Post some pictures of your city! II

[zoomer]

/\ about 20 years ago that might have been true, but it’s pretty active (pre-Covid reality) until well after the 2 a.m. bar close. Unlike some other cities, people stay or return downtown after work as that’s where the best restaurants, bars and pubs are. In my work travels I’d say it’s safe to say that in western Canada Victoria is the most vibrant downtown after Vancouver of course. I’ve been to Edmonton tons and the other main cities in Alberta, Sask and Manitoba. Shouldn’t be that surprising due to the large tourists numbers, the mild weather which encourages people to wander around any time of year, the primary role downtown has in Victoria, and increase in people living downtown. On weekends there is no real drop off, people come downtown to enjoy the shopping, coffee, food, activities.

I wouldnt’ be surprised though if Halifax was a bit more vibrant, especially with the larger student population downtown and a slightly larger metro population, as well as it being a great downtown.

[MolsonExport]

if vibrancy = nightclubs/bars, then yes, Halifax wins the race.

[zoomer]

Unfortunately I never made it to Halifax a couple years back when I visited New Brunswick and PEI, next time. One thing that makes Victoria feel vibrant (at least compared to larger cities in western Canada) is the the relatively compact downtown and even more so the very small scale of most of the buildings. There are few dead zones (think of giant office buildings or infrastructure buildings in bigger cities, with their parking garages, blank walls). Retail, services and restaurants are spread evenly throughout, and buildings are packed closely together, especially the old town.
In some of the Google Earth photos below you can really see the gold rush/frontier/boomtown roots, with such a jumble of hodgepodge buildings. It makes for a great, vibrant pedestrian experience though, with interesting alleys and courtyards. The inner harbour is always active with the mini harbour ferries, Coho Ferry to Port Angeles WA, several catamaran ferries to Seattle and one of the busiest seaplane ports in the world never mind all the private boats and luxury yachts.

Back in the 80's 90's Victoria had the tag 'home of the newly wed and nearly dead'.. those days are long gone, although that brings with it the challenges or being a bigger city..

Anyways thanks for posting the Great pictures Great Scaper

Victoria Google Earth by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

Victoria Google Earth 2 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

Victoria Yates and Johnson Streets by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

Victoria Overhead by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

and to finish it off with some real pics I took recently:

B & W Strathcona and Falls by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

A Museum by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

Downtown Sunset by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

St. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

St. Ann’s - Victoria Canada by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

Janion by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

BC Ferries by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

Finally does wildlife (not the human type) count as vibrancy? There is a crazy amount of wild animals from cougars, to deer, racoons, peacocks wandering around, the Great Scaper has a few of those on camera, lol.

Downtown Deer by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

A few Victoria stereotypes here at the Dover House apartments on the edge of downtown, lol.

Dover House Deer by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

if vibrancy = nightclubs/bars, then yes, Halifax wins the race.

Agree although Halifax also wins the race by most of the other metrics in which one measures vibrancy. Where Victoria clearly shines is in its appearance. Overall it looks more sophisticated, with a superior public realm, and with nicer greenery. Victoria looks more affluent and polished. It's an extremely good looking city.

Vibrancy and looks aren't the same thing though. A city can be gorgeous but not very vibrant .... and vice versa. And just to be clear, I'm not arguing that Victoria lacks vibrancy.

[The Great Scaper]

I read on Wikipedia that Victoria is the 7th most densest city in Canada.
Nice photos too Zoomer.

It's funny you photographed those deer...I run a landscaping business here in Victoria and it's amazing the wildlife that I see at work and when I can I take time out to get my camera and take photos. Here's a few fun wildlife photos I've taken from around Victoria. Almost all of these are from this year.

