Tag: Whistler Village Land Company

W is for WhistlerW is for Whistler

September 14, 2021 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

For some visitors to the museum, the most recognizable images of Whistler’s past are not photographs or objects, but logos and company branding. Just seeing Garibaldi Lifts Ltd.’s green and blue “G” can instantly remind a former lift operator of their company-issued jacket and the months they spend loading the Red Chair sometime between 1965 and 1980. Some logos and branding initiatives have lasted for decades while others were only in use for a few years and then forgotten, though traces of them can still be found around the Whistler valley long after they were first introduced.

*Jim McConkey is his Ski School uniform, including a small blue and green G on the label. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation Collection.*

The Whistler Village Land Company (WVLC) introduced their “W” logo in their newsletter in December 1978. It was designed by Robert McIlhargey, an architectural illustrator who, with his wife Lori Brown, created much of the concept rendering work for Expo 86. McIlhargey was hired by the WVLC along with David Clifford as design consultants, helping plan elements of the Whistler Village like the logo and even directional signs. According to McIlhargey, the “W” logo and uniform branding and signage throughout the resort were meant to “reinforce the image of Whistler.”

The “W” logo consisted of a circle of Ws, often with the words Whistler Village written underneath. It was designed to be easily adapted to different settings through the use of different text and background colours (the logo was first introduced in green). Shortly after its introduction, the Ws were visible on signs at the entrance to the Whistler Village site and into the 1980s the Ws could be found on wooden signs, pamphlets, advertisements, and even turtlenecks. In 1979, Don Willoughby and Geoff Power of Willpower Enterprises were given permission to use the “W’ logo to produce 1,000 t-shirts as souvenirs of the World Cup race that was meant to have run on Whistler Mountain.

*New signs recently put up in the area of the new Whistler Village by the Whistler Village Land Company. Whistler Question Collection.*

Not all marketing and branding initiatives in Whistler have been as seemingly well received as WVLC’s “W” logo. The reception to the memorable Big Old Softie initiative wasn’t exactly what the Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation (WMSC) had hoped for.

According to WMSC’s then Vice-President of Marketing Mike Hurst, Whistler Mountain began to be perceived as “the big ol’ tough ol’ mountain from way back” after Blackcomb Mountain opened for skiing in 1980, while Blackcomb built a reputation as a beginner-friendly mountain. Hurst described Blackcomb’s reputation as “this big, friendly family mountain, nice and soft, everything’s good.” Whistler Mountain did not yet have the same on-mountain amenities of family-focused programs that Blackcomb did, but after fifteen years without local competition Whistler Mountain was working to change its image.

*The Big Old Softie sticker, showing a friendly image of Whistler Mountain.*

Hurst and his team began trying to show that Whistler Mountain was “every bit as friendly and family oriented” as Blackcomb with lots of easy beginner terrain. Working with Ron Woodall (the person behind the A&W Root Bear and the creative director of Expo 86), the Big Old Softie initiative was created. Featuring a rounded, smiling mountain, the Big Old Softie was not a universal hit. On rainy days, some changed the name to the “Big Old Soggy” and, according to Hurst, he and the Whistler Mountain team “got raked over the coals pretty good by pretty much everybody” about the campaign. Despite this, the Big Old Softie has proven memorable, and Hurst thought that it did bring attention to Whistler Mountain’s softer side and developing programs.

While you are unlikely to come across an image of the Big Old Softie walking through Whistler today, there are still circles of Ws and even some Garibaldi Lifts Gs that can be spotted around town.

Whistler's Answers

Whistler’s Answers: July 29, 1982Whistler’s Answers: July 29, 1982

July 29, 2021 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

In the 1980s the Whistler Question began posing a question to three to six people and publishing their responses under “Whistler’s Answers” (not to be confused with the Whistler Answer). Each week, we’ll be sharing one question and the answers given back in 1982. Please note, all names/answers/occupations/neighbourhoods represent information given to the Question at the time of publishing and do not necessarily reflect the person today.

Some context for this week’s question: In July 1982, various publications, including The Vancouver Sun, published pieces on Whistler and the Whistler Village Land Company (WVLC). Some of the articles published implied that the WVLC had shut down and that Whistler, as a whole, was closed. In January 1983, the provincial government did step in and form a Crown corporation, Whistler Land Co. Developments, to take over the liabilities and assets of the WVLC, but as of July 1982 the WVLC was still operating.

Question: What was your reaction to media coverage outside of Whistler during last week’s events?

Sue Sherin – Assistant Manager at Whistler Tops – Alpine Meadows

Basically I thought the treatment the press gave to Whistler was pretty sad.

Because of the entire economic situation, what’s happened here is no different than anywhere else. But the coverage we’ve had – it makes people not want to come.

It’s beautiful here. And it’s been built in only two years. What does the press expect? They should give us more of a chance.

Mayor Pat Carleton – Westside Road

I think it’s been a disgraceful form of reporting. It just goes to show you that what you say is not necessarily what is printed.

All the media outside of Whistler – and I don’t name anyone specifically – has twisted the whole thing out of context. Nothing has been made clear.

The coverage has blown the negative aspect way out of proportion. I’ve even had a call from Lorne Greenaway in Ottawa (Whistler’s MP). He thinks the whole town has been shut down.

Alex Kleinman – Construction Manager – Alta Vista

I was disappointed in the bias taken by the media. I was hoping to see a little more of both sides of the story.

