This Day in History, 1967: The Crab shuffles to the Vancouver Centennial Museum

The Crab Sculpture at Vancouver's MacMillan Space Centre in 2013. It's one of artist George Norris's iconic sculptures from around Vancouver. Norris recently died. Photo by Ward Perrin Ward Perrin /PROVINCE

Article content

Sculptor George Norris never achieved the renown of some Vancouver artists.

Article content

But he’s responsible for one of Vancouver’s most beloved public artworks, The Crab, which sits in front of the Museum of Vancouver and the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre.

Article content

Article content

“It’s iconic,” said Ryan Hunt, CEO of the museum. “Even people who aren’t aware of the name of the Museum of Vancouver or the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre often know our building as the building with the crab in front of it.”

Article content

Article content

Norris received the commission for the sculpture on May 16, 1967, at an event at Hycroft, the Shaughnessy mansion run by the University Women’s Club of Vancouver.

Article content

Article content

The Crab is about 6.7-metres high and five-metres wide, and is made of stainless steel. The sculpture is also a fountain, with water spraying out of jets.

Article content

May 16, 1967: George Norris with his winning model for the sculpture known as The Crab, which sits outside the Museum of Vancouver and the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre. Photo by Province /Vancouver Sun

Article content

The water can be operated manually, to vary the speed and intensity.

Article content

“The sculpture explodes with water,” Norris told The Province on May 16, 1967. “The fountain will have moods, as the sea does. When the pool (around it) is empty, the crab will be a free-standing sculpture. When the pool is full and all jets off, the sculpture will reflect in the still water. When the jets are on, there are three water systems which can be changed and combined.”

Article content

Norris told The Vancouver Sun that the sculpture/fountain was designed to change with the weather or events.

Article content

“On a rainy day you might want to shut off the water entirely; at a special event such as the Sea Festival you might want the jets to be on full-blast,” said Norris. “This gives an element of surprise — a change from our very organized lives. I didn’t want to restrict this by a limited interpretation.”

Article content

Article content

Funds for the $20,000 artwork were raised by the women’s subcommittee of the Vancouver Centennial Committee. Oddly, the design wasn’t chosen by women — it was chosen by a six-man jury. Another $24,000 was spent on the fountain.

Article content

Article content

The sculpture doesn’t actually have a name, The Crab is just what people call it. But there is a reason it’s in the shape of a crab.

Article content

“According to (First Nations) legend, the crab is the guardian of the harbour,” Mrs. Charles Hillman of the women’s subcommittee said when the sculpture was dedicated on May 4, 1968. “It is also the sign of the zodiac at the time we celebrate Canada’s Confederation.”

Article content

Article content

An Oct. 4, 1968, file photograph of the eye-catching giant stainless steel crab sculpture being set up outside the Centennial Museum (now the Vancouver Museum), and Planetarium at Vanier Park, by welder Gus Lidberg, left, and sculptor/creator of the piece, George Norris Ross.

Article content

The 1,360-kilogram sculpture is made of several pieces that were welded together by Gus Lidberg. It was made at Ellett Copper and Brass at 92 West 2nd Ave., put on a barge and floated the length of False Creek to Vanier Park and the Vancouver Centennial Museum, the original name of the Museum of Vancouver.

Article content

Norris said Lidberg deserved a lot of credit for the finished sculpture. Lidberg was proud of his work, calling it “the best piece of sculpture ever done in Vancouver.”