Vancouver's hollow tree gets stabilization, not axe

Stanley Park's famed hollow tree is getting hammer and nails, instead of the axe.

Crews have started work to stabilize and straighten the red cedar, which is at least 700 years old.

In April 2008, the Vancouver parks board voted to cut down the tree, because it was a safety hazard.

But the Stanley Park Hollow Tree Conservation Society lobbied the board to save the six-metre-wide stump and agreed to pay for the $200,000 worth of restoration work required.

The huge, hollowed-out cedar stump is one of the city's most photographed attractions and is large enough to accommodate two horses and their riders.

The trunk, which is 20 metres in circumference, is being held up by cables, and was fenced off to keep the public from approaching.

What to do with the long-dead city landmark and tourist attraction was a source of great debate among city residents after the parks board recommended it be cut down.

Dean Jackson, who drove through the park and took pictures of the restoration work on Thursday, said he's all for preserving an important piece of Vancouver's history.

Another park visitor, who declined to give his last name, said the work being done to prop up the tree is silly.