Rock Bay Mural Project

Over the last year or so a small bay off the Gorge called Rock Bay and the nearby shoreline area has been cleaned up. The area is now fenced and the fence diplays a large number of mural paintings from local First Nations artists and their youthful assistants. Above and below are a couple of samples from this attractive project. The project is called the Rock Bay Mural Project and you can find out more about it by clicking HERE. The work above, entitled "Horsetail Herb" is by Darlene Galt. Below is a design by Butch Dick called "Grandfather Sun".

Rock Bay

Victoria is primarily a tourist town but we do have some areas of industrial activity and it's an interesting challenge to photograph them.
- Fern

Study in Yellow

Further explorations of my little piece of Victoria reveal that Vic West is very much a mixed community, with residential, commercial and industrial neighbours. This collection of photos is my attempt to find the beauty and interest among the heavy duty equipment, scrap lumber, and scrap metal yards. - Fern

Apex Steel 2

Here's another one from the Apex Steel Building. Victoria is known for it's mild climate and beautiful gardens but I like knowing is still has a few dark corners.

Apex Steel

At the end of Store Street, on the edge the Rock Bay site sits the former Apex Steel building. It's currently owned by BC Hydro but they use the building mostly for storage and it has been allowed to slowly fall to ruin. Stepping inside is like stepping back in time. It has apparently been used for a small, locally made horror film and I don't doubt it.

Industrial

Here's another panorama stitched from two photos taken from Bayview Residences. Yesterday's pano was the view facing eastwards across the downtown and tourist section of the city. Now we are facing northeast. The blue bridge on the right of this photo, the Johnson Street Bridge, marks the division between the lower/inner harbour and the upper harbour, pictured above. This view of Victoria encompasses most of the industrial area of the city. The Gorge waterway stretches away to the left into residential neighbourhoods.

Point Ellice House

Before I leave summer there's a few images I like and I'll never be able to pass them off as any other time of year. So just pretend it's mid-August and let's go for tea at Point Ellice House.And, after tea, what could be nicer than a game of croquet?
Point Ellice House was built in 1861. (See comments) The O'Reilly family who lived in it from 1867 until it became a historic site. The interior of the house is pretty much as it was when they lived there in Victoria's early days. Apparently they never threw anything away. (We all know someone like that.) But it's wonderful that they kept so much because all those household furnishings, knick-knacks and little personal items make it seem like they just left yesterday and will be back soon. They were definitely upper crust and an invitation to the O'Reilly's meant you had really made it.On the left is a photo of Peter O'Reilly. As Gold Commissioner during the gold rush here in British Columbia he was a very important man. On the right is a photo of his wife, Caroline. They had four children, one of whom died young. The other three lived in the house all their lives except for the time they spent schooling in England.

Point Ellice House is open to the public for a modest charge and is a fascinating place to visit within a few minutes drive from downtown Victoria.I'll close this post with a photo of one of the rooms of the house, looking as though it is just waiting for the O'Reillys to return from some outing.

Rock Bay

Victoria is not all parks and groves and delightful little bays with seawall walkways. It has its industrial side as well although tourism and government are probably the primary employers. I've mentioned the Gorge before as a long arm of the ocean that reaches into Victoria. The Inner Harbor is the first area on this arm. After passing under the Johnson Street Bridge, the Gorge enters the predominantly industrial neighborhood known as Rock Bay, pictured above. The photo below is just to the right of the above shot and shows the backside of buildings on Store Street in downtown Victoria. The Johnson Street bridge is directly to the right side of the photo below and the Bay Street (Point Ellice) Bridge is just to the left of the photo above. And if all that doesn't confuse you thoroughly, I give up.