Photo Credit: Maple Ridge Museum & Community Archives
At 21525 Dewdney Trunk Road in Maple Ridge, BC, a building that has spent decades as a pub, nightclub, and most recently a liquor store, began its life in 1933 as the Maple Ridge Buddhist Temple.
The temple was hand-built by master carpenter Shiro Koga, his assistants Enji Ariza and Tetsujiro Takashima, and numerous community volunteers. For roughly a decade, the building served as a place of worship, a school, and a community gathering space for Maple Ridge’s Japanese Canadian population. In 1942, the federal government’s internment policies forcibly removed at least 35% of Maple Ridge’s population and the temple was sold by the city to new owners.
In Maple Ridge, the building survived with new purposes, including a church, leisure centre and liquor store. Today it is one of only three recognizable pieces of Japanese Canadian heritage remaining in Maple Ridge.
There is currently no approved plan to demolish or redevelop the building, but its future is far from secure. The property’s owner initially proposed clearing the site for new construction. A revised proposal now under review would incorporate the historic structure into the base of a new building. A volunteer committee, organized in late 2024 after learning the property was slated for redevelopment, has been pursuing an alternative to relocate the building entirely.
Location: Maple Ridge, BC
Endangered Places List: 2026
Status: Endangered
