Spring Odds And Ends

 I have some odds and ends today, taken at various points in April. Early in the month one morning I was out before dawn, and took this shot looking west. The Moon was seen in the western sky, along the left side of the street.

A short walk away, looking eastward: the first light of day over Dundonald Park, with snow still on the ground.

It's been awhile since I've photographed this building. Mercury Court is in the Byward Market downtown. It was once a department store. An architecture firm that specializes in heritage buildings gave it a complete overhaul, and today their offices are among those inside.

In the middle of the month I was heading to the Ottawa River for my twice a month views from the Portage Bridge. On the way, I stopped at the site for Adisoke, the building that will house the future main branch of the Ottawa Public Library and some facilities for Library And Archives Canada. Progress has been made since I last showed it to you.

Getting onto the bridge, I saw the first Canada geese I've seen in the spring resting on Victoria Island. I photographed this pair.

Coming back, this scilla caught my eye. These are the first flowers of spring, always seen in the latter part of April here.

Winter here went out with an ice storm. A couple of days after the above shots, I was passing by Dundonald Park, where some of the damage from the storm was waiting to be dealt with.

One of the best spots for scilla in the city is in Central Park in the Glebe, where on a slope on the east side of Bank Street, they flourish in April. I stopped by a few days later and took these.

I was by the stadium at Lansdowne Park at dawn one morning late in April and took this shot of the rising sun.

Lastly, this was taken yesterday. I bought this pair of socks at a shop in Little Italy. I got a much needed smile out of the inscription- entirely appropriate since I got as sick with a cold as I've ever been in early April and am still dealing with the effects of it.

Classic Cars And Dramatic Skies

A reminder to those in the Ottawa area: Buskerfest is this weekend, and Colonel By Day happens on Monday with events around the Bytown Museum.

Today I have an odds and ends post. To start things off, I have this view of the Alexandra Bridge crossing the Ottawa River to Gatineau, taken on Victoria Day in May.

This is outside a pub in the Glebe.

In late May I caught this classic car near that pub.

Early in June we had a tornado hit east of the city. This shot shows the retreating edge of the storm that spawned that as a dramatic backdrop to Mercury Court. The building was once a department store, and was converted by an architecture firm that has offices inside and which specializes in heritage restoration work. The building also houses the Swedish embassy.

Later in June I photographed this large sculpture. 12 Points In A Classical Balance is a 1982 work by BC artist Chung Hung built of western red cedar. I've shown it to you before in this post. It stood originally in the Garden Of The Provinces And Territories, which lies nearby at a lower elevation. This park overlooks that spot; the sculpture was moved to make way for the placement of a future monument.

Generally speaking I don't care for bumper stickers, but this one caught my eye on a car parked near Richmond Landing one day in June.

This bench sculpture stands outside the headquarters for Library And Archives Canada. Lea Vivot is the artist behind The Secret Bench Of Knowledge. I photographed it earlier this month.

On the same day, a bit further west, I stopped at the Canadian Firefighters Memorial, near the War Museum. The large statue of a firefighter points towards a wall with names of firefighters from across the country who have given their lives in the line of duty. September sees a national service of remembrance held at this site.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Gift

The first day of each month is a theme day for members of City Daily Photo, and for December, that theme is most appropriate: Gift. You can see how others are interpreting this theme here.

I took these first shots last December. The storefront window for a comic shop was decorated in a way suited for Christmas and the shop itself, with comic book themed wrapping and clothing.

Wrapped boxes were beneath this tree in the lobby at Mercury Court in the Byward Market.

And there was a Christmas arrangement set up in City Hall at the time. Note the nearly buried lion sculpture outside in the snow.

I took the rest of these shots in late November, as I thought gift ideas would also be appropriate for the theme. This is the front window at Boogie & Birdie. The shop sells items for home decor, among other things, and their front window display often rotates thematically with the in-store set of stuffed animals taking turns.

Up on Sparks Street, the Swatch store has a number of windows displaying some of their merchandise. A lot of what's in here would rate as tourist items, some of it with a good sense of humour.

And close by on Sparks Street is The Snow Goose, which sells art and sculptures with a Far North emphasis.

Visiting Mercury Court

I wanted to photograph Mercury Court again, and did so again in April. The building was once a department store; it was extensively remodeled by the architecture firm that has its offices here. You might remember my Doors Open post. The ground floor hosts restaurants and retail, while the upper floors house more office space, including the Embassy of Sweden. Its location is marked by the Swedish and EU flags.

Mercury Court And Its Architecture Firm

Another stop for Doors Open was Mercury Court in the Byward Market. The building was a department store back in the 1920s, and converted into new uses from 1989-1993. Retail and restaurants occupy the ground floor, while offices are on the upper floors. A statue of the Roman god Mercury (adapted from the Greek Hermes) stands up above it all. The Swedish embassy is inside, hence the flags and crest, but the place that was open for the occasion was an architecture firm, Barry Padolsky & Associates.

The firm is prestigious here in the city, well respected and well known, specializing in heritage preservation work. They've been in the news as of late; theirs has been one of the leading voices in opposition to a bone headed and garish monument the Tory government seems hellbent on erecting near the Supreme Court. Obviously I am in complete agreement with them.

I spoke extensively with one of the partners in the firm. She's been working as of late on a project not that far away from Mercury Court. The Rideau Centre's expansion meant the old Ogilvie Building was torn down, but part of that allowed for elements of the old facade to be incorporated into the new building. The brickwork and other details are presently being placed into the structure. Some of these pieces were on display here in the office space. 

This is a scale model of Mercury Court, which the firm worked on in restoring and adapting before moving in. The partner I spoke with talked about some of her previous work, which included the major work done on the Museum of Nature, as well as the complete restoration of a Victorian home gutted by fire east of the downtown core. This sort of work requires contacts with stonemasons and heritage carpenters who specialize in salvaging and saving heritage buildings. It's a very different take on architecture to me, and a welcome one.

One last view of the Court before going on to other things; it was an enlightening visit.

Pretty Good Looking For A Centenarian

Yesterday Judy at Prescott Daily Photo showed this classic car. It reminded me of this 1914 Ford. I saw it downtown in the spring, and took several shots, showing one of them back in May. This is another take from the series. I have seen the Ford a couple of other times since then. The owner, who you can see beside it, must have a shop or business down here. 

The building in the background, incidentally, is Mercury Court. I should have gone inside for Doors Open; the place apparently has a few visual treats inside,  including the Swedish embassy. The building is topped by a sculpture of the Roman god Mercury (Hermes to those of us who prefer the Greek version).