauty Salon" and "Norburn Secondhand Store."
Gilchrist's dress shop
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- 1984
- Collection/Fonds
- Century Park Museum Association fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : col. ; 12.5 x 12.5 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the interior of the Burnaby Village Museum Dress Shop. A large class display case holds various hats and garments. Two dresses and a children's outfit are display on mannequin stands in the front window display. A christianing gown and bonnet are displayed on top of the glass cabinet.…
Gilchrist's dress shop
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- 1984
- Collection/Fonds
- Century Park Museum Association fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : col. ; 12.5 x 12.5 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the interior of the Gilchrist's Dress Shop inside of Burnaby Village Museum. A long white dress is on display in the front window. A long glass cabinet holds various undergarments and a blouse and jacket are displayed on top. Hats and other items of women's clothing are on display.
Jubilee Avenue
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [192-] (date of original), copied 1986
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 11.4 x 7.1 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of stores on Jubilee Avenue looking north from Imperial Street (later the location of Bonsor Park, 6550 Bonsor Avenue). Signs visible read; "Jubilee Drug Store," "Drugs," "Jubilee [Mercantile?] Co. / Groceries," "Nabob Tea," and "[Carvers or Corvers]." An accompanying description in the…