New Westminster, New Westminster Quay, part of Bear's B.C. Page.
Author's note:
All material on this website is covered by copyrite.
A version of this artilce
was published in the Oct. `01 issue of
`Airlines', the in-flight magazine for
Westjet Airlines.
NEW WESTMINSTER QUAY
Story and Photos by
LEE A. WOOD
When was the last time that you saw a submarine? Obviously, for some of you, the answer would be, "Just what the heck to do you think I'm standing on?" For most of you the answer will be, "Never".
Until now the closest I had been to a sub was in 1974 when I stood on Ten Mile Point in Victoria, British Columbia and watched the sail-by for the decommissioning of the HMCS Rainbow.
Now however, I can actually say I have been on, and in, a submarine. And not just a movie prop but an actual slim, black, aquatic needle of death and destruction.
| U 521 Patrol Sub. 300 Ft. Long. 23 Feet Wide.
Built in Russia. Foxtrot Class.
20 years in the Russian Navy.
Never saw battle.
Sold again, late in 1999,
U 521 was moved to a new berth in Victoria, B. C.
| 
From Russia with Love.
Stripped of her motors to make room
for the passage of tourists, U 521 was towed
to Canada by tug boat. A metallic
immigrant she
resides at the Quay in New Westminster, B. C. |
`06/03/24
I thought you might like to update your web site as
the Soviet submarine has left New Westminster for good.
It went to Victoria, and then later to the United States?
Colin S.
Manager,
New Westminster (B.C. Canada) Museum and Archives
`6/9/17
The sub. is moored at the San Diego Maritime Museum.
Steve R. Prehistoric Publishing Vancouver, Canada
|
Towed over from Russia and docked at the quay (pronounced Kee by New Westminsterites) in New Westminster, British Columbia, this now obsolete, and dearmed, diesel powered, vessel of war is open to the public.
The hatch on the deck of U 521, that was originally used for loading torpedoes, has been replaced with a door and a stairway so the guide can take you through the cramped quarters where the sailors worked, and lived, for months at a time.
Though she carried twenty-two slim pencils of death this Foxtrot class vessel, built in 1971, never fired a shot in anger.
A few feet in front of the bow of this bright black submersible is another remembrance of the past. Almost nose to nose, or stem to stem in Naval parlance, the Royal City Star dwarfs its neighbour in size and brilliance with its gleaming white lattice work railings, tall smokestacks, huge stern paddlewheel, and flashing neon signs and lights.
Originally commissioned in New Orleans, Louisiana, as a floating casino,
the Queen of New Orleans was refurbished and recommissioned in New
Westminster, British Columbia as the Royal City Star. From the muddy
Mississippi to the muddy Fraser the 1,000 passenger vessel continues to
entertain tourists and gamblers.
In front of the Casino, construction is under way on the Discovery Center.
The main floor to be an information center for the Fraser River and its
history, the upper floor will be a waiting area for the Royal City Star, when she is not at her berth. | Royal City Star
Renamed after the Royal City of New Westminster.
250 Ft. 2,000 Hp.
8 Knots.
Steel Construction.
Unable to turn or dock it is always accompanied by a tug boat.
10 AM - 3 AM daily. 4 decks.
Restaurant.
Banquet room.
Bar. Slots.
Mini baccarat.
Blackjack. Pai Gow.
Caribbean Stud.
Let it ride poker.
Practice tables.
The casino will move several meters upstream after the U521 moves to False Creek. |
Remodelled in 1999 to represent the riverboats that used to ply the waters of the silt laden Fraser River taking supplies to the miners during the Barkerville gold rush, the Royal City Star is actually an import from Louisiana. Built in 1994 for the Mississippi River she was a casino for the Hilton Hotel chain.
This latest addition to the growing number of casinos in the Vancouver area of British Columbia sails downstream twice daily, weather and river traffic permitting.
Even if you are not a gambler you can go aboard to see the splendour of a bygone era and enjoy the sights as she cruises beneath the majestic Alex Fraser Bridge.
When the Royal City Star returns, the waves from her paddle will wash across the hulls of more modern vessels parked downstream. Westminster Tug Boats are tied along a wharf projecting from the quay.
WESTMINSTER TUG HUNTER
With four, fifty foot, harbour tugs, ranging in size from twelve hundred to three thousand horsepower, Westminster Tug Boats Inc. specializes in ship berthing and towing on the Fraser River.
Towering above the water craft, though only two stories tall, built upon the quay itself, is the New Westminster Quay Public Market.
The Public Market is a veritable
cornucopia of more than seventy stalls selling everything from cordon bleu to the latest issue of your favourite magazine.
While the market towers over the tugboats and fish boats tied to the wharf, the next building downstream towers over the Market. The `Inn at Westminster Quay' is a modern eleven story, three and a half star, hotel with convention facilities.
The afternoon sun outlines the Inn at Westminster Quay in the background
and highlights the autumn leaves between the Public Market and the Seaside walk.
| Inn at Westminster Quay 126 rooms, all with panoramic river views.
Executive Jacuzzi suite.
