1930s – Ian Griffin Photography

Winnipeg, Manitoba

February 20, 2022February 20, 2022Posted in Architecture, Photography, TravelTagged 1147 Notre Dame Avenue, 1880s, 1896, 1898, 1907, 1910s, 1930s, 1950s, 1960s, 1969, 1970s, 239 Selkirk Avenue, 2643 Portage Avenue, 265 Notre Dame Avenue, 501 Selkirk Avenue, 5468796 Architecture, 585 Mountain Avenue, Administration Building, Ambassador Apartments, Architecture, Art Deco, Berry Street, Blessed Sacrament Parish, Breadalbane, Brutalism, Brutalist, Building, Buller Building, Canada, Canadian, Canadian General Electric Building, Canadian Grain Commission, Canadian Museum of Human Rights, Canadian Pacific Railway, Chicago, Christie's Biscuits, Christies Biscuits, Church, Circular Condo, City Hall, Clock, Cold, Confectionary, CPR, Cube Stage, Elizabeth Dafoe Library, Entertainment, Esplanade Riel Footbridge, Etienne Gaboury, Fire Hall, Fire Hall Number 11, Flags, Forks National Historic Site, Fort Garry Hotel, Fort Rouge Garage, Gaijin Izakaya, George Northwood, Granite, Historic, History, Hotel, John Russell, La Paroisse, Little Chicago, Manitoba, Manitoba Teachers Society, Max Blankstein, Monarch Life Building, Museum of Human Rights, Nathan Detroits Sandwich Pad, Neeginan Centre, Nutty Club, Old, Palace Theatre, Photography, Princess Street, Protest, Road Trip, Robson Hall, Royal Canadian Mint, Royal Manitoba Theatre, Scott-Bathgate, Smith Carter Parkin, St. Giles Presbyterian Church, St. John Cantius, Student Union, The Forks, Theatre, Transit, Transportation, Travel, UFO, Union Station, Waffle, Winnipeg, Winnipeg City Hall, Winnipeg Clinic, Winnipeg Tax Centre, Winter, Workers Compensation

Two weeks ago I spent 4 days on a mini Canadian road trip to Moose Jaw, Regina, and Winnipeg. The second third and final stop on my trip was Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Winnipeg is the capital city and largest city of Manitoba, Canada. The city was named after the nearby Lake Winnipeg, and comes from the Cree words for muddy water. The region was a trading centre for the Indigenous people well before the French built a fort on the site in 1738. Selkirk settlers colonized the area in 1812. The City of Winnipeg was founded in 1873. Winnipeg is known as the “Gateway to the West” as it is a large transportation hub and has a very diverse economy. While I was here I ate some delicious food, and explored the city. It was full of a surprising amount of amazing historic architecture.

When I woke up on the Friday morning I was treated to -34°C weather. The roads were extremely icy, and acceleration and braking had to be performed delicately.

2643 Portage Avenue is a very small brutalist style building. This is one of the smallest brutalist style buildings that I’ve ever seen.

585 Mountain Avenue is another small brutalist style building. This is also one of the smallest brutalist style buildings that I’ve ever seen, and is very similar to 2643 Portage Avenue, which I showed above.

The Manitoba Teachers Society building is a brutalist style building that was opened in September 1967. An increased demand for space resulted in the decision to construct a new, larger facility. An extensive amount of bare concrete showing its exposed aggregate is seen throughout the building inside, and out. Unfortunately I wasn’t permitted entry into the building due to COVID-19. The building even features a 350-seat auditorium. A unique feature of the building is its waffle ceiling.

Fire Hall Number 11 located on Berry Street was built in 1912. It was designed by Alexander & William Melville. It was originally built as St. James No. 1 Station before the amalgamation of the various municipalities into modern-day Winnipeg. The building is built predominantly of clay brick. The building originally had arched doors, however they were changed to larger square overhead doors at a later time when equipment grew. The building originally had dirt floors, had no running water, or sewage hookup. This was added on later. The reason for the tall tower is because it was used for hang drying hoses. Another fun fact is that the south side of the building was also used as a police station and included 30 steel cells that could accommodate up to 60 prisoners. There’s quite a bit of information on this building if you’re interested, which you can read here.

1147 Notre Dame Avenue is the site of the former Christie’s Biscuits factory. Today it is used as a hub of support services for children living with disabilities, including therapy to prosthetics. It underwent a $24 million renovation in the mid 2010’s. The building was constructed between 1931 and 1932 for $1 million, and is made of brick and Tyndall stone. The brick for the building came all the way from my home province of Alberta. The building certainly has some Art Deco features including hanging Art Deco light fixtures, and entrance arches.

St. John Cantius Church was completed in 1918, and was designed by local Winnipeg architect George Northwood, however took seven years to build, being finished by J.A. Tremblay.

The Palace Theatre, located at 501 Selkirk Avenue, is a former theatre building designed by local Winnipeg architect Max Blankstein, and was constructed in 1912 by owner Jacob Miles. It was originally used for live Vaudeville performances, but was later converted into a movie theatre. In 1927, a balcony was added to increase the theatre’s capacity to 800 people. The theatre closed in 1964, and the stage, balcony and interior walls were removed. It was later used as a department store, auction house, furniture warehouse, and bargain store until it was sold in 1997 to a group hoping to use it as a live community theatre. By 2002 the building was abandoned and fell into disarray.