Deer crossing the crosswalk downtown by thegreatscaper, on Flickr

A squirrel on my fence today by thegreatscaper, on Flickr

On my work truck..
Peacocks on my truck by thegreatscaper, on Flickr

on one of my contract properties...
The meeting of the peacocks by thegreatscaper, on Flickr

on another one of my contract properties...
A couple of deer on my customer's yard by thegreatscaper, on Flickr

another property I take care of...
A deer at my friend/customer's house by thegreatscaper, on Flickr

Always love hummingbirds...
A humming bird, Victoria B.C. Canada by thegreatscaper, on Flickr

I took this photo last week on one of my contracts...
A humming bird during work today by thegreatscaper, on Flickr

This was taken near a property that I do snow removal for...no snow yet this year...
Sea otters by thegreatscaper, on Flickr

Sea Otters playing on the grass by thegreatscaper, on Flickr

This was on a fence of one of my properties too.
An old photo of a peacock by thegreatscaper, on Flickr

I see rabbits quite often too...
A rabbit on my customer's lawn by thegreatscaper, on Flickr

A bunny by thegreatscaper, on Flickr

And when I can, I feed the crows...
feeding my crow friends by thegreatscaper, on Flickr

Peanuts for the crows by thegreatscaper, on Flickr

[The Great Scaper]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Agree although Halifax also wins the race by most of the other metrics in which one measures vibrancy. Where Victoria clearly shines is in its appearance. Overall it looks more sophisticated, with a superior public realm, and with nicer greenery. Victoria looks more affluent and polished. It's an extremely good looking city.

Vibrancy and looks aren't the same thing though. A city can be gorgeous but not very vibrant .... and vice versa.

I commented my post before I read your comment. I've never been to the East Coast so I can't comment on Halifax. I would love to go one day though. Victoria has really changed in the last 10 years significantly for the better. Some people here think they've ruined the city even people in my own family....The one draw back as of late are the large amounts of homeless people. They make tent cities in parks and public places. I'm not sure what the solution is as I feel for these people too.

[zoomer]

Love the one of the peacocks on your truck, lol. They probably saw the premium food you were feeding the crows, and were expecting steak and lobster.. after all they're majestic peacocks.

At first I thought the services on your truck included ”immigration services". Multi-tasking at it's best.

[The Great Scaper]

Originally Posted by zoomer

Love the one of the peacocks on your truck, lol. They probably saw the premium food you were feeding the crows, and were expecting steak and lobster.. after all they're majestic peacocks.

At first I thought the services on your truck included ”immigration services". Multi-tasking at it's best.

We were working on the property and my employee Adam said it's the meeting of the Peacocks...so funny. When I went to my truck and got my camera they were not even phased. Funny thing you mentioned about feeding them because I ended up breaking up my granola bar and fed this one. It seemed to really like it too. hahahaha...
Another Peacock photo by thegreatscaper, on Flickr

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by The Great Scaper

I commented my post before I read your comment. I've never been to the East Coast so I can't comment on Halifax. I would love to go one day though. Victoria has really changed in the last 10 years significantly for the better. Some people here think they've ruined the city even people in my own family....The one draw back as of late are the large amounts of homeless people. They make tent cities in parks and public places. I'm not sure what the solution is as I feel for these people too.

When cities grow, add density, or new areas gentrify there will always be people who fight it tooth and nail. They want the places of their youth frozen in time. They usually dwell on the negatives. Attractive cities usually become expensive real estate. It goes and in hand as does homelessness.

It's likely worse in Victoria due to the real estate prices there but it's a problem nationwide. No city has managed to fix it although the Regents Park re-development in Toronto is often held up as a successful model. I live near there and tend to agree that it's working.

Back to Victoria/Halifax, they are remarkably similar considering they bookend a country as wide as Canada. They're even the respective homes of Canada's west coast/east coast navies. Halifax has a substantial port/cruise ship industry and a crap load of university students. Are these things also true of Victoria?

[csbvan]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Back to Victoria/Halifax, they are remarkably similar considering they bookend a country as wide as Canada. They're even the respective homes of Canada's west coast/east coast navies. Halifax has a substantial port/cruise ship industry and a crap load of university students. Are these things also true of Victoria?

