Into the Toybox 2000 to 2025

2000 to 2025

The period from 2000 to today is a period of vast change. In 25 years, our home has changed quite a lot.

What did Pitt Meadows Look like during this time?

The population of Pitt Meadows as of 2021 was 19,146 people. If you want to get a good look at the development during this time, look at Harris Road. Lots of shops and businesses have come and gone including the Co-Op. It shows how quickly things change without us even realizing it.

The Pitt Meadows Family Recreation Centre opened in September 2000, giving kids another outlet and place to play. In 2003, the old shoe repair shop on Harris Road (by the tracks) was demolished. Meadowtown opened its first stores in late 2004. For the Municipality, in 2004 the Official Coat of Arms was presented to the Mayor and Council. In 2007, we finally got the City designation and officially became “The City of Pitt Meadows”.

Entertainment

Webkinz (2005),Bratz or My Scene Dolls, Pillow Pets (2003),I-Dog (2005),Razor Scooters, Littlest Pet Shop.

Kids continued to play and have fun with their friends during this time. Whether it was seeing a movie at our local theatre (Harris Road Cinemas opened in the late 1990s and is now operated at Hollywood 3 Cinemas, Cineplex opened in Pitt Meadows in 2004),playing basketball with their friends, travelling to Maple Ridge for a game of bowling, or just hanging out in one of our many parks, kids had lots of options for fun and entertainment.

We do see the full rise of electronics and technology. This group of kids grew up with complete knowledge of computers and that type of technology. As schools had large computer labs in the early 2000s, by 2025 most classrooms had access to laptops for their students and a lot of kids even have their own. There is also a new generation of “I-Pad kids”, these are the kids that literally grew up with the technology at their fingertips. Although some would say this generation always has their faces now in screens, it was a slow build-up to that, and generally, all of us have our faces on screens nowadays (look you’re reading this off a screen, you get text messages on a screen, everyone now has a cell phone readily available).

Kids are still kids though. They love to run around, play outside, and hang out with their friends, and they will continue to do so. A kid from 1914 would still play with a child from 2025, although their toys may be different and their slang too, they would still know how to kick a soccer ball in between them, and before we know it they would be good friends!

Education

Pitt Meadows

Meadowland Elementary School was closed in 2004c. as part of the SD 42 school closure process. Following its closure, Greybrook Academy would operate out of the building for a few years until it closed as well. Today the former building is the Canyon Springs Montessori Academy. Members of the P.A.C. made sure that lots of items from the old school found their way to the museum, as a result, we have lots of objects and photographs of Meadowland! In 2023, the replacement of Pitt Meadows Secondary School was announced, although there hasn’t been any groundbreaking date set yet (MLA Lisa Beare stated that the projected opening date would be spring 2028).

As of 2025, Pitt Meadows still has four public elementary schools: Pitt Meadows Elementary, Edith McDermott Elementary, Highland Park Elementary and Davie Jones Elementary, and one public secondary school: Pitt Meadows Secondary School.

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Although our dive into this toybox has wrapped up, and we’ve put away all the toys, we encourage you to reflect on your own childhood. If you want to help create a lasting historical legacy, we encourage you to leave stories of your childhood on our community map!

Back to the Toybox.

Soccer Ball

Kalediscope

Toy Bird

Whirligig Toy

Toy Yo-Yo