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Monday, May 5, 2008

Point Ellice Bridge

The Gorge, an inlet of the ocean leading out of the Inner Harbour, is crossed by several bridges as it winds its way through parts of Victoria. This bridge crosses it in an area that is still largely industrial although progressively more of it is being developed as condominiums. For years I called it the Bay Street Bridge since Bay Street is both the sole entrance and exit to the bridge. However, it does cross the Gorge very near to a historic site we shall be visiting soon, Point Ellice House, so I here give the bridge its proper name, the Point Ellice Bridge.

The first bridge over the Gorge at this point collapsed on Victoria Day in 1896 when a streetcar bearing 120 holidaymakers attempted to cross. Fifty-five lives were lost. The current bridge was built during the 1950's and still seems sturdy enough for the traffic it bears.

Posted by Benjamin Madison at 8:23 PM 3 comments
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Sunday, May 4, 2008

Chinese Public School

Another visit to Victoria's Chinatown, starting with two paintings by Victoria artist Jeff Maltby. The painting above depicts a Chinese Immigrant family in 1905. The painting below of the children arriving at the Chinese Public School is like a fast-forward through the decades for this family. The little boy on the left looks like he's dressed 1920's style. The little girl in her saddle shoes and pony tail is from the 1950's and the boy on the right, with his skateboard and crash helmet is definitely 1980's.The Chinese Public School, below, has been a part of these changes since it was built in 1909. The two paintings grace the outside walls of the Victoria Police Station, directly across Fisgard Street from the Chinese School.

Posted by Benjamin Madison at 9:56 PM 8 comments
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Saturday, May 3, 2008

Chancery Lane

This short lane is really a part of Bastion Square. Its name comes from the law offices that used to occupy this brick building when the adjacent building was the first courthouse in the province. It still houses law offices and the Blue Carrot Cafe - great for soups and sandwiches. Sometimes Victoria is simply picturesque and there is nothing to do but take the picture and post it. Still, on a day like today when I'm suffering from an ear infection and it's raining, it's nice to have gaslamps and old bricks at hand.

Posted by Benjamin Madison at 8:38 PM 2 comments
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Friday, May 2, 2008

Barnacles

Barnacles have a lovely vocabulary associated with them. Here's some of what Wikipedia has to offer. Barnacles are: "sessile suspension feeders, and have two nektonic larval stages." We are further told that barnacles are "encrusters" and that most are hermaphroditic although a few are "gonochoric or androdioecious." I won't go further into their kinky sex lives. Their real estate sense, however, cannot be faulted. These particular barnacles reside beneath the wharf at Victoria's Inner harbour, surely one of the most pricey locales in a city with notoriously high property values.

Posted by Benjamin Madison at 12:17 PM 3 comments
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Thursday, May 1, 2008

Hopscotch

According to Wikipedia, "Hopscotch originated in Britain during the early Roman Empire. It was initially designed as a training regimen for Roman foot soldiers who ran the course in full armor and field packs, as it was thought this would improve their footwork. Roman children imitated the soldiers by drawing their own boards and creating a scoring system, and 'Hopscotch' spread throughout Europe." However it began, children in many different countries now play some form of hopscotch.

When I was in school girls used to have to draw their own in chalk or use a stick to outline the squares on the playground dirt. I wonder why modern schools feel compelled to provide these permanently painted versions?

Thanks to my granddaughter for her participation in this month's theme day photo for "Numbers."

Check out other City Daily Photo Bloggers take on "Numbers."
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Posted by Benjamin Madison at 10:18 AM 18 comments
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