Vancouver Sun

Landmark Maynard’s neon sign is destroyed

Marker for more than 60 years collapses during auctioneer­s’ relocation to Richmond

- JOHN MACKIE jmackie@postmedia.com

The red neon Maynard’s Auctioneer­s sign has been a Vancouver landmark since it went up in the mid-1950s.

No more. The sign was accidental­ly destroyed Monday while it was being removed from Maynard’s former location at 1837 Main St.

Maynard’s is moving to Richmond because its old location at 2nd and Main is being torn down to make way for condos. The sign was supposed to be removed, refurbishe­d and then erected at the company’s new location.

But the sign crew that was assigned to take it down failed to show up. The demolition crew taking down the building tried to remove it, but failed.

“We thought we could get it off the wall as late as yesterday morning,” said Dave Wolfe of Fleck Contractin­g. “The last attempt folded the sign up. Unfortunat­ely it was still attached in places we couldn’t see ... it was attached to the concrete.”

Hugh Bulmer of Maynard’s said the demo crew did a valiant job trying to move the sign.

“They spent three days trying to get the bolts off it,” he said. “(But) it was bolted straight onto the wall at the back, they just couldn’t get them off. They put slings underneath to support it, and it just folded, fell in two and collapsed. And then the wall came down on top of it.”

Bulmer said Ancient Mariner signs was supposed to take it down.

“Their responsibi­lity was to take it down months ago, but they haven’t turned up to do the job,” said Bulmer.

“So we got stuck in a rut.” No one from Ancient Mariner was available for comment. A phone call to the firm’s offices went dead after a couple of rings.

The Maynard’s sign dates to 1955 or ’56, when the auction company moved to Vancouver from Victoria. It was huge — Bulmer estimates it was 16-feet long and 10-feet high — and distinctiv­e because it was angled.

“It was made with that angle to it — a slant — and I used to get calls from people who drove by and said the sign was falling,” said Maynard’s chairman Barry Scott.

Maynard’s is moving to Richmond because it couldn’t find a suitable location in Vancouver.

“Finding a space with 16,000 square feet in Vancouver was just becoming impossible,” said Scott. “First of all getting a retail space is not easy to do, (and) to get an industrial space rezoned and (a change in) use and all that kind of stuff was just a task.

“So we found a location next to Ikea in Richmond, and we’re signing a lease on it, almost as we speak. We’ll be gearing up to launch fall sales in there.”

This is the third time in recent years that the firm has had to relocate because of a condo developmen­t. Maynard’s left its longtime location at 1233 West Georgia St. for 2nd and Cambie Street in 1985, then moved to Main in 2010.

The company will retain an office on West 4th for the industrial side of its business. But the need for a large showroom forced the art and antiques part of the business out of Vancouver.

“We really looked at if we (could) function in 5,000 sq. ft,” said Scott. “Not possible ... You get handicappe­d so much ( by lack of space) and then you wind up putting stuff in storage.”

The firm has set up a temporary office at 2280 Kingsway and will be conducting online auctions until it moves into its new digs midAugust.

“Our whole business model with antiques and fine arts is changing so much, the online presence is worldwide,” said Scott.

“We sold a couple of major figurines the other day. I said to (auctioneer) Hugh (Bulmer), ‘Where are they going?’ And he said, ‘Someone in Paris bought them.’”

This is a far cry from when Scott joined Maynard’s in 1959.

“Down on Georgia Street (when) we used to have an auction sale of antiques and fine art and we would get 500, 600, 1,000 people attend,” he recalls.

“Now, it doesn’t seem to matter what we do, we get 75 people, say. I always say, ‘Where is everybody?’ (The staff will) say, ‘ We have 14,000 online.’ I’ll say, What?’ ‘Yeah, 14,000 registered to bid.’

“If people in Paris are buying pieces they don’t really care where we are, it’s what we have that’s driving it.”

Maynard’s started at Victoria in 1902 and moved to Vancouver in the mid-’50s. Scott, 73, started working there as a teenager and became a co-owner of the company in 1969.

Most of the firm’s business is now industrial: Maynard’s has upcoming auctions in Tampa Bay, Fla., Indianapol­is, Oakland, Seattle and Gramatneus­iedl, Austria.

But Scott is still big on art and antiques.

The company has done very well with Asian antiques, selling a Chinese jade vase and cover of pale celadon for $816,000 in 2013.

An online auction of Canadian and contempora­ry art that runs from May 28 to June 1 also has some high-priced pieces, such as a Takao Tanabe painting of Goletas, Bates Passage, Nigei Island that carries an estimate of $80,000 to $100,000.

(The sign) was made with that angle to it — a slant — and I used to get calls from people who drove by and said the sign was falling.

 ?? GERRY KAHRMANN ?? The Maynard’s Auctioneer­s building at 2nd and Main is being demolished to make way for condos. The company is relocating to Richmond, its third move in recent years.
GERRY KAHRMANN The Maynard’s Auctioneer­s building at 2nd and Main is being demolished to make way for condos. The company is relocating to Richmond, its third move in recent years.

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