The primarily plan was for the McBarge to remain in operation as a floating restaurant after Expo ’86. The barge was left empty at the Expo ground until 1991. The new owner of the mooring ground ordered McDonald’s to remove it. It was towed from the False Creek shores in Vancouver to the quiet Burrard Inlet, British Columbia. It was left abandoned and anchored in the waters of the west coast of Canada for more than 30 years. It was never opened again.
There where several plans to be preserved or restore it. The barge was left to rot forgotten and battered by storms in Burrard Inlet since 2015. That year it was moved to Maple Ridge, British Columbia. One of the plans was the barge to be used as homeless shelter, because the current shelters in Vancouver are overcrowded. Other plans were for it to be reopened as a pub or a restaurant.
Now it is under a $4.5 million program for refitting there, before being removed to an unrevealed location. We look forward to following it’s progress.
Credits: abandonedspaces
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