Crystal Garden

Here's another building designed by Victorian architect Francis Rattenbury, who also designed The Empress Hotel. This is the Crystal Garden, formerly a swimming pool and recreation centre and now a part of the Victoria Conference Centre.

Steamship Terminal

On Sunday I went down to the Inner Harbour to take some video of the Harbour Ferry Ballet. I didn't get the video I wanted so I'll have to go back again. Hopefully I'll have a video for you next week. But, I did get some photos of the Steamship Terminal, my personal favorite of the three Rattenbury-designed buildings flanking the Inner Harbour.

Bateman Gallery

To round out our afternoon on the Inner Harbour here is a detail of some of the columns on the classically styled Robert Bateman Centre. This was built originally to serve as the Canadian Pacific Steamship Terminal and was also designed by Francis Mawson Rattenbury, responsible for the design of the buildings in the previous two days' posts.

Empress Hotel

Francis Rattenbury was the architect responsible for the British Columbia Legislative Assembly Buildings pictured yesterday and was also responsible for centrepiece of today's photo, the Empress Hotel. This view was taken from where a tourist amusement called Undersea Gardens used to be. The floating Undersea Gardens building has been towed away and what now occupies the location is a small wharf where the Harbour Ferry stops to pick up and drop off passengers. The low white structure in front of the hotel on the right side of the photo is a small skating rink erected so that children here can have a taste of what the rest of this country enjoys at this time of year.

Victoria in Black and White - Another Rattenbury

Today's photo provides a nice wrap-up to two photo series I've started in the last few weeks. Earlier in August we had a look at three of architect Francis Rattenbury's creations that frame Victoria's Inner Harbour. Nearby, there is a fourth, the Crystal Garden. Originally a swimming pool and recreation center, it is now a part of the Victoria Conference Centre. It is located at the bottom of Douglas Street, behind another Rattenbury building, the Empress Hotel. While not as monumental as the Empress Hotel, the CPR Terminal, or the Legislative Assembly Buildings, it is nonetheless an impressive building. It should be noted that Rattenbury designed The Crystal Garden and the CPR Terminal in conjunction with another architect, Percy James. This photo will also be the last in the series I started last week to explore black and white photography.

After Dark 2 - The Robert Bateman Centre

Here's another Rattenbury design, formerly the Canadian Pacific Railway Steamship Terminal. Now the building houses a restaurant on the main floor with upper floors devoted to prints and paintings of Robert Bateman, a contemporary artist now resident on nearby Saltspring Island. It provides a dramatic contrast to the Legislative Assembly Building pictured in yesterday's post.

After Dark - The Legislative Assembly Building

On summer days Victoria's Inner Harbour is full of life and color and, of course, thousands of visitors to the city. After dark its magic is different so I always try to get down there at least one summer evening every year. In the winter, it's usually too cold for me to venture there. It's hard to define the character of the Inner Harbour to find out where the magic lies but I'm sure the key to its charm must be credited to an early city architect, Francis Mawson Rattenbury. He designed the Legislative Assembly Building pictured here. It forms the centerpiece of a trio of buildings designed by the same architect. Rattenbury was also responsible for the CPR Steamship Terminal (now the Bateman Gallery) and the Empress Hotel (now the Fairmont Empress Hotel). These prominent buildings are very different in style and character and this gives the Inner Harbour a richness and interest it would not otherwise have.