St. Giles Presbyterian Church, located at 239 Selkirk Avenue, was built in 1889 as a Presbyterian Church. It was later converted to a theatre in 1908, after an extensive Art Deco style facelift. M.Z. Blanksetin, born in Odessa, Russia, was in charge of the theatre facelift conversion. In 1934 the theatre suffered severe fire damage was reopened as a Bingo Hall, and continues to operate to this day. There is quite a bit more additional information about this building here if you’re interested.

Have you paid your taxes yet? The Winnipeg Tax Centre is an excellent example of brutalist architecture style. The building was built in 1979, and was designed by Number Ten Architectural Group. Most of the building was made by pre-cast concrete cladding with circular motifs repeated on all facades.

The Blessed Sacrament Parish was build in 1966, and is an excellent example of brutalist architecture. Sadly I couldn’t enter the building due to COVID-19, as it has been closed for quite some time. The building can house 450 people per congregation, and was designed by Étienne Gaboury.

The Royal Canadian Mint was founded in 1908. In 1960 the Minister of Finance decided that there was a need for a new facility, as the Ottawa facility had reached capacity. In 1963 and 1964 the government discussed the possibility of building a facility that would be functional within 2 years. The Winnipeg location was constructed between 1972 and 1976 for only $16 million. It’s an excellent example of Modernist (Brutalist) architecture style. The Winnipeg facility is responsible for producing the circulation currency of other nations. Since opening its doors in 1976, the Mint’s Winnipeg facility has produced coinage for over 130 countries. Along Royal Mint Drive is a flag of every country for whom the Royal Canadian Mint makes coins with. In 2015 there were 133 flags flying here, but that number varies, as agreements change.

Robson Hall is the law school of the University of Manitoba. This beautiful brutalist style building was built in 1969. It was designed by Ward Macdonald and Partners. This building is very distinct because it looks as if the low profile building is floating on stilts.

The Elizabeth Dafoe Library is University building that was built between 1951 and 1952. This brutalist style building was designed by Green Blankstein Russell.

The Buller Building was built in 1932. It is a beautiful four-storey brick and limestone building on the University of Manitoba campus that houses scientific teaching and research. It was designed by Arthur Alexander Stoughton and Gilbert Parfitt.

The John A. Russell Building is a two-storey brutalist style building that was built in 1959 to house the Faculty of Architecture. It was designed by Arthur James Donahue and Doug Gillmour. It was designated a historic building in February 2019.

The Administration Building is a three-storey brick and stone building on the University of Manitoba campus that was constructed between 1911 and 1913. The building was designed by local architects Samuel Hooper and Victor Horwood. The building originally housed offices, the post office, a reading room, classrooms, laboratories, a museum, and a library. The exterior of the building mainly consisted of Tyndall stone. The building is now used as the main administration building for the University of Manitoba. In 2019 the building was designated as a historic building.

The University of Manitoba Students Union building was constructed between 1966 and 1969. The five-storey building is another excellent example of brutalist style architecture. The design of the building had to maintain an unobstructed view from Chancellor Matheson Road to the Administration Building. This requirement to remain unobtrusive to the surrounding structures required some of the project below grade. The above grade facilities include dining space, offices and conference rooms, while the lounges, cafeteria, bookstore and open spaces for gathering were located below grade. This was also a central meeting points for all the climate controlled tunnels that connected the campus.

The Winnipeg Transit Fort Rouge Garage was built in 1969. The brutalist style 240000 square foot garage can accommodate up to 500 buses, and includes bays for washing, fueling, and daily maintenance checks.

The Neeginan Centre, was originally built as a fourth depot for the Canadian Pacific Railway between 1904 and 1905. It was their most opulent facility, and was the hub for many decades. In 1978 the newly-formed Via Rail took over passenger railway service and chose Union Station as its main passenger depot. This ended up being a death blow to the station, and by the late 1980’s the CPR’s office staff had all been relocated. The building remained vacant until 1992, when the Neeginan Centre moved in.

The Winnipeg Fire Fighter’s Museum was originally built as a fire hall in 1904, and remained as an active fire hall until 1990. It was designed by Alexander and William Melville, and was one of five fire halls built in 1904. The building design was used for 14 of Winnipeg’s fire stations. Again, I couldn’t go inside because of COVID-19.

62 MacDonald Avenue, also known as the UFO Condo’s, is a beautiful 40 unit condo complex that was designed by 5468796 Architecure and built in 2017.

The Winnipeg City Hall, also known as the Civic Centre, consists of two building separated by a courtyard. Both buildings were designed by architectural firm Green Blankstein Russell and Associates, and were constructed by G.A. Baert Construction in 1964. My favorite of the two buildings is the Winnipeg City Clerk’s Dept (Administration Building), which is a seven-storey high office complex that has a beautiful block on the top. These buildings both are a great representation of brutalist architecture style.