There are a lot of things which are still happening here – as well as things that aren’t.

Rather than ask municipal and Land Company officials on the history and evolution of the whole project here at Whistler, they have taken comments out of context and made that the story.

Whistler's Answers

Whistler’s Answers: July 1, 1982Whistler’s Answers: July 1, 1982

July 1, 2021 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

Some context for this week’s question: The Whistler Village Land Company, a subsidiary of the Resort Municipality of Whistler, was formed in 1978 to oversee the development of the Town Centre.

Question: How do you view the current role of the Land Company in the development of Whistler?

W. Doug Fox – Vice-President of Finance & Operations – Whistler Village Land Co.

It’s very simple – our role is to develop the remaining private sites in the village in conjunction with the private sector. That always has been the role and still it.

The main role of the Land Company is not promoting and marketing. The specific role is developing sites for sale to the private sector. We don’t have anything if we don’t have the sites.

Mike Vance – Coordinator of Planning and Design – Whistler Village Land Co.

Ideally, if economic conditions were better, the Land Company would remain involved in planning, design and servicing of Whistler Village throughout the completion of the project.

But under present conditions, the Land Company can’t stay as involved as it has been in the past in planning and design coordination.

A lot of operation of the village – planning and design – will now have to be assumed by the municipality.

David O’Keefe – Skier Services and North Side Coordinator – Whistler Mountain Ski Corp.

Originally it was a coordinating body to market and sell the land available in the new Town Centre.

Right now it should positively continue along that line. Unfortunately we’re in a time of buyer restraint, but that doesn’t mean we should stop the whole thing.

The mandate has been set, and since times are more difficult the Land Company should be going even further afield to market land sites.

Greg Griffith – Photographer – Owner of Mountain Moments

It should be a decreasing role in the future. Municipal staff and our elected officials should now be the ones making the types of decisions the Land Company has been handling.

I think it’s great the Land Company got things going, but now they should be winding down gracefully since the Town Centre is rapidly approaching fulfillment of its initial mandate.

Sid Young – Alderman – Land Company Director – Travel Agent

I don’t see it as any different than it ever has been.

Although, because of the level of development which has occurred to date, I do see the possibility of reducing the size of the Land Company and therefore its operational costs.

Al Raine – Executive Director – Whistler Resort Association

The reality is that is number one objective must be its own survival.

Its number two objective should be the completion of Village Stroll and the main village core, as well as the Sports & Convention Centre.

Ideally, it also should be looking at a leadership role in terms of providing tourist services and a tourist product.

Eldon Beck Comes to WhistlerEldon Beck Comes to Whistler

October 13, 2020 Whistler Museum 2 Comments

It is a commonly held belief that Whistler would be very different today if it were not for the influence of Eldon Beck. Beck, a trained landscape architect from California, is often credited as the visionary behind the Whistler Village, which he began working on in 1978.

In 1972, Beck’s firm was hired by Vail, Colorado, to consult on a community master plan. The plan aimed to resolve some of the community’s traffic issues and create a pedestrian-centred village. From 1972 to 1978, Beck worked with Vail as their primary consultant, a time he described as forming the bulk of his early mountain planning experience.

Eldon Beck stands in the centre, discussing the Whistler Village with an unidentified group. Eldon Beck Collection.

By 1978, the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) had spent three years discussing, consulting, planning, and working hard on a town centre to be built on what had been the dump. The site and funding, from both the provincial and federal governments, were secured; the RMOW, however, did not yet have a final plan for the site.

Terry Minger, who had been the general manager of Vail and would become the president of the Whistler Village Land Company, introduced Beck and Al Raine, the provincial appointee to the Whistler municipal council. Though Beck described the existing plans for the town centre as a grid plan “like a little city” which “felt like a mini-Vancouver,” there were parts of the council’s plans that excited him. They wanted to build a pedestrian village (the early plans included a pedestrian spine that was intersected with vehicle crossings) with lots small enough that they could be bought and developed by local developers. Beck was asked to come take a look and modify the plans, which he felt imposed a building plan on the natural environment rather than letting the land guide the plan.

The Whistler Village under construction, under Beck’s watchful eye. Eldon Beck Collection.

Beck first arrived in Whistler in September 1978. According to him, his first impression of the area was not of the mountains but of being overwhelmed by the fragrance of the forest. It was cloudy, as can often by the case in September, and Beck had to trust Raine when he “swore up and down there were mountains.”

The weather did clear up and Beck was able to gain an idea of the site’s natural surroundings, though the site was somewhat overgrown and some of the sightlines were hard to make out. To get a good view of Fissile Peak, Beck decided to “elevate” himself, or climb as high up a tree as he could (he later claimed this blew Raine away and ensured he got the job). As he remembered it, he was then taken to someone’s garage where he was introduced to the council and asked to come up with something for their next meeting.

Eldon Beck and Drew Meredith speak at the event on the development of Whistler Village in 2019. Whistler Museum Collection.

In the foreward to Beck’s book Edges, Raine claimed that the Village Stroll and some of the buildings of the Whistler Village began to appear on Beck’s sketch book within the next 24 hours. His plans were presented to council three days later and quickly endorsed. What was supposed to have been a modification of the existing plans had become a wholly new design.

Beck’s visit to Whistler in 1978 was the first of many (he was most recently here last October, when he participated in a speaker event on the development of the Whistler Village) and the beginning of a longstanding relationship with a town he describes as “a happy place.”