One Olympic monument is gone, but another is on its way.
Clearbrook Iron Works of Abbotsford paid an undisclosed sum to take away the VANOC-abandoned inukshuk from an empty lot west of the Olympic Village on Aug. 9, almost six months after bidding closed. It was installed the next day at its new home beside Sumas Way, north of the Huntingdon border crossing. The 2.6-tonne, mortar, concrete and styrofoam inukshuk towers above the chainlink fence that it is behind.
The companys Olympic contracts included work on the Callaghan Valley ski jumps and bridges over Pacific Boulevard and the Whistler Sliding Centre. It also helped fabricate temporary Empire Field.
Meanwhile, a four-metre bronze statue of Nike, the Greek winged goddess of victory, is to be erected on the Cordova Viaduct in downtown Vancouver.
The city issued an Aug. 5 notice of intent to hire the Ausenco Sandwell engineering firm for a $25,000 no-bid contract to provide foundation designs and supervisions of its construction.
The notice says Ausenco Sandwell was chosen because they are the original designers and the engineer of record for the Cordova Viaduct and have the expertise required for the addition of the Nike statue and its foundation to the pre-existing structure.
The target date for the statues installation was not disclosed.
The bronze Nike statue was donated to Vancouver by Mayor Georgios Aidonis of Olympia, Greece to commemorate the link between winter 2010-host Vancouver and Greece, the birthplace of the Olympic Games. A replica model was presented to Mayor Gregor Robertson at the Oct. 22, 2009 ceremonial lighting of the Olympic flame in Ancient Olympia.
As Greek-Canadians we are so proud to have our feet in both countries, we cant wait for this legacy to become part of our city, said Demitri Douzenis, past-president of the Hellenic Canadian Congress of B.C. and Hellenic Community of Vancouver. We have been anticipating this moment.
Douzenis, who attended the lighting ceremony in Olympia, said the actual statue was presented to Robertson during the Games, but has been in storage since.
Douzenis said the provincial government rejected the original desired site on Jack Poole Plaza, near the permanent Olympic cauldron.
