City of North Vancouver to remove Lonsdale Quay fountain

City of North Vancouver is planning to dismantle the fountain at Lonsdale Quay along with two public art pieces—White Winds and Beyond the Fountain—that are embedded in the fountain. At a council meeting today, City of North Vancouver council will discuss the deaccession of the two public art projects as well as removal of the 37-year-old fountain.

Since 1989, the City of North Vancouver has partnered with the Quay North Urban Development on maintaining the South Quay Plaza Fountain and the  South Plaza. The fountain is considered at end of life and has been out of commission since late 2020, when a mechanical failure shut it down.

According to a staff report, the fountain needs to be substantially retrofitted but that would be prohibitively expensive. The City would have to install a new pump to stop the fountain from draining into the ocean, remove mechanical space under the fountain and create a new electrical room while bringing the plumbing to present day standards.

The cost for all this ? More than $300,000.

However, the fountain also features two public artworks: White Winds and Beyond the Fountain. CNV struck a Public Art De-accessioning Review Panel which met twice and concluded that any attempts to repair or refurbish the fountain were impractical and not feasible. The panel has now recommended to council that every effort be made to repurpose “White Winds” and the artistic tiles on site, and that the fountain art be properly documented and archived.

“While everyone was in agreement that the artworks were in good or repairable condition, it was acknowledged that the fountain itself is an aging infrastructure that is at the end of its lifespan,” the panel noted in its report. CNV staff have submitted a project sheet in the 2023 Capital Plan for Quay Plaza Improvements that would include the demolition of the Fountain.