East Van Cross to move to new location
Vancouver City Council approves a motion to relocate Ken Lum’s Monument to East Vancouver to a more accessible and visible spot
Photo by Daniel Abadia.
THE EAST VAN Cross is getting a new home.
On December 11, Vancouver City Council passed Coun. Mike Klassen’s motion to move the iconic public artwork formally known as The Monument to East Vancouver to another location so that it’s easier for people to see and interact with the piece.
The 17-metre sculpture created by artist Ken Lum—which is illuminated at night and is in the shape of a Latin Christian cross with the words “East” and “Van” sharing the letter A—was erected in 2010 at the intersection of Clark Drive and East 6th Avenue. Now, it is partially obscured by a nearby development (ICBC’s new 10-storey headquarters) and is limited by private property constraints.
“I’m just glad,” Klassen says in a phone interview with Stir. “I’m a born and raised East Vancouver kid; I grew up in the Killarney neighbourhood, and I remember seeing the East Van Cross when I was young. Now people have it as tattoos and bumper stickers; it really has become a very popular symbol for East-siders.”
A new location has not yet been determined, and it will take some time for the monument to find its new spot. Klassen says the direction now is for city staff to meet again in the fall of 2025 with suggested options for a new site plus ideas on how to fund it for council to review and debate.
“I just love the excitement we’re seeing,” Klassen adds. “I really want to underline that this is really intended to signal the importance of public art. Sometimes it gets forgotten, we’re so focused on core issues when it comes to local government. But public art really has this incredible impact on creating gathering spaces, spaces to have common experiences.
“If it were up to me, I think we need to think more about how public art creates a sense of community, a sense of place, and I think Vancouver is doing that with some of its mural programs,” he continues. “I think of going to Olympic Park in Seattle where there are sculptures all over the place and I thought how imaginative that was. It’s an interesting debate right now with what’s happening with the Vancouver Art Gallery [abandoning its design plans]; for the working class on the East Side of the city it sure would be nice to have our own really prominent piece of art and a place for people to take visits with friends and family in town to go check it out.”
The most recent estimate for the cost of moving the structure was approximately $250,000, according to Klassen, money that could come out of the City’s public-art budget or through private third-party funding.
Lum had originally proposed installing it at the highly prominent Mount Pleasant intersection of Main Street and Kingsway.
Klassen suggests moving the East Van Cross to a more prominent, highly visible, and accessible location that would allow residents and visitors to safely and easily “experience, photograph, and engage with the artwork”.
According to the motion, the relocation project could be funded through a combination of developer-financed public art programs and philanthropic contributions, thereby avoiding having to rely on general city revenues.
Klassen also suggested that the monument’s upkeep could be funded via commercial opportunities such as branded merchandise sales or on-site food and beverage services.
Last year, two East Vancouver neighbourhoods were jostling to be the artwork’s new home: Hastings-Sunrise and Mount Pleasant.
In his motion, Klassen described the artwork as “symbolizing the city’s pride, resilience, and the rich cultural history of East Vancouver”. He further noted that the East Van Cross symbol dates back to the 1940s and is rooted in graffiti culture. “The symbol reflects themes of marginality, defiance, and hope for East Vancouver, representing the diverse immigrant and working-class communities that have defined the area,” the motion states.
Klassen maintains that relocating the East Van Cross would tangibly reaffirm the City’s commitment to public art and the legacy of East Vancouver’s cultural history.
“Relocating the East Van Cross to a more accessible and visible location represents an opportunity to celebrate the cultural identity of East Vancouver while also addressing current challenges of visibility and accessibility,” the motion states. “By engaging with the artist and Vancouver’s arts community, as well as potential sponsors, the City can ensure that Ken Lum’s Monument to East Vancouver (East Van Cross) public artwork will continue to inspire and connect with Vancouverites and visitors for generations to come.”
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