CURATORS CORNER: Come and see Burnaby in Motion

Interurban trams, like the 1223, facilitated the movement of people and goods in Burnaby from the 1890s to the 1950s.

Photograph 204-375, courtesy City of Burnaby Archives

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If you took social studies in high school, you learned that transportation routes have a strong impact on the way a community develops.

The relationship between development and transportation is even stronger in Burnaby than most places.

In 1891, Burnaby was an unincorporated area between the cities of New Westminster and Vancouver.

When an electric railway was built to connect these two metropolises, the line travelled through present-day Burnaby, mainly following the route of today’s SkyTrain Expo Line. By 1892 the Municipality of Burnaby was incorporated in response to the railway.

The first council meetings were held in the boarding house for the workers from the powerhouse where electricity for the rail line was generated.

It seems fitting that while Burnaby is celebrating its 120th birthday this month, the Burnaby Village Museum is participating through an event that’s all about transportation.

“Burnaby in Motion” is a special opening of the museum on Saturday, Sept. 29 and Sunday, Sept. 30, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The event features vintage and modern-day riding toys, transportation-related crafts and vintage buses from the Transit Museum Society. TraiNgang will be on site with their model railway display, and visitors who come by bike can use the secure parking services of BEST’s Bicycle Valet Service.

Live family entertainment is planned all day, with everything from saxophones and accordions to folktales and a street theatre act that features a miniature stage on the back of a vintage bicycle.

Don’t miss the chance to ride the carousel, and also to visit the restored Interurban 1223 tram, that was once part of an electric railway network that served the region from Chilliwack to North Vancouver and places in between.

Check out www.burnaby.ca/celebrate120 for a list of other Burnaby 120 events, including activities at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts and Burnaby Arts Gallery taking place the same dates and times as Burnaby in Motion.

• Lisa Codd is the curator at the Burnaby Village Museum.