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“I always thought the city knew where the hell they were, and they were going to try to incorporate them into some new building and make a display,” said Veniot.

“But when I read your article saying they couldn’t find them, I thought what probably happened is the guy that negotiated getting them there and storing them at some point retired, and the information went with him.”

Heritage expert Don Luxton said this often happens with public art salvaged from demolished buildings.

“People forgot about them, which so often happens when you salvage pieces of buildings,” said Luxton. “If they aren’t reused immediately, they get put in storage somewhere and don’t get reused.”

There are several examples of this, from the Challenger Relief Map (which is still looking for a home, 21 years after it was taken out of the old B.C. Pavilion at the PNE) to the Seven Seas Seafoods neon sign in North Vancouver, which hasn’t been seen in public since 2002.

The Museum of Vancouver has expressed interest in the Pegasus panels, although their size and weight may prove to be a problem. (The Museum owns the old Aristocratic restaurant neon sign, but it’s too big to fit through the museum doors, so it’s in storage.)

Luton thinks the city initially wanted to display the panels at Larwill Park, which was where the bus depot was located from 1947 to 1993. At this point, though, he thinks they should just put them up as public art.

“Put them up somewhere so people can see them, for God sakes,” said Luxton.

“They’re really a fun item. It’s part of our public transportation history. There’s not much left from that era that we’re preserving, and this is one of the more notable survivors.”

jmackie@postmedia.com

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