The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre was constructed in 1970 and is an excellent example of brutalist style architecture. The building was designed by Robert Kirby, and has a seating capacity of 1970. The theatre was originally founded in 1958, and moved into it’s current home on October 31, 1970. The theatre received its royal designation from Queen Elizabeth II in 2010, and is also now onsidered a National Historic Site.

The Princess Street historic buildings are quite stunning. They resemble something out of an old movie. Winnipeg has been dubbed the Chicago of the North, and I can certainly see why with the view on this street.

The Cube Stage was constructed in 2012 for $1.5 million. It consists of 20,000 aluminum links and has a built-in lighting system, green room, and two performance levels.

80 Lombard Avenue is the home for Scott-Bathgate, a Canadian-based confectionary comapny. It is known for it’s Nutty Club brand of candy and nut products. The company chose “Can-D-Man” as its mascot, which you can see below. They occupied the building from 1945 to 2007, when they moved to a building on Alexander and Galt Avenue. The building the originally occupied was built for the Union Shoe and Leather Company. It comprised of three separate sections that were built in 1896, 1898 and 1907.

The Canadian Grain Commission Building is a brutalist style building that was designed by Smith Carter Parkin, and built in 1973. It relies on extensive use of pre-case concrete, and has a mushroom like appearance with the top of the building casting a silhouette over the rest of the building.

265 Notre Dame Avenue, previously known as the Canadian General Electric Building, was originally designed by Northwood and Chivers, and constructed in 1930. The Canadian General Electric Company opened the beautiful Art Deco style five-storey building on February 1 1931. The building was equipped with a sprinkler system, which was quite rare at the time, making it “fire proof”. In 1953 Canadian General Electric relocated their office to a space in St. James, and the building then was occupied by Winnipeg and Central Gas Company.

The Ambassador Apartments (Breadalbane) are a wedge shaped five-storey building built in 1909 by Macquarrie and McLeod. The building was designed by local architect John Woodman. Originally, the building had 60 units (12 on each floor), however the building was later renovated in 1927 to include 70 units. The building was extensively renovated in the 1980s when it was vacant, and is now considered a historic site.

The Winnipeg Clinic is a medical doctors building that was opened in 1948. This beautiful Art Deco style building was built in 1948. Actually, the building originated as a two-storey building in 1942, later expanded slightly in 1946, and later expanded significantly to an Art Moderne, a style of Art Deco, skyscraper between 1959 and 1961. There’s a ton more info on this building here.

The Worker’s Compensation Building (formerly Monarch Life Building), is located at 333 Broadway Street. This brutalist (modernist) style building was built between 1960 and 1961, and was designed by Smith Carter Searle Associates. The building, originally constructed for Monarch Life Insurance, was one of the largest post-war era building constructed. The east and west facades are windowless. In 1999 the building became the head office for the Worker’s Compensation Board. In 2011 the building was in fairly deserate need of repair, and the existing granite stone was restored, instead of replacing it with a more modern material. 4044 granite stone panels were carefully removed, repaired, and replace in their original location, following asbestos removal and the installation of a new building envelope.

The Fort Garry Hotel opened in December 2011, welcoming Grand Trunk Pacific Railway executives. It was dubbed as the new castle of opulence. In 1971 a fire roared through the hotel’s seventh floor, which left extensive damage to the hotel. Over 50 fire fighters were required to extinguish the building. The hotel was purchased in 1988 by Raymond Malenfant from Quebec. The hotel was closed for over a year and re-opened a year later. The hotel exchanged ownership again in 2009, and was rebranded as the Fort Garry Hotel, Spa and Conference Centre.

Union Station is the inter-city railway station for Winnipeg. It also previously contained the Winnipeg Railway Museum until COVID-19 shut it down. They’re currently looking for a new home. The station was constructed between 1908 and 1911 as a joint venture between the Canadian Northern Railway, National Transcontinental, the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, and the Dominion government. The station was an essential hub for decades. In the 1960’s train services started to decline, and today only two trains are serviced by the station; Via Rail’s Toronto to Vancouver service, and the Winnipeg to Churchill train. Today most of the terminal is used as office space for non-railway tenants, however its still a beautiful station inside, and out. In 2011 Via Rail undertook a $3 million renovation to the station to repair the roof, trainshed, and improve energy efficiency of the building. Gas efficiency improved by 82%, and electrical efficiency improved by 25%! Prior the the renovation the roof had no insulation, but now has R25 insulation.

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights was established in 2008. The building took only a year to complete and was finished by the end of 2009. It is located in The Forks area, and was established through the enactment of Bill C-42. From an architecture standpoint the building has 7 floors, including a 100 metre tall glass spire that overlooks Downtown Winnipeg. From an exhibition standpoint there are 10 core gallies that showcase; What are human rights?, Indigenous perspectives, Canadian journeys, Protecting rights in Canada, Examining the Holocaust and other genocides, Turning points for humanity, Breaking the silence, Actions count, Rights today, and Inspiring change. Visiting this centre was truly heartwarming, and I advise that you spent 3-4 hours here to get the full experience.

