Today started off with us visiting the Denver Zoo. The Denver Zoo has over 3500 animals spanning 550 species on 80 acres of land. It was neat petting the manta rays, which I hadn’t done since I was a kid. I was a bit skittish because I didn’t want to get stung. Other highlights included watching the elephants play, and the various monkeys getting into fights. For only $20 USD this zoo is quite the bargain!
After the zoo we had some salad at a vegetarian restaurant called Chop Shop. Following lunch we went to Wings Over The Rockies Air & Space Museum. The Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum is located on the former Lowry Air Force Base. The museum was opened in 1994 and features a collection of 50 military / civilian aircraft from 1939 to 1990.
We then explored downtown by driving around for a bit, however we didn’t get out to do anything. We originally were going to go to this indoor Neon Light exhibit, however we changed our mind when we saw parking was a bit of a nightmare. We then drove to the satellite Wings Over The Rockies Air & Space Museum location, however they were closing earlier than their posted time on Google, so we decided that we would come back tomorrow. On our way back to the hotel we stopped in at Brothers BBQ for dinner and had some brisket and burnt ends. Once we got back to the hotel we watched Border Security on television and chatted until it was time to go to bed.
It’s been a busy few months since I returned from Portugal! I’ve been working a fair amount between my two jobs, which took me to Vancouver and Kelowna. I also did videography at a wedding at the Fairmont Palliser, a grad photoshoot, and visited the Calgary Zoo.
Vancouver
In early May I visited Vancouver for an LNG Conference that my company was attending. While the majority of the time was spent working, I did have a few hours to explore the city and look at architecture. I’ll dive a bit into the history of each building below.
885 West Georgia Street, also known as the HSBC Canada Building, is a 23-storey building that was designed by WZMH Architects, and constructed between 1984 and 1986. The lobby features a large magnetically induced pendulum that was designed by Alan Storey.
Next door is Hotel Georgia, a 12-storey historic hotel that was opened in 1927. It was designed by Robert T. Garrow and John Graham Senior. The hotel originally had 313 rooms, however they were reduced to 155 after a renovation in 2011.
750 Hornby Street is home to the Vancouver Art Gallery. The building, originally built as a provincial courthouse, has been occupied by the museum since 1983.
Commodore Ballroom was opened in December 1929 as the Commodore Cabaret. It remained open until 1996, when it was closed for a $3.5 million renovation and reopened in 1999. This is a beautiful example of Art Deco style, and was designed by George Conrad Reifel and H.H. Gillingham.
The Orpheum, opened in 1927, was originally a vaudeville house on Theatre Row. It was designed by Scottish architect Marcus Priteca. The theatre has capacity for 2672 people. Following the end of the vaudeville’s heyday in the early 1930’s, the Orpheum became a movie house under Famous Players ownership, however it occasionally hosted live events from time-to-time. In 1973 Famous Players decided it wanted to gut the inside and changed it into a multiplex, however after much protesting it was stopped, and the City of Vancouver purchased the theatre for $7.1 million. The Orpheum closed in November 1975, renovated, and re-opened in April 1977 as the permanent home of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
The Vogue Theatre is a beautiful Art Deco style building that was built in 1941 as a movie house. It was operated by Odeon Theatres until 1984, when the company was acquired into Cineplex Odeon. In 1998 the building was restored. In 2010 the building was converted into an event space. The theatre has a capacity of 1280 people.
The Vancouver Public Library Central Branch building, also known as Library Square, is located at 350 West Georgia Street. The building was built between 1993 and 1995 for a cost of $107 million. The building, designed by Moshe Safdie, Richard Archambault, and Barry Downs, is covered in granite, which was quarried in Horsefly, British Columbia.
The Queen Elizabeth Theatre, built in 1959, was the former home of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, before it moved to The Orpheum. The Queen Elizabeth Theatre is now home of the Vancouver Opera and Ballet BC. The main auditorium can seat 2765 people, and the attached Playhouse Theatre can hold 668 people.
