Arrow Neon Sign
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Other Names
- Lost in the 50's Drive-in
- Geographic Access
- Edmonds Street
- Associated Dates
- 1961
- Description
- Commercial building.
- Heritage Value
- The Arrow Neon Sign was built in 1961 by the Neonette Sign Company of New Westminster when this property was opened as the Tomahawk Drive-in Restaurant. The restaurant was later known as Lindy's Burger and in 1990, the business was renamed Lost in the 50's Drive-in. It stands 20-foot tall and is composed of a large double-sided hollow steel panel serpentine arrow mounted on a pole supporting a lexan sign panel measuring approximately 8 feet wide by 4 feet tall. The sign was designed with three illuminated features: a round lamp at the top of the pole, a double-sided rectangular fluorescent sign panel box, and two double-sided rows of orange neon arrows that follow the large serpentine arrow.
The Arrow Neon Sign remains as a rare surviving example of neon sign art in the city and is the only historic neon sign in South Burnaby. The sign has gained prominence over the years as it has been associated with this small iconic drive-in which has also been utilized as a set for film production. Additionally, the drive-in has played a prominent role in the Edmonds community as a popular setting for recent "Show and Shine" participants to park their classic cars.
- Locality
- Edmonds
- Historic Neighbourhood
- East Burnaby (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Lakeview-Mayfield Area
- Builder
- Neonette Sign Company
- Community
- Burnaby
- Contributing Resource
- Structure
- Ownership
- Public (local)
- Subjects
- Buildings - Commercial - Restaurants
- Advertising Medium - Signs and Signboards
- Street Address
- 7741 Edmonds Street
- Street View URL
- Google Maps Street View
Less detail
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
plaque
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Accession Code
- BV994.38.1
- Description
- Plaque. Badge shaped, made of ply-wooden, the background is painted yellow/tan and the lettering is black.
- Object History
- The plaque commemorates the history of the British Columbia Electric Railway in Burnaby, and the preservation of tram #1223 by the Burnaby Historical Society in 1958. Interurban tram No. 1223 has been restored by the joint efforts of the Friends of 1223 and Burnaby Village Museum. In March 2007 the tram was officially returned to Burnaby Village Museum and is currently on display, in a replica of a Tram Car Barn, at the Museum.
- Fraser Wilson hand lettered the sign.
- Marks/Labels
- "This Interurban Tram Car was built in 1913 by the St. Louis Car Co. for the British Columbia Electric Railway Co. and operated over that company's three lines in Burnaby until abandonment, November 1956. Throughout the nearly fifty years of its existence this tram and seventy similar cars carried many thousands of settlers and commuters and helped to build Burnaby into a thriving community of over 80,000"; "Dedicated and placed here by Burnaby Historical Society. Nov. 30th 1958", hand lettered.
- Subjects
- Transportation
- Transportation - Public Transit
- Transportation - Electric Railroads
- Advertising Medium
- Advertising Medium - Signs and Signboards
Less detail
Burnaby Players on Kingsway
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1963 (date of original), copied 1991
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 2.6 x 4.0 cm print on contact sheet 20.3 x 26.2 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the Burnaby Players parading along Kingsway in costume. Some members are in a car with a sign reading "Burnaby Players," while others walk alongside. The photo was taken at the corner of Kingsway and Silver Avenue facing north.
Crossing Royal Oak & Rumble Street
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- May 19, 1978
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Public Library Contemporary Visual Archive Project
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.5 x 17.5 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the intersection of Royal Oak Avenue and Rumble Street. Cars and pedestrians are crossing the intersection, and the signs for businesses TD Bank, Standard Oil/Chevron gas station, Gulf gas station, and Baxter's Market are visible. The photograph is taken from a corner of the intersect…
Crossing Royal Oak & Rumble Street
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- May 19, 1978
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Public Library Contemporary Visual Archive Project
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.5 x 17.5 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the intersection of Royal Oak Avenue and Rumble Street. Cars and pedestrians are crossing the intersection, and the signs for businesses Grace United Pharmacy, Standard Oil/Chevron gas station, Gulf gas station, and Royal Meats are visible. The photograph is taken from the Gulf gas st…
Alfred Hickman
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [195-] (date of original), copied 1986
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 7.5 x 11 cm print
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of two men standing outside Hickman's Grocery on Patterson Avenue near the railroad tracks. One of the men is Alfred Hickman, the store's owner. Signs on the store read, "Hickmans / Groceries / Produce" and "Groceries / Hickmans / Meats." Signs in the window advertise wieners and "Mea…
Burnaby General Hospital
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [1977]
- Collection/Fonds
- Columbian Newspaper collection
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 15.5 x 24.5 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of a large directional sign for the Burnaby General Hospital, with an ambulance parked in the background, just in front of the hospital.
Lougheed Drive-In Theatre neon sign
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [1958] (date of original), copied 1991
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 3.0 x 3.0 cm print on contact sheet 20.1 x 26.7 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the new neon tower at the Lougheed Drive-In Theatre on the 4200 block of Lougheed Highway at Gilmore Avenue.