Peace Arch
The monument and the surrounding land is part of Peace Arch Park. Within the park is Peace Arch Border Crossing, a major border crossing between Interstate 5 and British Columbia Highway 99.
Description
The Peace Arch has the flags of United States and Canada mounted on its crown, and two inscriptions on both sides of its frieze. The inscription on the U.S. side of the Peace Arch reads "Children of a common mother" (referring to the two nations' common origin from the British Empire), and the words on the Canadian side read "Brethren dwelling together in unity" (Psalm 133:1). Within the arch, each side has an iron gate mounted on either side of the border with an inscription above each gate: the one on the east side read "May these gates never be closed", while on the west side read "1814 Open One Hundred Years 1914".
The surrounding park, Peace Arch Park, consists of Peace Arch Provincial Park on the Canadian side and Peace Arch State Park on the American side of the border.
About 500,000 people visit the Peace Arch each year. The monument and surrounding park is considered an international park. As such, visitors do not require either a passport or visa to pass through their applicable border crossing so long as they stay within the boundaries of the park and leave the park into the country from which they entered the park.
Because of the Peace Arch monument, the border crossing between Surrey and Blaine is popularly known as the "Peace Arch Border Crossing". In Canada, the crossing is officially named Douglas after Sir James Douglas, the first governor of the Colony of British Columbia. It is one of the busiest border crossings between Canada and the United States, and the busiest such crossing west of Detroit.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Peacearch-boundaryplaque.jpg/220px-Peacearch-boundaryplaque.jpg)
Border inspection services at what is now known as the Peace Arch Border Crossing long predated the 1921 construction of the Peace Arch.
In 1914 Samuel Hill, lawyer for the Great Northern Railway, organized an international fundraising campaign to build the Arch. American architect Harvey Wiley Corbett donated his talents to design the Arch. International volunteers began constructing in 1920. It was dedicated on September 6, 1921, and was considered one of the first earthquake-resistant structures built in North America.
The Peace Arch Park has been the site of various international events and protests. In 1952, African-American singer and activist Paul Robeson, banned from international travel during the Red Scares, performed several concerts at the site. He sang from a flatbed truck on the American side to an audience in Canada. The Peace Arch was vandalized with paint and other damage by Canadian protestors demonstrating against the Cambodian campaign during the Vietnam War on May 9, 1970.
On February 9, 2010, the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay visited the north side of the Peace Arch, while Premier Gordon Campbell and Governor Christine Gregoire addressed a crowd of several hundred people.
See also
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ "Peace Arch – City of Surrey Heritage Sites". www.surrey.ca. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
- ^ About Peace Arch Park Archived September 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Custom Entry Ports in Surrey". Retrieved 2014-12-06.
- ^ Dougherty, Phil (August 2, 2007). "About 450 Canadians invade Blaine on May 9, 1970". HistoryLink. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
- ^ Broom, Jack (February 9, 2010). "Early risers gather for glimpse of Olympic Torch". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
External links
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