The marker reads:
WD West Studios
Wally West was fortunate as a young photographer in Victoria to be exposed to a wide range of experiences and technical expertise. He moved to Prince George in 1946 to open his own photographic studio in the Ritts-Kifer Hall on George Street. Business was slow at first, but the quality of Mr. West's work and his charming ability to make customers feel special brought him success. W.D. West Studio celebrated its tenth anniversary shortly after moving into its final location on Third Avenue.
Mr. West's career highlights included using his darkroom skills to reveal a forged cheque in a court case, as well as being one of the official photographers for the Royal visit to Victoria in 1939. During his life in Prince George, Wally West took more than 500,000 photographs documenting everything from highway construction to family portraits. In 1998, he received an Honorary Master of Photography from the Professional Photographers Association of Canada.
Visit www.wallywest.ca to view a collection of Wally West's photography.
The following additional information is from the Wally West Collection website:
W.D. (Wally) West opened his photograhpic studio in Prince George, British Columbia in 1946. Upon his retirement in 1991, the City of Prince George purchased much of his collection. The City donated the collection to the Fraser-Fort George Museum Society for archiving and preservation in 1993 and now resides at The Exploration Place (Fraser-Fort George Regional Museum).
The collection consists of 4 main parts:
General: The images here depict regional and social events, community organizations, businesses, trade fairs, conventions, agriculture, construction, natural disasters, street scenes, aerial views and portraits.
Simonson: Wally West purchased the Jacob Simonson studio in 1946. Simonson opened the first photograhpic studio in South Fort George in 1910. Jacob Simonson passed away in 1946.
Pulp Mills: The construction of Northwood, Intercontinental, and P.G. Pulp mills.
Schools: These are mostly class photos from schools in the Prince George region. They were taken between 1947 and 1960 and include 25 individual schools.
Wally has recieved numerous awards and accolades in Canada and internationally including an Honorary Master of Photographic Arts. Other recipients of this honorary award include: Sherman Hines, Yousuf Karsh, Oma Marler, Rt. Hon. Roland Michener, and Bruce Poldon.