The Forks National Historic Site was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1974, however dates back much further to roughly 6000 years ago when aboriginal groups congregated in the area. Seasonal migrates routes first occured in the area, until fur traders arrived between 1734 and 1760. Between 1738 and 1880 Europeans arrived, and while the area remained a fur trading destination until 1880, grain production also became an area of focus. From 1880 to 1920 immigration became an aread of focus, and settlement and railway development was prevalent. Today The Forks consist of a skateboard park, restaurants, shops, park, art, etc.

The Esplanade Riel Footbridge is a modern side-spar cable-stayed bridge that spans the Red River. It was designed by Guy Prefontaine and Etienne Gaboury, and was built in 2004. The bridge is the only bridge with a restaurant in the middle in North America.

Paroisse du Precieux Sang, also known as the Church of the Previous Blood, is a unique looking catholic church was that built in 1968. The tipi-like church was designed by Manitoban architect Etienne-Joseph Gaboury. The church’s structure is made of a glazed-brick base, and the roof is made of wood and reaches a height of 85 feet. The church has a capacity of 525 seats, which circle the altar.

Restaurant – Nathan Detroit’s Sandwich Pad. Their sandwiches are Thicc!!! I had a delicious Montreal smoked meat sandwich and chicken noodle soup.

Restaurant – Gaijin Izakaya. I had a delicious bowl of very spicy miso ramen here. I highly recommend this place.

While I was in Winnipeg I was unfortunately exposed to a bunch of the protests that were occurring, and saw this person pulling a 5th wheel trailer with his tractor.

Be sure to check back soon for my next blog post. I have booked a trip to Portugal for March 9th, however it looks like Portugal has changed their rules since I booked my flight, so I may not be able to get into the country. Either way I will be going somewhere. Stay tuned!

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Victoria – Christmas 2021 – Part 2 of 2

January 2, 2022January 2, 2022Posted in Architecture, Hiking, Photography, TravelTagged 1930s, 1940s, 200 King George Terrace, 230 King George Terrace, 895 Academy Close, 900 Park Boulevard, Architecture, Art Deco, Athlone Apartments, British Columbia, Brutalism, Christmas, Christmas Lights, Clearihue Building, Concrete, Craigdarroch Castle, food, Hiking, Home, House, Landsdowne Residence, Lights, MacLaurin Building, Mansion, McPherson Library, Modern, Mount Douglas, National Historic Site of Canada, Night Photography, Petch Building, Pho, Photography, Reinforced Concrete, Robert Dunsmuir, Snow, St. Ann's Academy, Streamline Moderne, Travel, Tweedsmuir Mansions, Victoria, Victoria Harbour, Victoria Harbour Airport, Victorian

The next day I woke up around 8:00am, showered, and walked over to my parents Airbnb to pickup keys for the car, so that I could explore a few buildings that I wanted to see that interested me. First stop was to pickup some breakfast, so I drove to a nearby Tim Hortons and got a bagel BELT, a hashbrown, and some coffee.

First architecture stops were 200 and 230 King George Terrace, which are beautiful Art Deco style homes that were built in 1945. They’re currently values at over $2.5 million each!

Next stop was Craigdarroch Castle, a Victorian style mansion that was built in 1890 as a resident for the wealthy coal baron Robert Dunsmuir and his wife Joan. Unfortunately Robert died 17 months before construction of the castle was completed. Once his widow Joan had passed away the Craigdarroch estate was sold to Griffith Hughes for $38000, who subdivided the estate into building lots. To stimulate sales during an extremely slow real estate market, he decided to raffle the home to be won by one of the purchasers of the parcels of land. The winner was Solomon Cameron, who mortgaged the home to finance other failed ventures, which left him broke and the home was defaulted to his creditor, the Bank of Montreal. Over the years the building served as a military hospital, college, offices, and even a conservatory, before it was repurposed to a museum in 1979. The building was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1992.

Next stop was the University of Victoria complex, which houses some unique buildings such as the Clearihue Building, Petch Building, MacLaurin Building, McPherson Library, and Lansdowne Residence Buildings.

The Clearihue Building the the oldest building on the campus. It was constructed in 1961, with an addition built in 1971. The building is an example of modernism, and has a pillared ground floor supporting the classroom floors above, as well as features a clock tower.

The Petch Building was built in 1986 to accommodate the new Faculty of Engineering and the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, as well as provide additional space for the Departments of Biology and Chemistry. This brutalism style three story building is contructred out of reinforced concrete, with precase concrete exterior panels. The building features a unique heat-recovery system, where heat can be recovered and reused from air that is being exhausted.

The MacLaurin Building is the largest building on the campus, and was completed in 1966. The brutalism style building consists of several wings of offices, classrooms, and laboratories. The five story building is constructed of reinforced concrete, with an exterior finished in concrete and integrally coloured bricks.

McPherson Library is a modern style four-storey building constructed out of reinforced concrete. The exterior is clad with pre-cast concrete panels with exposed stone aggregate and rough granite. The building was originally constructed between 1963 and 1964, with a major addition built between 1972 and 1973.

The Lansdowne Residence building complex consists of six four-story brutalism style reinforced concrete buildings. The exterior of the buildings are unfinished natural concrete. The buildings can house 280 students.

