Sunday, July 13, 2014

The Neighbours

In regards to the Carling building that I pointed out yesterday, the structure was deemed to have reached the end of its useful life. I don't know if anything will replace it- there are low rise government buildings in the vicinity, but that area is the Experimental Farm, so it's not likely that we'll see an office tower there.

I thought I would highlight three views from around the National Gallery. This sculpture sits between the Gallery and Major's Hill Park. Parliament can be seen in the background. It's called The Three Watchmen, by James Hart, and is part of the Gallery collection.


These two were taken the same day as yesterday's shots, from the same location. The Maman sculpture stands across from Notre Dame, and it was Victoria Day- hence the Union Jack fluttering in the breeze alongside the Maple Leaf. I wanted both the church and the flags- without the obstruction of construction going on this spring and summer on Sussex Drive.


No way to avoid the construction here, just across the street where the Gallery's entrance lies. The Embassy of Kuwait stands there, with Elizabeth Bruyere Hospital beyond it. The embassy has Middle Eastern influences, and yet seems perfectly at home here.




27 comments:

  1. Strange and diverse neighbors...

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  2. Oh I would have been up early to see the implosion William, how cool! Good to hear that it won't be replaced by a highrise office tower.. I'm getting so fed up by the construction going 'upwards' here in Perth.

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  3. Nice when flags of different nations can fly together. Now if we could just get the nations themselves to fly right. :-)

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  4. Love the shot with the flags and spires.

    But the first shot with the Coastal art is a love love love one for me.

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  5. Kind of a bleak shot of the 'watchmen'. I like it.

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  6. There is so much going on in Ottawa!
    Jane x

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  7. I like that "Watchmen" statue.

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  8. I really like that first shot of the sculpture with all the steeples and spires in the background.

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  9. @Linda: that church's steeples appear quite often in my photographs... but I should really get inside.

    @VP: quite a contrast in neighbours!

    @Grace: well, I slept through, and never heard a sound.

    @Revrunner: that would be nice.

    @Tex: I think so!

    @Ciel: I've liked that statue since the first time I saw it.

    @Birdman: it was a bleak day!

    @Jane and Chris: there is!

    @Sharon: it has character.

    @Judy: Parliament Hill is routinely such a good backdrop for a shot.

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  10. I like it too! Looks exotic in that setting and with the dark clouds.

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  11. The sculpture is so interesting. The composition of the embassy photo is great. I love the fact that the photo is busy on the top and relatively plain on the bottom. So much fun to learn about this great capital to the north through your lens.

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  12. Great set of images William. Love the first one.

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  13. Hmmm. Once again my comment didn't take. Are you sure you aren't censoring me, William?

    Anyway, what I said was: I like this sculpture much better than the spiders!

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    1. And then the first one showed up and I had to delete it. Could it be moi?

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  14. @Linda: sometimes an ominous sky really works nicely for a shot.

    @Norma: thank you!

    @Greensboro: it's a pleasure to show my city's sights.

    @Luis: thank you!

    @RedPat: it looks so Canadian, too.

    @Cheryl: no, but Blogger can be a nuisance. And no phobias about that kind of sculpture, huh?

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  15. My hubby and his buddy, over for lunch with spouses Friday, were talking about this building. Some built as temporary buildings. They'd go there for lunch, as it was the only one with a caf. My son works at Statcan now, funnily enough.
    Did you watch the building go down? We went out to the art show!
    (ツ) from Cottage Country Ontario , ON, Canada!

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  16. I especially like the Watchmen. Is the artist a First Nations person?

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  17. I like the Kink's tribute to Victoria . . . and you tour of Ottawa!


    ALOHA from Honolulu
    ComfortSpiral
    =^..^= <3


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  18. Love the Three Watchmen (though I did have a moment of thinking of them as native gnomes - how irreverent of me!)
    I did see the implosion of the Carling building on fb and youtube.

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  19. Interesting that you slept through the imposion, William.

    I do like that sculpture of the three watchmen.

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  20. Those are nice shots. You seem to be enjoying good weather there.

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  21. @Jennifer: I have only since seen the building site at something of a distance.

    @Kay: yes.

    @Cloudia: thanks!

    @Hamilton: I saw clips on youtube.

    @EG: as it turns out at the time I was living enough of a distance away that it didn't wake me.

    @Jose: so do I.

    @Stuart: thanks!

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