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.

Wandering Through Parliament Hill

 A few days after the excursion in the post I showed two days ago, I decided to spend a bit of time around the Parliamentary precinct. It was a day with above freezing temperatures and melting snow. This view, from the terrace at the Bank of Canada, takes in the West Block at right and the Confederation Building at left as I'm approaching Parliament Hill. The Hill as properly known is on the north side of Wellington Street.

Coming around the corner, this shot includes the Confederation Building at right and the Justice Building at left. Both buildings were finished in the 1930s, and were done in the same Gothic style as the other Parliament Buildings.

To the west of the Justice Building is the Supreme Court of Canada, an Art Deco masterpiece. At the extreme left in this shot, one might make out a sitting figure. It's Louis St. Laurent, 12th prime minister of Canada, and the only one of the Parliament statues out here. It's fitting, as he spent many years as a respected lawyer, and probably would have been a Justice in the Court had he not gone into politics.

Behind the Court is a viewing outlook over the Ottawa River at the bottom of the Hill. As you can see the winter ice was wearing down below when I took these shots. The Alexandra Bridge is seen in the distance, spanning the river between Gatineau and Ottawa.

A look east from here gives us the dramatic highest ground of the Hill. A close eye at the slope leading up from the river at left might make out the artificial lines in the trees of what is a staircase leading to the top.

I looked back to photograph the Confederation and Justice Buildings.

Then my route led me onwards. The West Block takes centre stage in this shot.

And here are a couple of detail shots of West Block. Another Prime Minister can be seen here in the foreground: Robert Borden. The Hill contains a number of prime ministers, leaders of the country, and monarchs in statues scattered here and there. Some have been removed at the moment because of the work going on at present. Others have simply been moved to other spots. And more are inaccessible because they're behind the lines of the work going on, generally behind Centre Block. Borden led the country through the First World War.

Another side of the West Block. While Centre Block is the focus of much work at present, the House of Commons is meeting inside here. I hope to get in sometime, but public tours are out of the question due to Covid restrictions.

Turning around from the above shot is a low hill. Two statues are up here. One is that of Lester Pearson, prime minister of the country during a time of growth and change in the 1960s, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his concept of peacekeeping troops, and in my mind one of the two best prime ministers the country has ever had.

He shares this hill with a statue commemorating Queen Victoria.