BC Place, built between 1981 and 1983 is a multi-purpose stadium that can seat 54500 people. It is home of the BC Lions, which is Vancouver’s CFL football team. The stadium roof is air-supported, and is the largest of its kind in the world.
Science World is a science center housed in a geodesic dome that was built between 1984 and 1985 for Vancouver’s Expo 86′ World’s Fair. The building, designed by Bruno Freschi, served as the fair’s Expo Center. At the end of Expo 86′ the building was repurposed into a science center.
The Pacific Central Station was built in 1917 by the Canadian Northern Railway as the terminus of its line to Edmonton. It was originally named False Creek Station, and was designed by Pratt and Ross.
St. James Anglican Church is a unique church built between 1935 and 1937. The concrete church has a combination of styles ranging from Art Deco, Romanesque Revival, Byzantine Revival, to Gothic Revival.
43 Powell Street, a six-storey heritage building that was built between 1908 and 1909 by Parr and Fee Architects. The building is designed in a flatiron style, similar to the famous flatiron building in New York. The building was originally a hotel named Hotel Europe, however in 1983 it was converted into an affordable housing complex.
The Gas Town Steam Clock was built in 1977 by Raymond Saunders and Doug Smith. It resembles something out of the Victorian era, and is located in Vancouver’s original Gastown district. It receives steam from a series of pipes connected to a generating plant at Georgia and Beatty Streets. The steam system provides heat the the majority of the downtown core, similar to how New York City’s steam system operates. This clock is rumored to be only one of two steam clocks ever constructed, because of their inherent inaccuracies. The first steam clock was build by Englishman John Inshaw in 1859, apparently to lure in customers to his tavern.
128 West Cordova Street, was originally the site of the Woodward’s Building, which was constructed in 1903 for the Woodward’s Department Store, a premier shopping store back in its heyday. I remember my parents shopping at a Woodward’s store when I was a kid. Woodward’s ended up going bankrupt and was sold to the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1993. After Woodward’s went bankrupt the building sat vacant until 2012, when a redevelopment plan was initiated. Part of the redevelopment plan included the construction of a new high rise mixed-use building called W43. The building stands 122 metres (401 feet) tall and is another flatiron style building with an exterior steel skeleton, which evokes the steel construction method used in Vancouver in the early 20th century. The rest of the original block was retained. The original Woodward’s building had a “W” neon sign that resembled that of a mini Eiffel Tower. It was replicated with modern LED lights and re-installed on one of the buildings on the block in 2010.
Credit: Paul Warchol. Creative Commons Use. Photo Taken 2014.
The Dominion Building, located at 207 West Hastings, is Vancouver’s first steel-framed high-rise. Standing 53 metres (175 feet) tall, this 13-storey building was the tallest commercial building in the British Empire when it was completed in 1910. The building took just over 4 years to complete. The building was designed by J.S. Helyer and Son, and is built in Second Empire architecture style, which evolved from French Renaissance style.
Harbour Center is a 147 metre 28-storey tall skyscraper with a circular 360° lookout tower that overlooks the central business district. The brutalist style building was designed by WZMH Architects, and was opened in 1977. The building is somewhat unique as the glass elevators to the observation deck ride on the outside of the building. The building has been featured in a few movies such as The 6th Day, and Blade: Trinity, as well as a few TV Shows such as the X-Files and MacGyver.
The MacMillan Bloedel Building is 27-storey concrete tower with offset halves, tapered walls, and deep recessed windows. This brutalism style (modernist style) structure was designed by Arthur Erickson, Geoff Massey, and Francis Donaldson, and was built between 1968 and 1969.
1285 W Pender Street, also known as the Evergreen Building, is a beautiful multi-terraced building covered in greenery. The building was designed by Arthur Erickson, and built in 1980.
