The Big Drawer is just that: A large concrete drawer, containing concrete replicas of workers time cards, placed at the point where Burrard Shipyard workers once entered the huge facility. Bill Pechet and Stephanie Robb are the artists.
For over a hundred years, North Vancouver’s Lonsdale Quay area was one of Canada’s main shipbuilding centers, turning out all sorts of vessels in peace and war, including both World Wars. But that all came to an end over 30 years ago, with only a few small repair yards hanging on.
As part of the city’s redevelopment of the area, which includes the large Lonsdale Quay Market, some of the shipyard buildings have taken on new life; in this case, the former coppersmith building of the huge Burrard shipyard has become a large restaurant and beer garden—but the thousands who worked there are honored with a mural on the side of the building, showing them as they thronged to enter the building.
The last piece of serious shipyard equipment is still on hand, temporarily, to aid with new construction on the site.
