WELCOME TO THE LIONS
In the heart of the city
The Lions is conveniently located in Vancouver 's West End/Coal Harbour area. Only one block from great shopping on Robson Street and two blocks from the Vancouver Harbor Seawall that leads from the Pan Pacific Hotel to world famous Stanley Park. This area boasts the reputation of being one of the most beautiful places to live in the world. The Lions towers with it’s “Milky Way” are an impressive sight for both the first time visitor and the every day resident, forming a gigantic work of art that covers the surface of an entire city block
ARCHITECTURE & ART
The "Milky Way" is the name given to the walkway that runs throughout the grounds of The Lions. It is a large unique artwork commissioned under the City of Vancouver's Public Art Program.
Seen in part, four main elements are layered in a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors, 39 tile mosaics spiral across the site. From photo images of actual galaxies, the artist has abstracted each design and "collaged" them into the walkway. Second, starlight clusters the walkway throughout. Using 170 fiber optic point lights set flush into black granite tiles which compose a sky of 36 star constellations.The tiles have been designed and laid out in four different star shapes to reflect varying star light intensities and are visually connected with lines of polished brass to identify each constellation. Third, the color fields of stone aggregate, which overlay and unite all elements, are the artists' abstractions of photo-mappings of the Milky Ways' "cosmic sea". Finally at each threshold to the site, a ship makes its own passage through the night sky. The ships, in the form of large bronze castings of cargo ships found in Vancouver's' harbors, are the artists' allusion to mankind's' historical fascination with the navigation of the heavens.
The Artist - Katherine Kerr is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art in Toronto and holds a Bachelor of Fine Art from the University of Guelph and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of B.C. She has received national and international awards for her works in art, design and poetry.
How to find us
Whether you are a local or a first-time visitor enjoying Vancouver's landmarks or the many sites downtown, stop by The Lions to check out the impressive public art work and our beautiful gardens.
The Lions also hosts a number of commercial businesses, among which you will find a Dental Office, a Flower Shop, Subway, Vet Clinic, Dry Cleaner, Nail Salon and a Barber Shop. Maybe just the thing you are looking for.