Yeah, University of Victoria is over 20,000 students I think. It's a major port of call for cruise ships, 700k+ passengers per year. Not too many fewer than Vancouver.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by The Great Scaper

We were working on the property and my employee Adam said it's the meeting of the Peacocks...so funny. When I went to my truck and got my camera they were not even phased. Funny thing you mentioned about feeding them because I ended up breaking up my granola bar and fed this one. It seemed to really like it too. hahahaha...
Another Peacock photo by thegreatscaper, on Flickr

I have always noticed that when in Victoria that there are a lot of peacocks freely roaming around. Are they wild? What is the story behind that? Also I hope no misguided environmental movement t removes them.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Back to Victoria/Halifax, they are remarkably similar considering they bookend a country as wide as Canada. They're even the respective homes of Canada's west coast/east coast navies. Halifax has a substantial port/cruise ship industry and a crap load of university students. Are these things also true of Victoria?

It is the same in the US where say Boston and San Francisco are more similar in a lot of ways than a bunch of inland cities closer to either of them.

I am pretty familiar with both Victoria and Halifax and they don't seem that similar from an urbanism perspective. For example the wider inner city parts of Victoria and Halifax really do not feel that similar at all, and the role of downtown in the two cities (which people tend to compare directly) is not quite the same between the two. Some things seem similar from an abstract statistical perspective but are not. Dalhousie has urban campuses and was founded in 1818; it has a feel a bit like U of T or McGill in how it's mixed in with the city. UVic was built on a suburban campus and was founded in 1963.

Victoria/Halifax reminds me a bit of Vancouver/Montreal. Consider the 60's urban renewal and infrastructure projects, how old the universities are and how they are situated, what the character of downtown is like vs. neighbourhoods, nightlife vs. outdoor culture, general age of parts of the city (which is reflected in block patterns, street widths, lot widths).

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by csbvan

Yeah, University of Victoria is over 20,000 students I think. It's a major port of call for cruise ships, 700k+ passengers per year. Not too many fewer than Vancouver.

So fewer university students but more cruise ship passengers. Halifax booked 179 cruise vessels and 323,709 cruise passengers in 2019. A rough tabulation puts the student population on peninsula Halifax at around 30,000. There are another 4,000 at MSVU 2 km off the peninsula. Peninsula Halifax is swarming with students. In the summer the population often gets a massive jolt from naval ships in port. All of a sudden you might see 100s of sailors walking around. So it's a very young/unusual mix of people for the most part.

https://www.cruisehalifax.ca/our-visitors/statistics/

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by someone123

It is the same in the US where say Boston and San Francisco are more similar in a lot of ways than a bunch of inland cities closer to either of them.

I am pretty familiar with both Victoria and Halifax and they don't seem that similar from an urbanism perspective. For example the wider inner city parts of Victoria and Halifax really do not feel that similar at all, and the role of downtown in the two cities (which people tend to compare directly) is not quite the same between the two. Some things seem similar from an abstract statistical perspective but are not. Dalhousie has urban campuses and was founded in 1818; it has a feel a bit like U of T or McGill in how it's mixed in with the city. UVic was built on a suburban campus and was founded in 1963.

Victoria/Halifax reminds me a bit of Vancouver/Montreal. Consider the 60's urban renewal and infrastructure projects, how old the universities are and how they are situated, what the character of downtown is like vs. neighbourhoods, nightlife vs. outdoor culture, general age of parts of the city (which is reflected in block patterns, street widths, lot widths).

Thanks for the run-down. I've never been to Victoria so only know it through photos, discussions, and a little digging.

What astonishes me as how Victoria has the far more impressive legislature and grand hotel despite Halifax and Nova Scotia being far older. Nova Scotia was established and had a number of universities up and running already when nothing existed in BC other than tiny logging towns. You'd think Halifax would have the bigger grander buildings but it's the other way around.

