Sunday, March 1, 2020

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Municipal Building

The first day of the month is a theme day for members of City Daily Photo. And March has Municipal Building for the occasion. Check out how others are taking on this theme right here.

Ottawa's City Hall is downtown, on a large property it shares with a provincial courthouse. I photographed it one morning last month, approaching from a direction I rarely use: the south side. Here is where we get a good view of the two very different aspects to City Hall. At the left, the 19th century architecture of the Heritage Building stands out strongly with the more modern wing of what was originally built as the regional headquarters before the city amalgamation. The two buildings are linked by an overpass walkway. The Heritage Building houses offices and committee rooms, while much of the day-to-day work is in the new wing. 


Here we have a look into the council chambers, in the new wing. You might notice the wall in the background at left; I did a post about the sculpture there back in 2017 that some of you may remember.


On the other side of the wall outside the council chamber are a series of paintings by Ottawa artist Ben Babelowsky depicting scenes from Ottawa, both urban and rural. The series is collectively titled The Ottawa We Love.


A large atrium stands in the heart of the new wing. This look outside at the snow includes a sculpture.


This lion sculpture is mostly buried in snow. One half is lighter than the other. Fable VII is the title of this, but I refer to it as The Ghost And The Darkness.


Back in the atrium, I photographed this painting, titled Aftermath, 1916. It is a gift by the artist, Ross Rheaume, given to the city in 2016 to mark the centenary of the burning of the original Centre Block. The artist depicts the ruin of the Parliamentary block in daylight following the fire.


Here is a wider view. The columns at left bear banners for the various local history museums spread out across the city.


While this view shows some of the walkways between upper levels.


Back outside, here is an exterior view on the north side.


And over to the left is the skating rink outside City Hall. The Cartier Square Drill Hall, an armoury built in 1879 and still in use today. stands in the background.


Here we have another view of the Heritage Building.


Looking back gives a view of the main west entrance to the new wing.


And one final view from the southwest corner of the property at the Heritage Building, dating to 1875 and once a teacher's college. The Human Rights Monument is at left, an abstract monument that is one of several national monuments in the capital.

32 comments:

  1. ...the blue skies and sunshine are beautiful sights, spring must be right around the corner.

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  2. Looks like a picture of old and new !

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  3. You have beautiful buildings there but the blue sky is breathtaking ...

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  4. Hello,

    I like both the new and old buildings. Great tour! I hope your day is great, wishing you a happy new week ahead!

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  5. @Tom: not yet.

    @Lady Fi: thanks.

    @Gattina: quite a blend.

    @Ella: I agree.

    @Eileen: thanks.

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  6. A brilliant mix of architecture for the theme William ✨

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  7. Nice post with some buildings and a sculpture I didn't see before.

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  8. That series of paintings looks lovely!

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  9. That series of paintings looks interesting.

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  10. Beautiful buildings which serve the community well! Thanks for sharing, and describing each one!

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  11. You gave us a fine tour, William!

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  12. Some of these building have a had a long and interesting history.

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  13. It's a good combination of the old and the new.

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  14. Very interesting history lesson. It's a beautiful place. :-)

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  15. Beautiful buildings William. I like the ones with many glass windows.

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  16. I love the style of the older buildings.

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  17. Beautiful series of buildings. Very nice indeed!

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  18. @Grace: thanks!

    @Jan: thank you.

    @Marie: definitely.

    @David: that they are.

    @Sandi: I agree.

    @Barbara: you're welcome.

    @Magiceye: thank you.

    @RedPat: a pleasure to do so.

    @Red: true.

    @Sharon: it is.

    @DJan: I think so.

    @Marleen: thank you.

    @catalyst: me too.

    @Bill: thanks.

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  19. My home town of Akron Ohio uses a lot of those outdoor pedestrian bridges between the many government buildings.

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  20. Thanks for the city hall tour, William. I can remember seeing this building on a day trip to Toronto several years ago. We were staying in Mississauga at the time visiting a friend.

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  21. Very nice images William! I follow someone on instagram and didn't realize that she lives in Ottawa till the other day she posted a picture skating on the canal and I recognized it instantly because of you!

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  22. I don't think I've been there! We lived in Nepean for 25 years!

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  23. Great photos for the theme of 'city buildings.' ~

    Happy Moments to You,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  24. It's a beautiful complex. I'd forgotten about that interesting installation inside the council chambers.

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  25. @Joanne: I've only crossed that bridge during Doors Open visits.

    @Beatrice: you're welcome.

    @Tanya: small world, huh?

    @Jennifer: I've been to the Nepean Centrepoint building once.

    @Carol: thank you!

    @Kay: it's an eye catcher.

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  26. I love seeing art in city buildings. Aftermath is quite impressive.

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