A Night Walk Upon A Frozen Canal

 One last look back at the Flora Bridge, now well behind me.

And then forward.

This building was already glimpsed in photos yesterday. This is Immaculata, a Catholic high school near the north end of Old Ottawa East.

Up ahead, two bridges- the 417 freeway bridge higher up and behind the Pretoria Bridge.

The Pretoria Bridge is named for the avenue that crosses over it, which is named in honour of Canadian veterans of the South African War.

Its central section can be raised to allow taller watercraft through, as the arch is relatively lower to the water. I took some shots, and departed from the Canal here. We'll return to the Canal skateway when this series comes to an end.

School Halls

 Lisgar Collegiate is a high school in downtown Ottawa, and a regular part of Doors Open. This year I resolved to go, and it was my last stop on the first day of the event. Its roots date back to 1843, with locations changing in the early years. By the 1870s, it was known as Ottawa Collegiate, and found its current home here. The main building is in the Gothic Revival style, with its first stages from this time and added on here and there since. Today, a more modern building stands across the pedestrians only street, to the right of me in this photograph. It houses more space for students, and there are athletic facilities on the property as well.

Gothic architecture always appeals to me, and this one is an exquisite example of that.

Inside the main entrance, stained glass is to be found.

Just beyond, a memorial hall features plaques in honour of Lisgar alumni who died and served in the world wars, Korea, and other military service. 

The tour of the building was conducted with a pair of students leading a group of visitors, which is really the best way to do something like this. The students led us around, in and out of the building, pointing out various aspects of the architecture, its enlargements and changes, and the history of the school.

It's the additional details of Gothic architecture that appeal to me. We walked through the corridors, had a look in classrooms, and heard a couple of sad stories- one involving the death of a student, hit by fallen ice. The other is the story of a caretaker who died, and whose ghost is said to still look after the place.

The school has a strong emphasis in academics, and its students have a history of placing highly in the province. Here we find ourselves in the auditorium, a beautiful space.

Faces up in the architecture above the balcony caught my eye.

It was an enlightening visit. Departing, I photographed the newer building across the way, which includes a gym, computer labs, music rooms, and other classes. Though the building is obviously newer and not in the same style, its use of stone works well with the main building.

Tulips Found Around The City

 I have some shots now of tulips in various places around the region. I start with these two shots taken one afternoon in the front yard of a school downtown.

I focused on one tulip in a planter outside an office tower downtown.

Here we have a flowerbed in Little Italy.

These are beyond Commissioners Park, in the garden of a private home.

And over on the east side of the Bronson Bridge, a large flowerbed filled with tulips.

Sculptures And Skateway

 In 2018, snow sculptures in the Byward Market were of a transportation theme, with the LRT and a city bus emerging from walls of snow.

A classic view of Dow's Lake, with Muskoka chairs on the east shore.

Down on the lake, preparations were being made for the annual bed races, a long tradition for Winterlude. I didn't stay, but got to photograph some of these up close. They ranged from the colourful but basic frame.

To things with unusual decoration motifs.

Snow falling over the Rideau Canal downtown in the evening, and skaters below.

Another day on the Canal saw me down on the ice surface. I was in the Glebe,

Downtown again, this view from the Mackenzie King Bridge looks southeast.

And this looks northeast, under different conditions from that one a few shots up.

Further upstream and back in the Glebe, a look at the Patterson Creek inlet, an ideal spot for learning how to skate before going out onto the Canal proper.

From within the inlet, a look under the graceful bridge leading onto the Canal. We pick up here tomorrow.