After exploring the library I went and watching some planes take off and land at Victoria’s Harbour Airport. I also happened to catch a glimpse of a rainbow!

I drove the car back to my parents Airbnb, and just as I was dropping off the car my sister messaged me to see if I wanted to hike Mount Douglas with her. Mount Douglas provides some nice views of the surrounding area.

After hiking with my sister I grabbed some Spicy Beef Pho from Le Petit Saigon, and then went back to my hotel to relax for a bit.

After relaxing at my hotel for a bit I went back to my parents Airbnb and hung out with my parents for a bit. I had a microwavable dinner with them before walking around downtown Victoria to take in some views. We also went to the rooftop patio on the 12th floor, and it had some stunning views of the city below. Afterwards I went back to the hotel for the rest of the evening to relax.

The next morning was Christmas Day. It had snowed a bit overnight, which made it actually feel like Christmas. We all met at my parents Airbnb at 9:30am, opened stockings, cooked our traditional English breakfast that we usually do, and then opened presents. In the afternoon I continued to do a bit more exploring before coming back for dinner.

St. Ann’s Academy and Auditorium was built by the Roman Catholic Congregation of Women (Sisters of Saint Anne of Lachine, Quebec). In 1858 a Chapel was built, in 1971 a School was built, and in 1886 and 1909 a Convent was built. The Sisters of St. Ann closed the academy in 1973 and sold the property to the government to be used as office space for the public service for a few years, until it was closed for major repairs. The building was renovated and restored, and reopened in 1997.

Just down the street from the academy is 895 Academy Close (Athlone Apartments), a beautiful Art Deco / Streamline Moderne building built in 1947. The apartments were designed by Patrick Birley.

Final stop was 900 Park Boulevard (Tweedsmuir Mansions), which a large and beautiful Art Deco / Streamline Moderne building built in 1936. This is probably Victoria’s finest example of surviving Art Deco style building. It was built by McCulloch & Harvey for a cost of $23000. The original building had nine suites, some with their own street entrances. It was also the first apartment in Victoria to have a penthouse suite. In 1986 the building was renovated, including new exterior stucco. In 1995 the apartment complex was converted to a strata condominium complex, and a third storey addition on the West side provided more space for two of the suites.

It was time to head back to my parents Airbnb for dinner, which included turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, peas, and carrots. It was absolutely delicious, and it was very enjoyable getting to spend time with my family. After completely stuffing my face with food it was time to head back to my hotel to go to bed.

The next, and final day, I slept-in until 11am. When I looked outside I could see that it had snowed a few inches overnight. I checked out of my hotel room, and walked over to my parents Airbnb, and hung out with them for a few hours before heading to the the airport to take my flight back to Calgary. Before I left I wanted to catch a few more shots of Victoria.

My flight back to Calgary was on a Westjet Dash 8 Q400. Despite the poor weather, the flight was almost on-time leaving. Sadly, my parents had to contend with a nearly 6 hour delay on the following evening when they flew back.

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Iceland 2021 – Reykjavik

August 21, 2021November 29, 2021Posted in Architecture, Aviation, Photography, TravelTagged 1930s, 1950s, 737, 737 MAX, airport, Architect, Architecture, Art, Art Deco, Aviation, Ásmundur Sveinsson, Öskjuhlíð Hill, Barnafoss, beer, boeing, Brutalism, burger, Calgary, City Hall, COVID-19, Dinner, food, Gudjon Samuelsson, Hotel, Hotel Muli, Iceland, Icelandair, Islenski Barinn, Kia, Modern, Musuem, Nautholsvik, Parliament House, Perlan, Photography, Reykjavik, Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik Cathedral, Reykjavik's City Hall, Snorrastofa, Snorri Sturluson, Toronto, Travel, WestJet

Today I embarked on my first trip out of Canada since October 2019. I would have travelled sooner, however the COVID-19 pandemic wrecked havoc on the entire globe for the last 18 months. I’m very fortunate that Canada’s vaccination rollout program occurred as quickly as it did, and I was fully vaccinated by July 2021. Iceland was one of the few countries that I was interested in visiting, that allowed fully vaccinated people to travel there.

This marks my 2.5th time visiting Iceland. I had previously visited Iceland in Summer 2014 with my dad, and I had a brief stopover in 2018 when I completed my France trip, which you can check out here. Getting there was a bit different this time, because usually I fly from Edmonton or Vancouver with Icelandair, however those routes were temporarily paused due to the ongoing pandemic. This time I flew WestJet from Calgary to Toronto, and then Icelandair from Toronto to Reykjavik, the capital city of Iceland. I originally paid $1420 for an economy class return ticket, however I paid an additional $230 to be upgraded from economy class to business class for both of the departure flights. Previous trips to Iceland showed the economy class prices to be about half of what I paid. This is my first time experiencing the new business class seats on Westjet, and Icelandair, since they both refreshed their aircraft during the pandemic. I must say I was very impressed by both.

