Gastown’s Gassy Jack Deighton: a legend cast in bronze

Thousands of visitors to Vancouver have admired the bronze figure of Gassy Jack, which stands in Gastown’s Maple Tree Square. But few know whom to thank for this image of Gastown’s founding father, a man who on a wet, gray day in September 1897 landed at Stamps Mill on the Burrard Inlet and built his saloon, Deighton House.

Thanks, however, to the generosity of Howard Meakin, President of Intra Land Corporation, tourists and residents pay daily homage with their cameras to the corpulent old windbag who founded the place. Meakin, a former real estate agent and a developer since 1969, has had a long association with Gastown. "Back in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s when Gastown was coming into vogue as a historic site, we were involved in renovating and upgrading about 14 of its buildings," he says. " I grew attached to the area. There was a flea market on Water Street that had coins with Gassy Jack on them. I thought they were a good omen to make a statue of Gassy Jack. So we had artist Vern Simpson cast a bronze of Jack on a barrel. It took Vern about six months of hard work to complete the piece."

Meakin wanted to give the statue to the City of Vancouver. "The City wouldn’t take it," he says. "They were worried about liability. If they accepted the statue, they would be responsible for repairs, maintenance, and liability. If they didn’t accept it, they wouldn’t be responsible. They wanted me to take out liability insurance before they would let me place the statue on public property."

Howard Meakin bought the insurance and had Gassy Jack placed in front of the Europe Hotel. Later, the figure was moved to #1 Alexander Street. Meakin footed the bill for each relocation. In 1985, the City accepted the statue as a gift with no strings attached. Meakin paid to have the statue moved to its current location and also had it refinished at his expense. As well, he paid for its restoration after it had been beheaded. "The culprits were never found," he says laughing. "But it certainly had the feel of an initiation prank, quite possibly by engineering students."

Howard Meakin has made sure that a little bit of Gastown’s colourful past has been preserved for posterity on top of a barrel in Maple Tree Square. Next time you are there, smile at Gassy Jack and thank Howard.