Honeymoon suites.
Fitness center.
Boardroom.
Banquet facilities.
Boathouse Seafood Restaurant. 
Part of O’Neil Hotels and Resorts.
|
The reflection of lights on the water give the evening stroller a view of serenity as compared to the hustle and bustle of river traffic viewed during the day.
Pictures of the seawall at the Quay.
Beneath the rooms that project over the water is the SS Samson V, an old sternwheeler that is now a maritime museum. Open daily in the summer it is closed on weekdays during the winter but open on Saturday and Sunday.
|
Starline Eco Tours
Beta Star 60' catamaran.
Atria Star 38' tour boat.
1 1/2 Hr. Sea Lion Tours downstream to Steveston
in April and May.
Day trips up the Fraser River to the
Harrison Hotel at Harrison
Lake from June to August.
Daily 6 Hr. lunch trips to
Pitt Lake, weekdays during the
summer months. | 
S.S. Samson
 More pictures of the S. S. Samson.
To the West of the SS Samson is another wharf where two sightseeing companies reside, Starline Eco Tours and Paddlewheeler River Adventures.
Starline's sixty foot catamaran, Beta Star, and their thirty-eight foot tour boat, Atria Star, offer charter tours along the river, luncheon tours to the lodge at Pitt Lake, and Christmas Carol tours during the festive season
| 
MV. Native
Paddlewheeler River Adventures' sternwheeler MV Native offers a tour upstream where it docks at Ft. Langley while the passengers tour the restored Hudson's Bay Trading Post. |
M V Native
Built in 1985. 92 Ft.
Diesel power.
Historic guided tours.
Dinner Tours. Charter Tours.
Weddings, banquets. |
The quay offers large parking lots for cars, but unfortunately there are no docking facilities for water travellers. There are, however, docking facilities in False Creek and the Main Street SkyTrain Station is just across the street from Science World which is situated at the end of False Creek.
Between the buildings and parking lots and the swiftly flowing water is a wooden walkway which is open to the public and stretches downstream past the hotel, an office complex, and several apartment complexes.
Across Columbia Street is the New Westminster stop on the SkyTrain. This station of the rapid transit is about half way between the end terminals, Waterfront Station in the heart of the city of Vancouver and the King George Station in the centre of the municipality of Surrey.
In the background the SkyTrain passes over the Fraser River on the SkyBridge. Beneath the SkyBridge trucks and cars cross on the Pattullo Bridge.
A new park has been added upstream from the Quay.
Known as the Royal City, because it was named by a Queen, New Westminster is the San Francisco of Canada. Old buildings housing offices and stores are separated by steep cobbled streets that climb away from the river's edge to Queen's Park and up to the newer shopping area on the top of the mountain.
The Quay area is separated from the downtown core by railway tracks and a busy street. More than one pedestrian overpass will take you above the thundering locomotives and the endless stream of trucks that pass through the city on Front Street where quaint little shops hide beneath the overhead parking.
Across the tracks from the Quay the downtown Corner of Begbie and Columbia Streets are is host to film company vehicles as they make a TV commercial for Honeycomb cereal. In 1999 Hollywood North expects to exceed the one billion dollar mark for film production.
Between the tracks and the SkyTrain station, near the foot of the main pedestrian overpass is an old CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) station that is now a Keg Steakhouse.This one, built in 1898, is a replacement for the first one that was destroyed byfire.
As everyone is familiar with The Keg (Good Friends Great Steaks), there is no need for me to tell of the fine dining that can be experienced there.
Whether shopping, sightseeing, honeymooning, or just going for an afternoon coffee, the New Westminster Quay, with its myriad attractions, is a destination you don't want to say you have `Never' seen.
Access to New Westminster is a short five minute walk from the Amtrak terminal, through a lovely park, to the Main Street SkyTrain station and then a picturesque twenty minute ride on the SkyTrain. The train will carry you through the Southern part of the city of Vancouver, above Trout Lake, through the city of Burnaby, over the top of a mountain covered with sky scrapers, and down to New Westminster, with spectacular views of the Fraser River and the City of Richmond.
For the same one dollar and fifty cent ticket, or three dollars, depending on the time of day, you can stay on to the end of the line and come back again to the Westminster Station while enjoying a breathtaking view as you soar above the Fraser River over the SkyBridge.
Just a short walk, through the park, from the Main Street SkyTrain Station is the former Canadian National Railway Station. The Pacific Central is the Vancouver Terminus for Greyhound, PCL (Pacific Coach Lines), VIA Rail, and Amtrak. |
END
Authors Notes:
`99 Sept. - This story was originally written
Since the writing of this article, U521 has left the Fraser River. (It now makes its home in the inner harbour of Victoria, B.C.'s provincial capital, on the Southern tip of Vancouver Island.)
`01 Sept - This story was updated and sold . (2 years, to the month, after it was written.)
`01 Oct. Story appeared in `Airlines’ . (Inflight magazine of Westjet Airlines.)
`02 June - Logos and links, and additional photos, added.
`06 March - U 521 update and additional info.
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