1333 W Georgia Street, also known as the Qube, is a very unique brutalism style (modernist style) building constructed in 1969. The building, designed by Rhone and Iredale Architects, looks like a floating cube, and is supported by a strong concrete core. The Qube was originally constructed as a commercial building, but was later converted to condominiums in 2006.
1919 Beach Avenue, also known as Eugenia Place, is a 19-storey condominium building that overlooks the shoreline of English Bay. The building, designed by Caleb Chan, was constructed in 1991 and features a 37 foot Pin Oak tree on its rooftop in a specially designed circular cauldron. The oak tree on the top of the building is a metaphorical representation of the tall forests of Cedar and Douglas Fir that once stood there. The building is unique in that there is only one suite per floor, with the exception of the top two suites each occupying two floors.
The Bloedel Conservatory is a beautiful domed conservatory and aviary that was opened in 1969. It features of 100 birds, and 500 plant species. It was built as part of a group of centennial projects to celebrate Canada’s 100th anniversary. The triodetic dome frame was manufactured entirely in Ottawa and ship across the country. The structural framework only took 10 days to erect, however the entire dome and plaza took 18 months to complete. The dome was facing a large budget shortfall in 2009, and was slatted for closure after the 2010 Olympics, but after numerous fundraisers and setting up an association, the building was saved, and is still open to the public for a nominal fee.
Vancouver City Hall is a beautiful Art Deco style building that was constructed between 1935 and 1936. It was designed by Fred Townley and Matheson. The building has a twelve-storey tower with a clock on the top.
355 Burrard Street, also known as the Marine Building, is in my opinion one of the most beautiful Art Deco skyscrapers I have seen. It was completed in 1930, and was the tallest skyscraper in the city at that time. The building, designed by McCarter & Nairne, stands 98 metres (321 feet) tall and is comprised of 22 floors.
I also saw some unique street art while I was walking around.
Kelowna
In early January I started working part-time for another company based in Kelowna. In mid-May I spent a few days in Kelowna visiting with my friend Krystylyn, and meeting my colleagues. During my trip Krystylyn and I went on a few hikes.
The first hike we completed was called Fintry Falls. The hike starts off at the historic Fintry Octagonal Dairy Barn, which was constructed in 1924. The unique barn was owned by James Cameron Dun-Waters who developed the farm on the Fintry Estate between 1909 and 1939. The barn was built to house his prized herd of Ayshire cows.
About 100 metres from the barn is the site of a former powerhouse, which James built in 1912 to harness the power from Shorts Creek to provide power for his estate house, barn, and sawmill. I’ll dive into detail about that a bit later.
The hike continues up a few hundred stairs to a beautiful view of Fintry Falls, where Krystylyn and I stopped to admire the views, before venturing further up the trail.
After climbing more stairs we came across some narrow concrete ledges, which we crossed before finding the remains of a wooden suspension bridge that had fallen apart. James had built a dam across a narrow gorge in the Shorts Creek, to where it channeled water into a reservoir. The reservoir then transported water in a large wood-stave, wire-wrapped pipe across this suspension bridge, and over those narrow concrete ledges we had crossed, and then down the hill to the powerhouse. The water pressure available at the powerhouse was apparently around 150psi.
The second hike we completed was called Turkey Vulture Loop, which is located int he Rose Valley Regional Park. The hike progresses through a sparse forest, up some hills, before emerging on a beautiful view of Kelowna.
Calgary Zoo
In late May I visited the Calgary Zoo. There was a few new animals including a Tapir, a baby Gorilla, and a baby Porcupine. I did manage to get a great picture of the Tapir, however wasn’t able to see the baby Gorilla, and didn’t get a great photo of the Porcupine. I was successful in finally getting a bunch of nice photos of the Red Panda’s though, which I’ve been trying to get for years!
Be sure to check back soon, as hiking season has begun, and I’m off to Bali, Indonesia in July!
