This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2009) |
Location | Richmond, British Columbia |
---|---|
Coordinates | 49°08′07″N123°5′25″W / 49.13528°N 123.09028°W |
Opened | 1970s |
Closed | 2010 |
Owner | Bill Vander Zalm 1984-1990 Tan Yu/Asiaworld Internationale Group 1990-2006 Townline Homes 2007-present |
Fantasy Gardens, also known as Fantasy Garden World, was a former amusement park in Richmond, British Columbia that was located at the corner of Steveston Highway and No. 5 Road. The park was called Fantasy Gardens because it was surrounded by a series of stone buildings that were designed to resemble structures built during the Middle Ages. The buildings had been used as a backdrop in numerous music videos, television productions, and movies (it stood in for Halloweentown in Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge ).
Behind the stone buildings were the Biblical Gardens. These gardens were filled with numerous religious icons, including a hedge that had been carved into the shape of a Bible.
Fantasy Gardens was home to a massive plant store in the Art Knapp's chain, owned by Frank Van Hest (1932-2005) in 1965. Bill Vander Zalm's son Wim owned several other stores in the Art Knapp's chain. Many people visited the store to get a glimpse of its turtle-filled pond. This plant store closed its location at Fantasy Gardens, moving to a vacant nursery one mile west along Alderbridge Way and Minoru Boulevard. The Art Knapp's Nursery stores were founded by Arthur William Knapp, a longtime resident of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
During the 1970s and early 1990s, there was a small-scale amusement park at Fantasy Gardens. The biggest attraction was a miniature railroad that visitors could ride throughout the park and the gardens. When the fair closed down, most of the miniature railroad tracks were ripped up. Before being closed, this miniature railroad was filmed and it appeared in The X-Files episode "The Calusari."
In 1984, the gardens were bought by Bill Vander Zalm, who established the Christian theme of much of the park. Then a provincial MLA, Vander Zalm went on to be Premier of British Columbia. His later sale of the park led to charges of conflict of interest, which in turn led to his resignation in 1991 and the defeat of the Social Credit government. [1]
Vander Zalm sold the property in the early 1990s to Chinese-born Filipino-Taiwanese businessman Tan Yu for $16 million, whose AsiaWorld then sold it to local developer firm Townline in 2007 [2] that redeveloped into retail property named The Gardens.
On 7 September 2010, Fantasy Gardens was torn down, but the Dutch Castle, now a community landmark, was saved. The castle is a replica of Coevorden Castle, possibly the ancestral home of Captain George Vancouver in the Netherlands. The castle was donated to the people of Vancouver by the city of Coevorden for Expo 86. [3] The castle was used as sales centre for the Gardens, a planned residential development. The southern portion is now a condo complex with a Loblaws supermarket, but the former amusement park will become a 12 acres public park for the further residential buildings. [4] [5] The former Dutch/Coevorden Castle will become a City of Richmond-owned day care centre. [6]
The site was also used as the primary set of the "Revisions" episode of the TV series Stargate SG-1 , the "Irresponsible" episode of Stargate Atlantis , the "Monster Movie" episode of Supernatural and in the episodes "Shadows" and "Blackmail" episodes from Highlander: The Series .
It was also featured in the Sliders episode "Into The Mystic", the Psych episode "Christmas Joy" and the movie I'll Be Home for Christmas as well as The Boy Who Cried Werewolf .
Coevorden is a city and municipality in the province of Drenthe, Netherlands. During the 1998 municipal reorganisation in the province, Coevorden merged with Dalen, Sleen, Oosterhesselen and Zweeloo, retaining its name. In August 2017, it had a population of 35,267.
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often featuring multiple areas with different themes. Unlike temporary and mobile funfairs and carnivals, amusement parks are stationary and built for long-lasting operation. They are more elaborate than city parks and playgrounds, usually providing attractions that cater to a variety of age groups. While amusement parks often contain themed areas, theme parks place a heavier focus with more intricately-designed themes that revolve around a particular subject or group of subjects.
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William Nicholas Vander Zalm is a politician and entrepreneur in British Columbia, Canada. He was the 28th premier of British Columbia from 1986 to 1991.
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Lakeside Amusement Park is a family-owned amusement park in Lakeside, Colorado, adjacent to Denver. Opened in 1908, it's the oldest amusement park in Colorado still operating in its original location, and is the lone remaining American amusement park to have had the name White City. The park, comprising nearly half of the Town of Lakeside that it was responsible for creating in 1907, features the landmark Tower of Jewels.
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"Revisions" is the 5th episode from the seventh season of the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and is the 137th episode overall. It was first broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel on July 11, 2003. The episode was written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie and was directed by Martin Wood.
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Arthur William Knapp, better known as Art Knapp, was a Canadian businessman and entrepreneur. Art Knapp is best known as the founder of the Art Knapp's chain of garden stores. Knapp was born in Cobble Hill, British Columbia and was the son of William Knapp and Zoe Saunders Knapp. As Knapp's mother died in childbirth, he was raised by his paternal aunt and uncle, Phyllis Knapp Jennings and William Jennings of Victoria, British Columbia. According to documents held at the Saanich Archives, the Knapp's and Jennings families, which included Frank Jennings and Elizabeth Walkden Jennings, all immigrated to Canada together from England on the ship RMS Empress of Britain (1906) in 1911. The same documents reveal that the family had an extensive background in horticulture and operated green houses in Victoria.
Melville Bertram Couvelier was a businessman and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Saanich and the Islands from 1986 to 1991 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a Social Credit member.
Faye Leung is a Canadian businesswoman, best known for her involvement in the scandal that brought down the British Columbia government of Bill Vander Zalm in 1991 surrounding the sale of Fantasy Gardens. Raised in Vancouver and Victoria Chinatowns, she and her husband Dean are credited with helping to "prevent the destruction of Chinatown when they opposed a freeway going through the historic district."
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