November 14, 1938

The Lions Gate Bridge, connecting parts of Vancouver, opened November 14, 1938. The mention of lions refers to nearby mountain peaks, but in January of 1939 the concrete lion we see above (one at each end of the bridge) were also in place.

We learn in a letter he wrote, about their sculptor, the Italian,  Charles Marega (September 24, 1871 to March 27, 1939):

“Thank God I have work now. I am modelling a lion for Vancouver’s suspension bridge. I had much trouble to get the work. The engineer is from Montreal and wanted the lion to be modelled in Montreal. But the president of the bridge committee, who is a long friend of mine, and his wife, who was a good friend of Mama’s, finally assigned the work to me. I would have preferred the lions to be in bronze or stone—but it has to be cheap, so they will be done in concrete, which annoys me, as I could have otherwise have made both lions from one model. However, I have to content myself to get work at all.”