Odds And Ends In The Capital

 I have some odds and ends from recent weeks today. In the second half of August, I was coming home late in the day, and these moody skies caught my eye.

St. Matthew's Anglican Church is in the Glebe, and regularly features here.

The Bank of Canada is Canada's central bank, a government Crown corporation, and lies across from Parliament Hill. The older building is partially wrapped up in the modern new building, an interesting visual mix.

Sunflowers grow well here in the later summer; these are found in the Glebe, where early in the morning I found bees at work.

I attended a CFL game at the end of August at Lansdowne Park, with the Redblacks hosting. The team has had an abysmal year, to say the least. I took this shot while walking about before the game, from the east staircase of the South Stands. The moody skies didn't end up in rain.

Down a flight of stairs and turning to the northeast gives us a view of the work in progress. The North Stands will get torn down in the second stage of this project and rebuilt. The arena, which is currently beneath the North Stands and still hosting hockey, basketball, and concerts, is being rebuilt here at the east side of the stadium. Things are coming along, with the rink taking shape, and the main concourse starting to form. There will be another level added over this, and the new building is expected to be done in the late fall of 2028. At that point the North Stands will be demolished, replaced by a tiered structure taking up less of a footprint. That's expected to go into 2030, with two condo towers going up behind the new stands.

Elsewhere in the Glebe, this relatively new mural caught my eye one evening.

On another night, close to Lansdowne, I was passing by on the pathway beside Queen Elizabeth Drive. I noticed a skunk busily digging in the grass between me and the construction perimeter on the property.

Odds And Ends In Ottawa

 More odds and ends for you today. I took this shot downtown in late July. This is a work in progress, a residential complex that has a visual appeal, replacing what was once a block of haphazard and underused office buildings.

At the beginning of the month, I was in attendance at Lansdowne Park for a rugby game. The Canadian women were playing the American women, and won the game handily. The stadium hosts an international game or two each year, and it is a fast paced, tough game. The crowd seemed to really enjoy it.

After end of game, I made it down to field level.

Heading home, the spire of Glebe-St. James United Church, disappearing in the darkness, made for a compelling photo op.

This is a shot of the Justice Building, the westernmost of the Parliamentary blocks on the Hill. I was departing the Supreme Court when the carvings above the door caught my eye.

Pausing to cross the street, I looked towards the Bank of Canada, which has its original headquarters partially embedded in the contemporary building.

And once I'd crossed the street, I paused to photograph the Justice Building and the Confederation Building, the next Parliamentary block to the east.

A little later that day, en route to take other photos, I was passing through Major's Hill Park. Bees were busy around these flowers.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: The Road

The first day of each day is a theme day for members of City Daily Photo, and for June that theme is The Road. Take a look at how others are interpreting the theme right here.

I had pondered using Sparks Street, a pedestrian mall one block south of this street, but decided that Wellington Street as it passes through the Parliamentary district would be a better fit for the theme. I start down at the west end, at the headquarters of Library and Archives Canada, where a few days ago I walked through. This bench with two statues stands outside. The organization is the Canadian equivalent of the Library of Congress, for my American readers. In the background: tulips, in keeping with my current series on the Tulip Festival.

Tulips can also be found in large planters along the street. Coming off the Library property and looking east, the view of the street includes two of the Parliament blocks- Justice and Confederation- on the left, and St. Andrew's and the East Memorial Building on the right.

Between Library and Archives and Parliament is the Supreme Court, seen in the background here, with a bed of tulips in the foreground.

Continuing eastward: St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, which stands across from the Court.

And the Court itself.

This view across the street takes in the original Bank of Canada building, partially submerged in the modern Bank of Canada headquarters. Beyond it in the background to left is the Wellington Building, a government office building. And the pyramid structure between them is part of the rooftop terrace of the Bank of Canada Museum. Some of you may remember my taking you on a tour there before. 

Carrying on past the aforementioned Justice and Confederation Blocks takes us to an entry point for the three main Parliament Blocks. The West Block dominates this shot.

Turning across the street from this point gives us the north facade of the Wellington Building.

Close by that is the Sir John A. Macdonald Building, a government reception centre that makes use of the grandeur of the former main branch of the Bank of Montreal, along with a modern annex.

A little further east along Wellington. The building in the distance at left is the only Parliamentary block on the south side of the street, housing the offices of the Prime Minister. The building at centre is the former American embassy, now a work in progress. It is the future home of a national indigenous centre, with flags on top including First Nations, Inuit, and Metis colours.

Directly across from it: Centre Block, currently under rehabilitation work.

And my last shot, from the south side of the street, includes East Block and the Chateau Laurier hotel in the distance, with tulips in the foreground. 

Red And White

 There is a flower bed that lies between the grounds of Library and Archives Canada and the Supreme Court of Canada to the east. Here it is, with the Court in the background for this first shot.

I headed back across the street. These caught my eye.

These are outside St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, which stands across the street from the Court.

A short walk east, these were outside the main headquarters for the Bank of Canada.

And these were outside Notre Dame Basilica.