Meet Cranium - the crane on a medical mission at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver

It seems only right that the mechanical muscle tasked with building a new hospital tower in North Vancouver would be named with a nod to its medical mission.

Look up in Central Lonsdale – way, way up, over 59 metres high – at the Lions Gate Hospital site, and you’ll be greeted with the sight of Cranium the Crane.

Cranium, the hard-working crane and brains of the operation that will build the new Paul Myers Tower at Lions Gate Hospital, was recently named by seven-year-old Evelyn (Evie) Salter, who won a crane-naming contest conducted by Vancouver Coastal Health.

Staff and passersby can now see the name displayed on a banner attached to Cranium the Crane.

The naming contest was open to kids related to Lions Gate Hospital staff and medical staff under the age of 12 who could complete a colouring sheet and submit a name for the crane. Five names were shortlisted and voted on by hospital and medical staff.

Cranium the Crane is helping to build the new six-storey acute care facility at the North Shore hospital. Once complete, the $310 million Paul Myers Tower will be home to 108 patient beds with private bathrooms and eight new operating rooms.

The tower is being built at the site of the former Activation Building, first opened in 1929 as North Vancouver General Hospital and demolished in 2017.

The project is also unique because $100 million of the capital construction cost was raised through donations to the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation.

Of that, $25 million came as a single contribution from North Shore resident and entrepreneur Paul Myers, for whom the new tower will be named.

The new facility is expected to open in the fall of 2024.