A l'Hotel d'Europe

There are plenty of photos of Vancouver's flatiron-style building, the Hotel Europe, out there. As I walked past it on a stroll through Gastown this afternoon, I took a quick snap of this ironwork protecting some pipe/works and the doorway on the Alexander Street side.

Post title from this song by Narmine Ducap (link in French).

Kaitlin

I don't know if this is genuine sentiment, cynical marketing, or public art. Snapped this poster at the corner of Granville Street and Robson Street this afternoon, on a rare sunny winter day. The word "Williamsburg" at the bottom of the poster makes me suspect hipster tomfoolery.

Post title from this song by Matthew Pfeifer.

Support

I love big infrastructure projects, and find it fascinating when you can see the bones. This is one of the support structures for the five sails at Canada Place, close up. Another support, in the background of this shot, gives you and idea of the scale of the thing.

Post title from this song by Deadmau5.

Heroin

And now, chasing a dragon of a different colour entirely. Spotted this warning sign about black tar heroin posted near the entrance to an alley just off East Georgia Street between Main St and Gore Avenue in Chinatown.

Post title from this song by Lou Reed.

Year of the Dragon

Gung hay fat choy, my friends. Today is the first day of the Year of the Dragon. Here, a lamp standard in Chinatown befitting this auspicious day. Happy New Year!

Post title from this song by Slice & Soda.

Les Feuilles Mortes

We had a terrible summer, weather wise, but autumn this year in Vancouver has been spectacular. Here's a sample of the fall colours taken from my apartment window looking over Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park in early morning light. Gorgeous.

Post title from this classic song.

Uncovering a Lie

Stumbled over what I thought was a manhole cover on Beatty Street near Robson Street, and then I noticed the words "Collected Memory Dispersed" in the glass centre. A bit of googling later, I discovered this is one of a four part public art project by Jill Anholt and Susan Ockwell called "Uncoverings" installed in 1998.

Post title from this song by Iris Aneas.

The Last Marathon of Terry Fox

 

A while back I wrote about activating my mental detonator every time I walked past the Terry Fox memorial adjacent to BC Place. I know I wasn't alone, because recently the eyesore that was there has been replaced, and I have to say I like the new one much better. It was designed by Douglas Coupland, and to me is much more representative of the man and what he stood for.

Post title from this song by Group of Seven.

Happy Melted City

The last time I posted here, four months ago, was the day of the last 2011 Stanley Cup Finals game. If you follow hockey at all, you know that the Canucks did not win. And if you were following the news, or twitter, or know anyone who lives in Vancouver, you know that the city erupted in violence within minutes of the game's ending.

I was heartbroken. (I posted about it on my personal blog.) I was devastated by the damage done to businesses, to my neighbourhood, to my perception of my personal safety. The riots came within a dozen blocks of my apartment – at once a world away and far too close. I haven't been out taking photos for this blog since.

Until today.

This photo's from back in June, two days after the riots. It was a sunny day. Broken glass had all been swept up, broken windows boarded up or replaced, evidence of the riots quietly removed or covered over. I took this on Seymour St near W. Georgia, where a car had been set on fire outside The Bay. The heat was such that it melted this nearby parking meter. The burning car had been removed, but the parking meter bore a sort of silent witness.

Tomorrow, something more cheerful!

Post title from this song by Black Moth Super Rainbow.

Just about a year ago, I posted a shot of this same statue of Lord Stanley. This morning, I took this picture for a reason. In a few hours, the Vancouver Canucks will play the Boston Bruins for the Stanley Cup Championship. This is huge here in Vancouver. HUGE. The city's a sea of blue and green jerseys. Crowds of up to 100 000 people have filled the streets to watch the games leading up to tonight. Productivity in Vancouver has ground to a halt. For every Vancouverite I know, it's as big as, and more personal than, the Winter Olympics last year.

Some enterprising soul decorated this statue of Lord Stanley (for whom the Stanley Cup was named) with a Canucks jersey, hockey stick, and imitation trophy. Just a few minutes ago, I learned that the actual Stanley Cup (for many Canadians, the equivalent of the Holy Grail) is in the city, in Rogers Arena, where tonight's game will be played.

I live on the other side of downtown from the arena, and already, hours before game time, I can hear people in the streets below my apartment hooting and hollering, with air horns and cow bells. Several major streets in the downtown core have been closed since noon. Public transit is experiencing delays, and one local news outlet has described traffic levels as "epic." The city is basically at a standstill. Anxious. Nervous. Waiting. Hoping. Daring to believe.

