City Daily Photo Theme Day: Abandoned

The first day of each month is always a theme day for members of City Daily Photo, and for the first of October, that theme is Abandoned. It's a theme chosen by Peter Hyndman at Sunshine Coast Daily Photo. You can see how others are interpreting the theme here.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Canadians shall, from time to time, lose an item of winter apparel. ~ Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice & Polar Vortexes

I have two different takes on this theme,  starting with these items from last winter, each having had fallen from the possession of an unlucky owner. I too have occasionally lost an item of winter clothing- something of a nuisance when you've misplaced your gloves and it's minus 30 degrees Celsius out there.

My other take on this theme is more recent, and it's a building you might remember (with a wee bit of a rant). Somerset House is set at the intersection of Somerset and Bank Streets downtown. Back in 2007 the building was being renovated when there was an accident, resulting in a partial collapse at the back, the closure of the building, and the closure of the intersection. While the city bears some of the responsibility for things early on, most of the blame since then goes to the owner for what has essentially become an abandoned building. There is next to no sign that anything ever gets done here. The scaffolding remains always in place, the building seems forever left to its fate. On those occasions when one of the local papers writes an article about it, the building owner is either silent, or gives the usual half-hearted reassurances or pitiful lame excuses. All while coming across as dreadfully incompetent.

I can say I'm fed up, as are many others. It's been years, and this guy is just one excuse after another. Someone who gave a damn about the building and the area would have gotten the project done. If he's not willing to finish the work, he might as well sell to someone who can still save the building.

But of course he won't, and so the building continues to decay through sheer neglect. As far as I'm concerned at this point, the owner of this building should be driven out of business and sued for every cent he's got, and every single resident of this city should have the right to punch him in the face.

An Abandoned Building Within The City

I came across this building in early August. It's in the Hogs Back area, on Prince Of Wales Drive. A look online determined it was once a schoolhouse, later a residence, but as long as anyone can remember, it's been this way. Apparently there are plans for the site... but those plans have been around for years. It seemed a fitting lead-in for tomorrow's theme day.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Rust And Ruin

The first of each month is a theme day for photobloggers from around the world taking part in City Daily Photo. For the first of September, the theme is Rust And Ruin. You can find other examples of the theme at this link. 

In the middle of August I showed you a take from the front of Somerset House here in Ottawa. Today I have the other shots I took of the place, knowing it would be ideal for the theme. It is something of a ruin, and I'm sure there's rust in there.

Several years ago there was work going on in the interior for restorations. A machine not unlike a bulldozer was being used, and a slight boo-boo ensued. The slight boo-boo being the machine hitting a support beam, causing a partial collapse inside the old hotel. The worker was saved by being inside the machine, though by contrast, had he not been using the machine, nothing would have happened in the first place.

For weeks on end afterwards, the intersection of Bank and Somerset, one of the busiest in the city, was shut down to traffic while the damage was assessed. The city and the developer got into disputes. Part of the back of the building was demolished, then reinforced with scaffolding. The disputes brought in the lawyers. And years went by. 

This view from the back shows some of the real damage of the partial demolition. The interior has been walled off, but that hasn't stopped graffiti taggers. In fact, looking at some of the remaining windows, you can see graffiti tags, so someone's been inside.

Supposedly there's been a settlement between the city and the developer to get things back up and running and get the restorations back underway. Just a few days ago though, the mayor expressed frustration at the lack of work being done. Hopefully Somerset House does rise again from the ruins. The structure itself, particularly at the front, deserves a second chance. 

Somerset House

I have something a little different for today. Somerset House is at the corner of Bank and Somerset Streets here in Centretown, and it has seen better days. It dates back to 1900, and was a hotel and pub in its various incarnations. It has stood empty for years, with renovations up in the air due to a dispute between the city and the developer who was trying to restore it, after a slight boo-boo inside during construction work. By slight boo-boo I mean disaster. Supposedly the work will be getting underway again in the not so distant future, but then again, it's been years since that incident and progress has been non-existent. I will be returning here again in time with further details, but for the moment,  I leave you with the front of the place. The bare bones of Somerset House has potential to be restored to something better. It just needs the work to be done.