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1985: Burnaby's new steel-reinforced-concrete Krishna thwarts vandals

A 30-foot, 20-tonne statue with a 28-foot arm span took shape on the grounds of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness on Marine Drive in August 1985.
Krishna statue, archives
A giant statue of Lord Krishna takes shape on the grounds of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness on Marine Drive in August 1985.

A 30-foot, 20-tonne statue with a 28-foot arm span took shape on the grounds of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness on Marine Drive in August 1985.

Krishna statue
A giant statue of Lord Krishna takes shape on the grounds of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness on Marine Drive in August 1985. - NOW archives

Designed and built by University of Wisconsin professor Gopal Goswami, the $40,000, hollow, steel-reinforced concrete representation of Lord Chaitanaya (an incarnation of the Hindu deity Krishna) was unveiled on Aug. 18 and was the largest free-standing statue in Canada at the time.

Shortly after its completion, vandals injured the figure's foot.

When they found they couldn’t do much damage to the steel-reinforced concrete, however, they apparently took out their ire on some nearby shrubbery, wreaking about $2,500 in damage to the statue and surrounding plants.