At the Calgary airport they verified that I had received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and that I had a negative anti-gen test prior to check-in. The Calgary to Toronto flight was on an older Westjet Boeing 737-800. Roast beef and mashed potatoes were served for dinner, which was actually quite food. Hot meals are a new thing for Westjet since they launched their new business class, but I think they have a hit here. The flight was quite smooth, with exception to the last 45 minutes approaching Toronto, due to a storm in the area.

In Toronto they again verified that I had received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and that I had a negative anti-gen test prior to boarding. The Toronto to Reykjavik flight was on a brand new Icelandair Boeing 737-8 MAX. The new business class seats are adorned in incredibly comfortable grey leather. Their older seats were more a blue leather colour, and were not the most comfortable. An incredibly generously sized dinner was served, which included chicken kababs over couscous and vegetables, alongside some fresh meats and cheese, and a cake for desert. I skipped eating the cake, as I’m not the biggest fan of sweets.

Upon arrival in Reykjavik I grabbed my bag and went through customs, which was very easy, and almost the same as usual, except I had to hand them some paperwork that I had pre-filled online. After exiting the airport I went and picked up my rental car, which was a Kia Picanto from Blue Car Rental. The daily rate was about $200, which is about the same as pre-Covid times.

After picking up the car I started a day of exploring, before I was able to check-in to my hotel at 3pm. First stop was Snorrastofa, a cultural and medieval center named after Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson. I didn’t go inside, as I was just fascinated by the architecture style, which I would characterize as Medieval, and perhaps Art Deco (the white building).

Next stop was Hruanfosser & Barnafoss, two waterfalls located right next to each other, and about a 75 minutes drive North of Reykjavik. Hruanfosser is definitely the cooler looking of the two waterfalls, and is a series of waterfalls formed by rivulets streaming over a distance of about 900 metres out of the Hallmundarhraun, a lava field which flowed from an eruption of one of the volcanoes lying under the glacier Langjökull.

After taking in the gorgeous views of Hruanfosser I drove back to Reykjavik to check out the Reykjavik Art Museum Kjarvalsstaðir, one of three art museums run by the same company. This building was opened in 1973 and was the first building in Iceland specifically designed for hosting art exhibitions. Kjarvalsstaðir houses the works of one of Iceland’s most influential and recognized artists, Jóhannes Kjarval. The exhibitions at Kjarvalsstaðir focus primarily on modern art paintings and sculptures. Architecturally the building is considered a great example of Nordic Modernism, however I would say it closely resembles that of some Brutalism traits.

Perlan, a prominent futuristic looking building situated on top of Öskjuhlíð Hill, was the next stop. The site where the building is situated started out in 1939 as a single hot water tank to supply enough pressure to push water up to a 10 story building anywhere in Reykjavik. Over the next two decades five more tanks were built, however were later torn down and six were reconstructed in the later 1980’s. In 1991 the six hot water tanks became the base of Perlan, a building open to the public, housing a planetarium, exhibition of the role of water in Icelandic nature, a photographic exhibition, and “Wonders of Iceland”, which is an exhibition that shows Icelandic nature, glaciers, geysers, and volcanos. The tanks are still in use, and each hold 5 million litres of hot water to supply to city.

Perlan overlooks Reykjavik Airport (RKV), which only serves internal flights within Iceland and to Greenland due to its shorter runway lengths of only 4000 an 5100 feet. The first flight from the airport occurred in September 1919. Regularly scheduled flights started to occur in 1940 by Flugfélag Akureyrar (now Icelandair). The airport in its current form was built by the British Army during World War 2, and originally only had a grass surface. After the war the British Army handed the airport operation over to the Icelandic government. The airport underwent some renovations in 2000. There’s a lot of controversy over the airport as its considered noisy, takes up a lot of useful area near downtown, and poses a safety risk. There’s a few options being considered including leaving the airport as is, demolishing and building a new one close by, or demolishing and moving all flights to Keflavik International Airport.

Close to Perlan is Nautholsvik, a small neighborhood overlooking Reykjavik Airport, which includes a beach, and an artificial hot spring, where hot water is pumped into a man-made lagoon. It provides to beautiful views of airplanes landing, and boats coming and going.

Reykjavik Art Museum Asmundarsafn was the next stop. This is the second of three art museums run by the same company. The building was designed, worked in, and lived in by the sculptor Ásmundur Sveinsson. The white dome structure, built between 1942 and 1950, is surrounded by Sveinsson’s sculptures in the garden, and houses his work all throughout on the inside.

It was time to check-in to my hotel, named Hotel Muli. This is a self-service hotel where you’re provided with an entry code to the building and lockbox, where you can obtain your key. The room was newly renovated and had a fairly comfortable bed, as well as a nice rainfall shower. One thing to note about the hot water supply in most of Reykjavik is that it’s supplied by geothermal water, so has a bit of a Sulphur smell. It doesn’t bother me, but is noteworthy to others. I took a three hour nap before continuing on with my daily adventures.

It was time for me to eat some dinner. I walked to Islenski Barinn, which is highly regarded for its well-priced quality focused food. I ordered a Reindeer Burger and a beer. The burger was delicious and reminded me of an even more tender elk burger, which makes sense as they are both from the same family, however elk are typically much heavier than reindeer.

