Burnaby Village Museum

Burnaby Village Museum & Carousel
Location6501 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Coordinates49°14′21″N 122°57′58″W / 49.2391°N 122.9661°W / 49.2391; -122.9661
Typeopen-air museum
Websitewww.burnabyvillagemuseum.ca

The Burnaby Village Museum, previously known as the Heritage Village, is an open-air museum in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, located at Deer Lake Park. It is open seasonally[1] from May to September and opens for special events taking place September to March. The Burnaby Village Museum is a reconstructed 1920s village, containing 31 full scale buildings with staff interpreters and educators welcoming visitors and giving demonstrations in the homes, shops and businesses.[2] The museum spans 10 acres (4 ha) of land. Some of the buildings are original heritage buildings, moved from other locations in the community and restored. Others are replica buildings, created to house specific displays and artifacts, including a 1912 B.C. Electric Railway interurban tram. The museum is also known for the 1912 C. W. Parker Carousel, available for visitors to ride.[3]

History

Burnaby Village Museum was built in 1971 as a commemorative project of the 100th anniversary of the Province of British Columbia joining Confederation with Canada. The original layout of the Museum depicted a single street and manor house (Elworth) spread across 4.3 acres, which intended to illustrate how a small BC pioneer village may have looked around the turn of the 20th century.

After the initial construction and fabrication of the Museum, the Museum continued to grow, adding new exhibits and buildings every year. Throughout the 1980s, the Municipality of Burnaby and Century Park Museum Association worked together on plans to acquire more land to expand administration and exhibit spaces. By the end of the decade the museum’s size had doubled, and a bridge was being built across Deer Lake Brook to accommodate a new entrance and development of a rural zone. After the Municipality of Burnaby took over the administration of the Museum in 1990, staff and volunteers created exhibits and programs representing Burnaby, with emphasis on the 1920s.

Burnaby Village Museum in the Lower Mainland is a ten-acre village. It draws people to large annual holiday celebrations. It’s a free attraction in the middle of the City of Burnaby and offers changing and varied activities for all. Burnaby Village Museum integrates a balanced interpretation of historical and cultural identity within Burnaby.


Permanent exhibits

The following is from the Burnaby Village Museum Visitors Map.[4]

Bells Dry Goods operated between 1922 and 1937.
  • Tom Irvine's House – Explore a modest 1911 home originally built in Central Burnaby and learn about independent living in the early community.
  • Church – Experience a replica worship space and reflect on traditions. This space is often used today for weddings.
  • War Memorial Fountain – Stop for a drink of water at this historic drinking fountain, originally erected in 1923 by the Burnaby Civic Employees Union in front of Municipal Hall.
  • Vorce Tram Station – Experience this original 1911 station from the Burnaby Lake interurban line, which was restored to its original appearance in 2008.
  • Interurban 1223 Tram Barn – Explore a restored 1912 tram and discover how interurban rail connected Burnaby to the region and shaped its growth.
  • C.W. Parker Carousel – A restored 1912 vintage carousel. Each horse is a work-of-art that was hand-carved and painted. Visitors can ride on the carousel for a small fee.
  • Elworth – Explore the 1922 home of the upper-middle-class Bateman family and learn about domestic life in the period.
  • Elworth Garage – The original garage of the Elworth home.
  • Drugstore – Discover the role of pharmacists and the skills required to prepare medicines in the past.
  • McKay Barbership – Step into a 1920s barbershop and explore everyday social life and services. This building is based on the McKay Barbershop which operated on Kingsway.
  • The Stride Studios – A temporary exhibit gallery that features a different special exhibit each year.
  • Burnaby Lake General Store – A 1920s General Store, based on an actual store that operated on the corner of Sperling and Canada Way.
  • Royal Oak Garage – Learn about early automotive repair and the rise of motor vehicles in Burnaby based on a 1925 garage on Kingsway in Burnaby.
  • Optometrist - Discover how vision care was practiced and how optical tools evolved.
  • Central Park Theatre – Step into a working theatre and experience early 20th century entertainment.
  • Old Curly Locomotive – The oldest surviving steam locomotive in British Columbia, used in the 1880s to build part of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
  • Wagner's Blacksmith Shop – A working blacksmith shop, based on a 1925 Burnaby business.
  • Steam Equipment – Discover how steam engines powered industry and supported local development in Burnaby.
  • Cookhouse – Explore a South Asian Canadian cookhouse and learn about community life in sawmill camps.
  • Japanese Ofuro – Discover cultural bathing traditions and commemorate early Japanese immigration to BC.
  • Indigenous Learning House – Learn about Indigenous knowledge, culture and ongoing connections to the land.
  • Royal Bank – Explore early banking services and their role in a growing community in this restored community bank based on Burnaby’s Royal Bank which opened in 1921 on Kingsway and McKay.
  • Treble Clef Phonographs – A 1920s music shop with an operating player piano.
  • The Burnaby Post – The working print shop representing the offices of Burnaby's weekly paper, the Burnaby Post.
  • Way Sang Yuen Wat Kee – Explore traditional Chinese herbal medicine and its role in community care.
  • The Home Bakery – Discover how baked goods were made and sold in early Burnaby bakeries. The original "Home Bakery" was located on Kingsway, just east of Boundary Road.
  • Bandstand – The museum's bandstand is based on the Central Park bandstand, built in 1895 and used until the 1920s.
  • Vancouver Heights Sheet Metal Works – This little building was once a shed used for horseshoeing on Burnaby's Lubbock Farm. Today, it houses tinsmithing tools used to make a variety of items out of sheet metal.
  • Bell's Dry Goods – This original store building, built circa 1922, housed the dry-goods business of Flora and William Bell until 1937.
  • Seaforth School – A school building opened in Burnaby in 1922 with 20 students. It was located on the north side of Burnaby Lake at Government Street and Piper Avenue. The school was moved to Burnaby Village Museum in 1983, and was opened to the public after extensive restoration in 1987.
  • Love Farmhouse – Step inside the historic 1893 farmhouse, one of the oldest surviving buildings in Burnaby, and learn about daily life on an early Burnaby family farm.[4]

[3]Affiliations

The museum is affiliated with the BC Museums Association, Canadian Museums Association, and the Canadian Heritage Information Network

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Hours & Rates | Burnaby Village Museum". www.burnabyvillagemuseum.ca. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Burnaby Village Museum". Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  3. 1 2 Burnaby Village Museum
  4. 1 2 "Love farmhouse". Retrieved August 24, 2026.
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