[someone123]

The NS legislature is about 80 years older and NS is a much smaller province than BC. The Empress is more impressive than the Nova Scotia Hotel or Lord Nelson but neither were ever "the" hotel in Halifax and a couple other old ones are gone now (like the steamship era Halifax Hotel). Montreal does not have a single grand old hotel commensurate with how prominent it used to be. It seems like the railway hotels were a bigger deal in the West overall. It is the same with the Hudson's Bay stores.

Halifax has some landmarks like the Citadel and Fleming Park tower that don't really have analogues in Victoria. I'd also say that the big complexes in Halifax like Scotia Square or the Nova Centre (like them or hate them) don't have equivalents there. The Nova Centre is 1 million square feet.

Another random one: the Royal BC Museum is nicer than any museum in Halifax, and there's no similar thing for NS. However the new AGNS may turn out to be similar or better.

[The Great Scaper]

Thanks for all your posts about Halifax. I'm learning a lot about it.The furthest east I've been is Toronto but I would love to go to Halifax one day. My dad was born there and came out to Victoria as a small kid. My grandma on my mom's side...her grand parents had a farm in Saanich (municipality of Victoria) in the 1800's.... What is the AGNS by the way?

[someone123]

Originally Posted by The Great Scaper

What is the AGNS by the way?

Art Gallery of Nova Scotia

[The Great Scaper]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

I have always noticed that when in Victoria that there are a lot of peacocks freely roaming around. Are they wild? What is the story behind that? Also I hope no misguided environmental movement t removes them.

I'm so sorry I didn't respond to your question. The peacocks that I've seen have been in Jame's Bay and they come over from Beacon Hill Park. They are pretty much wild there and I know people feed them. There's also lots of ducks, Blue Heron, squirrels, and geese there too. It's quite a beautiful park if you've not been there.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by someone123

The NS legislature is about 80 years older and NS is a much smaller province than BC. The Empress is more impressive than the Nova Scotia Hotel or Lord Nelson but neither were ever "the" hotel in Halifax and a couple other old ones are gone now (like the steamship era Halifax Hotel). Montreal does not have a single grand old hotel commensurate with how prominent it used to be. It seems like the railway hotels were a bigger deal in the West overall. It is the same with the Hudson's Bay stores.

Halifax has some landmarks like the Citadel and Fleming Park tower that don't really have analogues in Victoria. I'd also say that the big complexes in Halifax like Scotia Square or the Nova Centre (like them or hate them) don't have equivalents there. The Nova Centre is 1 million square feet.

Another random one: the Royal BC Museum is nicer than any museum in Halifax, and there's no similar thing for NS. However the new AGNS may turn out to be similar or better.

Nova Scotia's size relative to BC in 2020 is irrelevant when the issue is the size of each 150 years ago. I did some digging and the issue seems to be that Nova Scotia started building Province House in 1811 when its population was only about 70,000 people. Victoria started building BC's parliament building in 1893 when BC had a population of about 100,000. So NS wasn't massively bigger than BC when the building was commissioned in each place; it was actually a tad smaller. Still, the difference in scale and grandeur is huge considering each province was of similar size when these buildings went up.

There are reasons for everything but the reality is that Victoria creams Halifax when it comes to large grand buildings. That we're talking about Scotia Square and the Nova Centre as feathers in Halifax's cap speaks volumes. I'd classify Scotia Square as a negative, not a positive. And are we really going to compare Nova Centre to the Empress Hotel or BC Legislature in discussion about grand buildings? In terms of modern architecture, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is grand. The Nova Centre is just a small above average office complex.

Glad to hear about the AGNS though. The old building is nice but they probably should have moved into a bigger space 50+ years ago.

[megadude]

Ya I had no idea there was anywhere in this country with basically wild peacocks. Cool stuff.