The Westham Island Bridge is a drawbridge located in my village of Ladner, BC, Canada. It passes over Canoe Pass in the Fraser River Estuary and connects Ladner with Westham Island. It was officially opened in March 1910 with a lavish banquet and ended the residents' desolation. Today, as we celebrate its 100th birthday, we still cross the original bridge to pick berries or buy produce from local farms, taste wine at the Westham Island Winery, or visit the Reifel Bird Sanctuary. To read more of its history, click here. All photos will embiggen if you click on them.
We had a devastating fire a few months ago right in the downtown area of the village and several stores were destroyed, along with the apartments above these stores. Some of our residents are very artistic and they banded together to decorate the plywood boards that had been erected to deter anyone from entering the area after the buildings had been demolished. I think they did an aDmirable job! Can you see some of the scaffolding in the back right side of the photo? Hopefully, the gap between the stores on the main drag will soon be filled by new stores. 
Also demolished recently was Johnny's Store that had been a distinguished institution in the area since 1963. The building, which marked the entrance point to the old village, will be replaced by a two-storey design with retail space on the ground floor and offices above. The owner of Johnny's, Daniel Lee, has said that he's not sure that the store will be back, although he and his family have first dibs once the building is complete. For now, they're traveling in South Korea and relaxing after all their years of dedication to the village. Again, our local artists have deliberately decorated the plywood walls surrounding the building site.
Outside of the village, I love to drive around the back roads looking for delapidated old barns. While cruising one evening with Daughter #2, we came upon this dingy old wreck and took several photos. I gave it a chalk & charcoal look with Photoshop Elements to make it look dreadfully creepy. Does it look as disturbing to you as it does to me? It looks like it's drawing on children to come and explore inside...but...what might dwell there? The devil? Bwaahahahah!!!!
28 comments:
Such a huge shame about the fire, must of been Davastating! Love the way they have Disguised the area.
Have a great day across the bridge, pick lots of berries too.
Yes I agree with you about the barn photo.. You can just imagine it being used in a scary movie.. the ones with the wind howling and all the straw/hay and dirty swirling around!
What a loss the fire caused. And the artist folks were very creative with the painting of what would have otherwise been a nasty eyesore.
Interesting history about the Drawbridge. Thanks for sharing.
The artisitic addition is just so creative and shows the pride the neighbourhood...for some reason it reminded me of the brightly painted beach huts in Whitby - which I will share with you Leslie when you come to UK! There are a few places I have in mind! lol!
Fires are so devastating—to the area and in the pain it causes people. Creative way the area has been given a visual lift.
I love barns and the photo of the barn is filled with atmosphere. It begs to have a story written.
Linda
ABC Wednesday Team
That's a beautiful drawbridge. That's a shame about the fire. I enjoyed the artwork. I actually find the creepy building attractive. I love old buildings in disrepair from an aesthetic stand point. Spit and polish cookie cutter suburbs are what give me the creeps, ha.
I would love to visit BC in the future. I heard so many great things about great places and your photos proved them right!
Thanks for visiting my D! :)
ABC Wednesday:D is for Donut
So sad about the fire! That is indeed such a shame. Such a beautiful drawbridge. Love all the colorful buildings, very creative! The barn would be great in a scary movie. Great post for the D Day, Leslie! Hope your week is going well!
Sylvia
Oh, scared or not, I think I would have to get closer to that old barn! What a great shot and the story of destruction and re-building gives us all hope.
What a delightful series of D words and pictures. They have added some beauty to all the devestation.
You always add such interesting information to your posts. I think I have to visit your area sometime. Its really beautiful.
What a delightful village you live in Leslie. The colorful plywood decoration is charming - your whole post is actually! The barn reminds of a Wyeth painting - mysterious and certainly not welcoming. Very well done "d" for sure!
Devastation because of fire... sad. Although, they made the place nice to look at, just to show how artistic they are. Thanks for sharing the story with us. Have a delightful day!
Very interesting...love the barn picture.
Loving the decoration of the burned out section of town - original, creative and very attractive. The barn strikes terror in my heart, for sure!
Great looking such an old bridge. The colorful buildings are beautiful.
Very creative take on the D. Lovely Ds you've got there. The creepy building does hold some mystery to it. :)
What a creative bunch av people! It looks really nice, but of course it´s a shame about the fire...
Annelie E
ABC Wednesday Team
Definitely disturbing charcoal. sorry abouut the devastation.
BTW, my father ALSO had the same name as you!
ROG, ABC Wednesday team
I love the way the boards have been painted - what imagination to think of doing that.
I must say I don't like your creepy old barn - too scary for me ;-)
A massive fire can be such a defining moment for an area. So much loss and pain. But it is good to see the artists making an effort to lessen the desolated look of the blank hoardings.
I really thought those small stores are real stores, they did a very good job to it. The dilapidated barn to me is spooky..^_^
ABC Wednesday~D
What a gorgeous part of the world you live in. What a tragic loss, with the fire. It looks as though the residents are determined to put things right again, I hope it won't take too long.
Fires are devastating and there's always a lot destroyed by them. Great post, Leslie!
shame about that devastating fire.. must have been a lovely place b4.. but they patched it up well :)
and the drawbridge too.. looks very huge even from this angle :)
brilliant as always. Love that purple and green building. PS nice name! - Leslie D
Can't resist a bridge and one that goes over something called canoe pass, even better.
Your village artists have made the place look a treat.
Great D's - love the bridge. The local folk have been very artistic and optimistic in hiding the devastation left by the fire.
What a great tour of your town and area! Love the old building sand bridge, along with the artists' work!
have a wonderful weekend!
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