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Today I finished exploring Vienna. I woke up around 7:00am again and went to the nearby McDonald’s and purchased a coffee, and picked up a sandwich from the Spar grocery store below.
First stop today was Hundertwasserhaus, an apartment complex with an expressionist architecture style. The building was conceived by Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertswasser and Jospeh Krawina. Friedensreich started his career as a painter in the early 1950’s, however became increasingly focused on architecture, and literature. In 1972 he had his first architectural models made for a telvevsion show called “Make a Wish” in order to demonstrate his ideas on forested roofs, “tree tenants”, and the “window right” of every tenant to embellish the facade around his windows. In these models he showcased his architectural shapes, which included “eye-slit” house and “high-rise meadow house”. In Late 1977 the federal chancellor Bruno Kreisky suggested to the mayor of Vienna (Leopold Gratz) that Hundertswasser create an apartment building to his own idea, however architect Joseph Krawina was invited to join him and help put his ideas to practice. Krawina presented his ideas to Hundertswasser in September 1979 with a Styrofoam model and rudimentary drawings. Hundertwasser was shocked and rejected them. In the end the house was built between 1983 and 1985 according to the ideas and concepts of Hundertwasser with architect Krawina as a co-author and architect Peter Pelikan as a planner. It features undulating floors, a roof covered with earth and grass, and large trees growing from inside the rooms, with limbs extending from windows. Hundertwasser took no payment for the design of the house, declaring that it was worth it, to prevent something hideous from going up in its place. The apartment complex contains 53 apartments, 4 offices, 16 private terraces, 3 public terraces, and 250 trees and bushes.
Second stop was Schönbrunn Palace. Schönbrunn Palace was the main summer residence of the Habsburgs. In 1569, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II purchased a large floodplain on the Wien river. In 1548 the previous owner had erected a mansion called Katterburg. The emperor ordered the area to be fenced and introduced game such as pheasants, ducks, deer, and boar. Over the next century the area was used for hunting and recreation. Eleonora Gonzaga, who inherited the property after the death of her husband Ferdinand II. From 1638 to 1643 she added a palace to the Katterburg mansion. The name Schönbrunn first appeared in 1642. It also appears that the orangery was started by Eleonara as well. The Schönbrunn Palace in its present form was built and remodeled during the 1740–50s during the reign of empress Maria Theresa, who received the estate as a wedding gift. Franz Joseph I commissioned the redecoration of the palace exterior in the neoclassical style as it appears today.
On site is Palemnhaus, a beautiful Art-Nouveau greenhouse, that was built in 1882 to showcase many exotic plants. The site is also home to Schönbrunn Zoo, the world’s oldest zoo, dating back to 1752. There is an amazing assortment of animals there; I was told roughly 8000, with 700 unique species including turtles, goats, pandas, penguins, lions, tigers, various birds, hippos, etc! I had a delicious brie and cured sausage for lunch at the zoo.
Third stop was Secession, a contemporary art museum with a gold dome of gilded laurels & temporary exhibitions by renowned artists.
The Austrian National Library was my fourth, and last stop of the day. It is the largest library in Austria with over 12 million items in its collection. The library dates back to 1368 when Duke Albert III moved books from the Viennese vaults into an imperial (national) library. The library is located in the Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg in center of Vienna. Neue Burg, also known as Hofburg, is a former imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Today it serves as the official residence and workplace of the President of Austria. It was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn Palace was the summer residence. Numerous architects have executed work at the Hofburg as it expanded, notably the Italian architect-engineer Filiberto Luchese, Lodovico Burnacini and Martino and Domenico Carlone, the Baroque architects Lukas von Hildebrandt and Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, Johann Fischer von Erlach, and the architects of the Neue Burg built between 1881 and 1913.
I spent the majority of the evening at the hotel doing work, however I did manage to sneak out for some delicious mushroom orichette and a beer at a restaurant called Schachtelwirt. I also took a few night shots of Vienna’s streets.
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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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Ian Griffin Photography 