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5 things you (probably) didn't know about the Burrard Bridge

To many it's a gateway to the city's core
facts-burrard-bridge
Clockwise from top: Burrard Bridge shortly after opening in 1932, a postcard depicting the new bridge, one of the original braziers, a recent Hyundai commercial.

The oldest of Vancouver's major bridges, the Burrard Bridge is one of the city's great Art Deco features with a history stretching back more than 90 years.

Over the years it's seen the city change a lot, and even instigated its own change (south of the bridge the road used to be called Cedar Street, in keeping with the other tree names, but it was changed when the bridge went through).

By the way, if you're wondering what's inside the two towers in the middle it's...more bridge. Really, they're just hiding pieces of the structure with a more artful facade.

Now here are five more fun bridge facts.

1. A separate light rail section was planned

Back in the late 1920s and early 1930s when it was being designed the idea was for a light rail line to run underneath the roadway.

The planning went far enough that when the bridge was built it was designed to be strong enough and have space for the rail line, but that's as far as it got.

2. The lamps at either end of the bridge are to honour WWI soldiers

The bridge, built in 1932, came around more than a decade after the Great War, but its memory still loomed large in people's minds.

When the bridge was finished the four braziers were created to represent the fires soldiers stayed warm around on the European battlefield.

They were removed, but in 2017 they were recreated and lit onceagain.

3. It's the busiest cycling spot in Canada

While there was quite a political battle about whether cycling lanes should exist on the bridge, they've proven popular.

In 2017 a cycling counter company named the Burrard Bridge the busiest cycling route in all of North America. And while some criticized the counting method, other articles still put Burrard Bridge at the top in Canada.

4. It has a secret stairwell

It's bricked up right now, but there's a stairwell that leads from the near sea level up to the roadway on the southern side of the bridge.

While it's bricked up, urban explorers have found it. A few years ago a pair of artists created a piece based around it called Stairwell.

5. Car commercials often use it

Car commercials often pass by in a bit of a blur, but if you're paying attention to the background can be fun to try and figure out if they were shot in Vancouver.

Many are, and of those, quite a few use the Burrard Bridge as a place for a sort of 'car glamour' shot as a vehicle speeds across the bridge with the city behind it. It may not always be obvious, as the focus is on the car, but it, and the other bridges over False Creek, seem to be favourites.