Long before Metropolis at Metrotown—Burnaby was known as a land of tall trees and wilderness.
In 1850, pioneers settled into the area and The City of Burnaby started to develop slowly from there. By 1896, Burnaby had its first park, along with two schools, a post office, a store and a church.
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The city was named after Burnaby Lake, which was named in honour of Robert Burnaby who explored the region in 1859. He was a businessman that was active in community affairs and served five years in the BC legislature.
Here is a photo of the first council, in 1892.
The Municipal City Hall was not built until 1899, despite Burnaby being incorporated as a municipality in 1892.
By 1911, a second municipal hall needed to be built adjacent to the first hall, which was located at Kingsway and Edmonds.
Here is a photo of Kingsway looking southeast towards Edmonds Street in 1914.
Here’s one of Deer Lake from 1905.
Image via Burnaby Heritage
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The new municipal hall building helped to provide more space for the growing staff and more security for the records—with the buildings’ concrete construction and vaults.
Here is a photo of the municipal hall in 1911 and 1956.
This is what the city hall building looks like today.
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