The last time the Canucks made it to the final, in 1994, there were riots in the streets when they lost. For that reason, and many more, I hope they win it tonight.

Ozymandias

Another grey day out today, so I thought this broody bit of black and white would be appropriate. Another Biennale piece, this one's called Eros Bendato Scrippolato by Polish sculptor Igor Mitoraj. It's located in a cobblestone square in Yaletown. There's something Ozymandian about it, which appeals to my science-fiction post-apocalyptic sensibilities.

Post title from the poem (here recited by Ben Kingsley) by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

For the 'Nucks

Vancouver is a hockey-mad town. When Canada won the Olympic gold medal in men's hockey in this city last year, the streets immediately filled with jubilant people. Yesterday, our team, the Vancouver Canucks, won a hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, securing themselves a spot in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals. If you're not Canadian, this likely means not much to you, but if you were in Vancouver last night when Kevin Bieksa scored the game winning goal in double overtime, you would have heard the screams of celebration all over the city. It went on for hours!

I can only imagine the joy this vehicle owner must have felt - snapped this quick picture last Wednesday with my iphone as I was walking past this car parked near Rogers Arena, the Canucks' home ice.

Post title from this song by Chris Penton and the Superfans.

Hammock

We've had a grim spring so far. Endless rain. Cool drizzly days. It's depressing. I even posted on flickr a shot taken from my apartment window of the murk and cloud, titled: This is what despair looks like.

However, on a rare sunny day last week, the first day I actually got out on my bicycle this year, I happened upon a couple of enterprising souls who had managed to string up a pair of hammocks on this piece of public art. I'd been meaning to get a photo of this sculpture for months, as it's near my neighbourhood, and very close to this and this. Glad I had my camera with me!

Post title from this song by Elevator Suite.

Building a Boat

Detail of a sculpture found in the International Departures area of Vancouver International Airport. Here's a shot of the whole sculpture. It's a quite remarkable piece, a twin of "Spirit of the Haida Gwai, The Black Canoe" that Bill Reid created for the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC. This one was commissioned by the Vancouver International Airport Authority, and is called "The Jade Canoe". The sculpture is featured on the back of the Canadian $20 bill. Pictured here is "...The Frog who sits partially in and partially out of the boat and above the gunwales: the ever-present intermediary between two of the worlds of the Haidas, the land the sea."

Post title from this song by Matt Mays & El Torpedo.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

 

Snapped this quick pic last time I was at Nat Bailey Stadium for a Vancouver Canadians baseball game. My car emerged unscathed from the experience.

The Billboard Song

  

A couple of weeks ago, I was taking the Canada Line out to the airport. Unexpectedly, there were no ads in the frames on the trackside wall. I wasn't sure if they were in the midst of changing them, ran out of time and had to clear off the track, or if it was some sort of Canada Line art installation I wasn't hip enough to understand. The ad-free frames did look a bit like mirrors - but non-reflective, so you couldn't actually see yourself in them. What the heck, if I say it's art, it's art. Right?

Title post from this song by Homer and Jethro.

Anyone for Tennis?

We had an unusual snowfall - unusual for this late in February - a couple of days ago. Yesterday morning I looked out my living room window to this accidental (or maybe not?) giant game of tic tac toe on the tennis courts in Stanley Park.

Post title from this song by Cream.

Poisoning Pigeons in the Park

A couple of weeks ago, I was near the corner of Granville & Georgia, and I happened to glance up and see these pigeons perched halfway up the glass wall of the Vancouver City Centre Canada Line station. Glad I had my iPhone handy.

Post title from this lovely song by Tom Lehrer. Mr. Lehrer's absurd melodies were very much a part of my childhood.

It Don't Mean a Thing

Another mosaic, this one on the sidewalk on Georgia Street outside the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. This one's called "The Swing of Things", and features Dal Richards - a well known bandleader in Vancouver for the past 60 odd years. His big band played regularly at the Hotel Vancouver for decades, and were featured weekly on CBC Radio. You can learn more about him at his website: www.dalrichards.com. But be aware, music auto-plays when you visit.

Post title from the swinging Duke Ellington tune.

Graffiti

Snapped this quick picture at the same location as this one, a warehouse complex near Venables and Clark. The graffiti is so over-the-top it almost looks like a movie set - but it isn't one.

Post title from this song by Digable Planets.