Vancouver City Hall

I think we can call today "the last minute" for March's photo theme. It was "City Hall," something quite definite and not abstract, something that I had to travel (a tiny bit) to get to. 

I suppose I could have shown you the hall in my apartment in the city, but I didn't!

Vancouver's City Hall was built in 1936, away from the downtown in an attempt to get people to expand outwards and move to new developments. If one were cynical, one would say something about real estate deals and friends of the mayor and so on. (If you are keen, I just read a book called Becoming Vancouver which was very interesting.)

It is at 12th and Cambie, regally placed at the top of the hill, and with nothing tall blocking it. I am walking across the bridge from downtown and you can see it there head and shoulders above its surroundings. (I wish there had been a clear blue sky for this picture, but there hasn't been that much blue sky lately.)

 

 So friendly, it welcomes me even on the steps!

It does rain a lot in Vancouver and this concrete sign has aged.

The view looking up from the gardens in front of the building. You have arrived!

There are allotments in the front yard of City Hall! I don't know how one gets a plot, and I think each person only gets a portion of one of these boxes, but I like it! I imagine there used to be just lawn, or perhaps a rose garden or something. 

Someone's kale is doing well. 

At the top of the steps there is a statue of George Vancouver, the British sea captain who sailed in here one day in 1792. He stands here pointing off into the distance. 

According to his Wikipedia page, linked above, he made very good maps of the British Columbia coast, but neglected to look a tiny bit south and so didn't know about the Fraser River. Hard to imagine that! But whatever, he seems to have done a good job overall. 

There were several signs telling me that if I weren't doing something important maybe I didn't need to go inside, because of Covid. 

This is above the door, a carving of the city arms, dates and so on. When I was in elementary school in the 60s, that city crest was on every exercise book. 

I did walk through, noticed the nice stone walls inside, took no pictures and went out the door on the other side. There is not a huge foyer like in Toronto's City Hall, but it seemed quite business-like and efficient. 

This is the back door. Or maybe the front door. This is the door on 12th Avenue, which is the address of the building. No imposing steps, no statue of venerable sea captains. 

I wish I could get closer to the decoration going around above the windows, but alas, they are pretty high up. 

There is, indeed, a bust of the mayor who got this building built, Mayor Gerry McGeer. (He was the uncle of a more recent politician, Social Credit MLA Pat McGeer. I think my brother once went to a birthday party for one of Pat's children in the 1960s.)

There are some perfectly blooming trees there these days. 

Back on the other side, you can see the amazing view from this hilltop location. Good thinking, 1930s guys! I think the plaza was added later, in the days of treeless plazas with a few concrete picnic tables. Not so good!

Some of the old concrete is covered in very nice moss. 

And so we head back down the hill, and say farewell to City Hall! 

Next month I get to look for dots, dashes and diagonals, and that should be fun. I hope I will find some before the last minute! April also means recipes from Whole Foods for the Whole Family, and that will be interesting, as well as going back to Toronto, the Hot Docs film festival for the first time in two years, getting a kid ready to move, thinking about my England trip in May, starting in (again) on the decluttering. And more.