Many years I have driven, walked and biked the Seawall through Stanley Park. Many years I passed by this lovely creature on the rock and thought about how sweet it was that we had a mermaid peacefully sitting there.
Apparently I'm not the only one either! Do an google image search for mermaid in Stanley Park and this is what you get! 
But many don't know this - but it's not a mermaid!
It's actually a life size bronze statue of a woman in a wetsuit.
In September of 1968, Douglas Brown, a Vancouver lawyer, talked to sculptor Elek Imredy about his desire to commission a sculpture inspired by the famous Copenhagen mermaid.
Imredy proposed a life-size bronze sculpture of a scuba diver.
On June 9th, 1972, the sculpture was set in place by an electric crane. The next day the sculpture was ceremoniously unveiled. "Girl in Wetsuit" has become a landmark for visitors to Stanley Park and to boats that enter the harbour.
The Artist was quoted, "The sculpture (is) a symbolic figure of the future exploration of the continental shelf." (information provided by the artist) "She represents Vancouver's dependence on the sea and the necessity to use the sea for the benefit of all."
Whatever you believe her to be, she's beautiful! And I'm pretty sure she doesn't mind being mistaken for a Mermaid at all.
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