Next door to where I had dinner is the National Theatre of Iceland, a beautiful Art Deco building designed by Icelandic architect Gudjon Samuelsson. The building was built in 1950, and showcases Samuelsson’s beloved basalt columns. Another building similar to this is the University of Iceland’s Main Building, also designed by Samuelsson. I explored that building on a later day, so be sure to check back on a later post.

Close by is Hotel Borg, a beautiful Art Deco hotel that was opened in 1930. The hotel was originally built by Jóhannes Jósefsson, who competed in the 1908 Olympics, travelled around America in a circus, and then after returning to Iceland in 1927 felt like building a luxury hotel.

Next to Hotel Borg is Reykjavik Cathedral, a cathedral church built in 1796, and reconsecrated in 1879 after a large restoration.

Close by is Parliament House, located on Austurvöllur Square. The building was built between 1880 and 1881. Two additions to the building occurred in 1902 and 2002. The main building was built using hewn dolerite, a subvolcanic rock similar to volcanic basalt. Today only a handful of parliamentary items take place in the Parliament House, with most taking place in adjacent buildings.

It was getting late, and I was quite tired so it was time to head back to the hotel for some sleep. Be sure to check back shortly for the next installment in my Iceland series. In the next installment i visit the famous Fagradalsfjall Volcano Eruption, hike the Krysuvik Geothermal Loop, and attempt to visit the Blue Lagoon.

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Saskatoon

June 5, 2021June 7, 2021Posted in Architecture, Photography, Portrait, TravelTagged 1930's, 1930s, 1950's, 1950s, Accommodation, Alpacas, Architecture, Art, Art Deco, Bison, Bon Temps, Breakfast, Brewery, Brisket, burger, Cajun, Capuchin, Chateau, Chateauesque, Cider, Creole, Delta Bessborough, Dingo, Dinner, Duck, Eagle, Egg's Benedict, Empanadas, food, Forestry Farm & Zoo, Goats, Hotel, Ice Cream, India Pale Ale, IPA, Las Palapas, Lawren Carr, Lawren Harris, Louisiana, Lunch, Lynx, Mendel Collection, Mexican, Modern, Monkey, OEB, Owl, Pablo Picasso, Photography, Picasso, Pizza, Porsche, Portrait, Poutine, Prairie Sun Brewery, Pronghorns, Remai, Remai Modern Art Museum, Road Trip, Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Sheelp, Swift Fox, Thirteen Pies, Tow, Travel, University, University of Saskatchewan, William Perehudoff, Zoo

Two weeks ago we decided to take a trip to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for the long weekend. We took an extra day off to turn it into a four day weekend. During the 7 hour drive to Saskatoon I ended up having quite a few work phone calls, which made for a quicker trip out. For lunch we stopped at A&W in Oyen.

Accommodation was at the Delta Bessborough, a historic grand railway hotel originally built for Canadian National Railway. The ten-story Chateauesque-style building was opened in 1935. The hotel was designed by Archibald and Schofield, who also designed two other hotels for the Canadian National Railway; Hotel Vancouver, and The Nova Scotian. The hotel features 225 guest rooms, three restaurants, a fitness centre, pool, conference rooms, and a massive waterfront gardens. The 8th floor was closed off for renovations, however we managed to sneak up there to check out what the hotel would have looked like before it was renovated in 2003.

After checking in to our hotel it was time to get some dinner. We walked over to Las Palapas, a Mexican place that was recommended to us. On our way to the restaurant we walked through the historic Nutana neighbourhood. Some of the buildings here were built in the very early 1900’s.

At Las Palapas we shared some tortilla chips as an appetizer. For our main meal I had some tacos, and Julie had enchiladas. We both agreed that the food was excellent.

After dinner we walked down the street to Prairie Sun Brewery for some potent potables. I picked up some Pink Himalayan Salt IPA’s, and Julie picked up some ciders. We walked back to our hotel and spent some time in the pool and hot tub, before crawling into bed and watching some Man in the High Castle on Amazon Prime.

The next day we woke up around 8:00am and had breakfast at Broadway Cafe. I had eggs benedict with hashbrowns and Julie had a scrambler without eggs. The food was fairly mediocre, however the 1950’s décor was beautiful, and the staff were very friendly.

After breakfast we drove through the neighbourhood of Varsity View to find the few surviving examples of Art Deco homes that were built in the 1930’s. I had heard that Saskatoon had quite a few examples of these homes still around, however many of them were in bad shape.

After driving through Varsity View we parked the car and walked through the University of Saskatchewan campus. The University was founded in 1907. The original building, The College Building, was opened in 1913 (now declared a National Historic Site of Canada). Since then numerous other colleges were established; Arts & Science (1909), Agriculture (1912), Engineering (1912), Law (1913), Pharmacy (1914), Commerce (1917), Medicine (1926), Education (1927), Home Economics (1928), Nursing (1938), Graduate Studies and Research (1946), Physical Education (1958), Veterinary Medicine (1964), Dentistry (1965), and School of Physical Therapy (1976).

Remai Modern Art Museum

After walking through the University of Saskatchewan campus we drove to the Remai Modern Art Museum. The museum was established in 2009, however has only been in its current building since October 2017. The museum has three floors with two different collections distributed amongst them; the two main collections being the Mendel Collection, and the Picasso Collection.

