New Westminster in Greater Vancouver Regional District, British Columbia — Canada’s West Coast
The Great Fire
New Westminster
By Andrew Ruppenstein, June 10, 2010
1. The Great Fire Marker
fire destroyed the
downtown portion of
the City. After the
conflagration only these two
major buildings in this area remained:
the Burr Block
and the Queens Hotel.
This marker is placed in
recognition of the fire
and to honour the spirit
of those citizens of the
Royal City, from
all walks of life,
who worked together
to rebuild this town.
Dedicated September 10, 1998
Erected 1998.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Natural Resources. A significant historical month for this entry is September 1857.
Location. 49° 12.268′ N, 122° 54.345′ W. Marker is in New Westminster, British Columbia, in Greater Vancouver Regional District. Marker is at the intersection of Columbia Street and 4th Street on Columbia Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 411 Columbia Street, New Westminster, British Columbia V3L 1A9, Canada. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 18 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Carnegie Library (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); The New Westminster Court House and Land Registry Office
By S.J. Thompson, September 1898
2. Columbia Street after the Great Fire
The library descriptive record for this photo, courtesy of the New Westminster Public Library, reads: "This photograph was taken from approximately the 400 block Columbia looking west. The photographer S.J. Thompson took this photograph while standing on the roof of the Burr Block (now the Met Hotel - 1998). View looks down Columbia Street. Street running left to right (right-hand side near foreground) is Church Street. Building at right next to Church with the arch is the YMCA. CLuster of buildings beyond this...would be the Public Library, Firehall and Post Office. Beyond that cluster of buildings Sixth Street runs down to Columbia. At the top of the hill are the ruins of the Court House. Across the street, on the south side the only really identifiable building is the tall one with the one arched window. This would have been part of the Douglas-Elliott building."
this page online
Also see . . . The Burr Block/Met Hotel History. The Met Hotel's history of its building: "...The Burr Block building was built by William Henry Burr (1827-1896), an early teacher and settler to the area. Mr. Burr was hard hit by the recession of the mid-1890s and eventually retired to Ladner, BC. An interesting aside, he was related to the famous actor, Raymond Burr, who played the leading role of lawyer/detective on The Perry Mason Show." (Submitted on June 23, 2010.)
By Columbian Newspaper, September 1898
3. The Burr Block and Queens Hotel after the Great Fire of 1898
This photo, courtesy of the New Westminster Public Library, shows a building devastated by the fire (left) and the two buildings left standing after the fire: The Burr Block (middle) and Queens Hotel (right).
By Andrew Ruppenstein, June 10, 2010
4. The Burr Block (1892) and Queens Hotel (1887) today
The marker, barely visible, is located directly to the right of the Met Hotel (Burr Block) entrance.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 22, 2020. It was originally submitted on June 23, 2010, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Sacramento, California. This page has been viewed 1,098 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on June 23, 2010, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Sacramento, California. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
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