Monday, January 31, 2011

Sparks West from CBC


Sparks West from CBC
Originally uploaded by dwight_ew
Not sure why I took this picture, save that it seemed as good a moment as any given the weather and the location.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Hazeldean: Hewitt Way, Old-School

"What Canadian hockey fan alive during the last half-century or more is not going to twig to this one?"

That's what I wrote when I first uploaded this to Flickr awhile back in the fall of 2010. I was researching one of the articles on Ottawa street names that have been showing up at spacingottawa.ca under my byline from time to time, and when I saw this name on the map...well, things kept clicking.

It was almost certainly named for Foster Hewitt, the CBC sportscaster whose name and voice are synonymous for at least two generations' worth of Canadian hockey viewers and listeners by way of Hockey Night in Canada.

I wish I could recall listening to him when he was on the job, although I do recall seeing the 1972 summit series between Teams Canada and USSR as a child, which he came out of retirement specifically to cover.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

2009: Looking to the Mount


Looking to the Mount
Originally uploaded by dwight_ew
I should know which street I was standing on looking northwards...

Monday, January 24, 2011

Toronto Broadcast Centre on a Saturday II

This was back in August of 2009. I was in Toronto to play tourist without any cares for any convention of any sort. Just wanted to see some sights and do some shopping for the heck of it.

So I dropped in on the CBC Toronto Broadcast Centre as part of the self-guided tour.

I got lucky. Everyone but the camera crew and the souvenir shop was gone for the moment.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Railfair 33: Signage Rescued for Retail?

Some of the things you find at rail-fandom events will surprise you.

Night in Centretown: After "Chasing Boudicca"

Taken whilst walking to catch the homeward bus after seeing Kathryn Hunt's "Chasing Boudicca" performed at the National Arts Centre's Fourth Stage.

The new statue honouring musician Oscar Peterson has become one of my new favourites among this city's many monuments. It's on a human scale, celebrating artistic skill and success, and it's approachable in a way most of the rest of the local statuary is not.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Not my urban design art, but that of others...

...in a group called ParLUGment, Ottawa-based Lego enthusiasts. When I saw this at RailFest 33 here in Ottawa this past October, I was amazed at the range of props and the creative design skill of the people who built this...

ParLUGMent: Lego Fandom at the Ottawa Railfair 2010

Saturday, January 01, 2011

Keeping Up re: Spacing Ottawa

If you're interested in seeing what else I've been writing and taking pix of for Spacing Ottawa of late...

http://spacingottawa.ca/author/dwightwilliams/

A selection of pieces, mostly devoted to urban history, particularly with regard to street names. Those seven thousand or so street names had to come from somewhere after all.

There are some exceptions, though...

More on other subjects in the weeks to come. This blog could use a little dusting-off to bring it back into active mode!