The entrance is beautiful and modern, with nice leather seats, a fire place, and cool light fixtures hanging from the ceiling.

The Mendel Collection is a permanent collection featuring 7700 works by artists including Emily Carr, Lawren Harris, Cornellius Krieghoff, and William Perehudoff.

The Picasso Collection, on the second floor, is also a permanent collection. It features ceramics and linocuts by Pablo Picasso, and features 405 linocuts, many of his beautiful wife Jacqueline. Linocuts, also called linoleum cut, are a print made from a sheet of linoleum into which a design has been cut in a relief. An interesting thing to note is that some of Picasso’s designs included 50 lays of linoleum, and if he made a mistake anywhere along the way, he had to start over again.

After visiting the museum we went and got some ice cream from Homestead Ice Cream. I had Saskatoon Berry and Lemon in a waffle cone, while Julie had Licorice and Saskatoon Berry in a cup. If you’re a lover of ice cream you have to eat here!

Western Development Museum

After getting some ice cream we drove to the Western Development Museum (WDM), which was established in 1949, and has been in its present location since 1972. There are technically four WDM’s, located at Moose Jaw, North Battleford, Yorkton, and Saskatoon, but the area of focus is Saskatoon. The Saskatoon one is called 1910 Boomtown, and focuses on the boomtown era of 1910’s, as well as features vintage automobiles, trains, farm equipment, and other memorabilia. There’s a tremendous amount of content to write about this museum, so I’ll release it in a separate post, and eventually link it here.

After visiting the museum we went back to the hotel for a bit to relax, before heading out to dinner at Bon Temps. Bon Temps is an authentic Louisiana Cajun / Creole style restaurant. I had a delicious brisket served with corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, and a jalapeno corn bread. Julie had scallops served with green beans, mashed potatoes, and a jalapeno corn bread. We also had some adult beverages to go along with our meal.

After our meal we walked to the 9 Mile Legacy brewery, which was unfortunately closing in 10 minutes, so they were no longer serving any pints. I picked up two cans to-go, and we walked back to the hotel and went in the hot tub before going to bed.

On our final day in Saskatoon we went to Hometown Diner for Breakfast. I had a breakfast poutine, and Julie had a delicious chicken bacon club sandwich.

After breakfast we drove to the farmers market, which was extremely underwhelming, so we quickly left. Next up was the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo, which was excellent! The zoo is a National Historic Site of Canada (designated in 1990), and was created in 1966. There were over 30 different types of animals on display including Bald Eagles, Burrowing Owls, Great Horned Owls, Grizzly Bears, Lynx’s, Swift Fox (which escaped!), Dingo’s, Pygmy Goats, Bison, Pronghorns, multiple types of Sheep, Alpaca’s, Meerkats, and Capuchin Monkey’s.

After visiting the zoo it was time to grab some lunch. We drove to Odla, which actually happened to be right next door to the Broadway Cafe that we ate at the other day. Odla is a fine example of farm to table. I had a delicious hamburger, which was the BEST hamburger I’ve ever had in my life, and Julie had a grilled vegetable and quinoa plate.

After having our delicious lunch I drove to Crossmount Cider Company, which was a short 15 minute drive south of the city. The craft cidery is built next to a retirement community and overlooks a man-made wetland area, where you can few all sorts of birds while enjoying some ciders. We decided to both get a flight of sample ciders. The cidery was established in 2014.

After visiting the cidery we drove back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit before going to Thirteen Pies Pizza & Bar for dinner. I had a pizza called The Midnight Meat Train, which included sausage, meatballs, bacon, provolone, mozzarella, jalapenos, and tomato sauce. Julie had a pizza called The White Walker, which included roasted mushrooms, provolone, mozzarella, ricotta, white sauce, prosciutto (added extra), and truffle oil. We barely at half of our pizzas before calling it quits because we were full. We packed up our leftover pizza and started to walk back to the hotel. On our way back we both decided that we would give our leftovers to a homeless man who looked fairly hungry. I also snapped a photo of a very cool brutalism building called the Sturdy Stone Centre. The Sturdy Stone Centre, designed by the architecture firm of Forrester, Scott, Bowers, Cooper and Walls, is a 13 story building that was built in 1977. Floors 3 to 7 are used as a parkade, with the remaining floors used as office space.

The rest of the evening we spent watching more of our Amazon Prime series called The Man in the High Castile, as well as some time in the hot tub, before going to bed.

The following day we had breakfast at OEB before driving back to Calgary. I had my favourite dish there, a breakfast poutine called Soul in a Bowl. Julie had some smoked salmon on gluten-free bread.

On the way home we were supposed to stop at the Saskatchewan Sand Dunes, however due to an immense amount of rain the road to the dunes was inaccessible. I only made it about 100 feet before getting stuck, needing a tow out from a friendly Saskatchewan family.

Well that concludes this series, but be sure to check back soon as I have a trip to Kelowna in a few weeks, as well as plenty of upcoming hikes, including trip to Lake O’Hara in July.

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