Vancouver's Birdman of Richards Street: A Quirky Downtown Landmark
Vancouver has always celebrated its eccentric characters, and one of the most memorable was Percy Linden, known affectionately as the Birdman of Richards Street. His modest three-storey home at 1021 Richards Street became a downtown attraction from the 1970s through the 1990s, drawing attention with its unique exterior adorned with numerous birdhouses and a charming garden.
The Origins of an Unlikely Carpenter
Percy Linden purchased his house in 1954 but spent years renting it out while working as a truck driver in Alberta's oilpatch. When he returned to Vancouver in the early 1970s and reclaimed his property, he found the garden in disarray. With no prior experience in carpentry or gardening, Linden began tinkering in his workshop, initially creating a simple flower box. As he experimented with boards, he realized he had accidentally constructed something resembling a birdhouse. "I thought, Migawd, it looks like a birdhouse!" he later recalled to journalist Nicole Parton.
A Collection Without Residents
Over the years, Linden built approximately 100 birdhouses in various styles—colonial, Swiss, farmhouse, and ranch designs—with whimsical names like the Coo Coo Inn and Bar X Ranch. Despite his efforts, birds never inhabited his creations. "I put openings for the birds in the first two, but the birds have all been driven out of here," he explained to the Vancouver Sun in 1995. Consequently, he stopped adding entrances to his birdhouses, focusing instead on their decorative appeal.
Seasonal Displays and Garden Wonders
Each spring, Linden would display 10 to 15 birdhouses along with miniature flower boxes, plastic birds, a large heart, and a couple of miniature windmills. His garden, though he couldn't identify half the plants, flourished with climbing rose bushes, blue hydrangeas, spirea shrubs, gladiolus, wild fireweed, yellow chrysanthemums, peonies, and shasta daisies. Landscape designer Barbara Patterson helped document the garden in 1981, noting primulas that bloomed in February and snow-white alyssum that cascaded from tubs on the stairs and filled cracks in the sidewalk.
A Lasting Legacy
Linden's creations extended beyond birdhouses to include 50 miniature wheelbarrows, many of which he sold to passersby. His quirky house stood across from the famous Richard's on Richards nightclub, making it a familiar sight for locals and visitors alike. Though Percy Linden passed away in the late 1990s, his legacy as the Birdman of Richards Street endures as a testament to Vancouver's vibrant and unconventional spirit, reminding us of the city's capacity for whimsy and creativity in unexpected places.
