Category: chinatown arch

Chinatown, chinatown arch, somerset street

Aloha Chinatown Honalulu (ii)

Westsideaction

Chinatown in Honalulu has a large reputation preceeding it, one that I felt on my visit wasn’t totally warranted. Pictured above is their Chinatown gate — pedestrian archway on a slightly arched bridge that crosses a canal waterway. Note also the small plaques mounted along the bridge. Much of Chinatown H has a uniform architecture. That was because of a fire in the early twentieth century. A fire that has been attributed to several causes: burning down the neighborhood as it was the centre of a plague sweeping the island; or it was an accident; or it was designed to … Continue reading Aloha Chinatown Honalulu (ii)

Chinatown, chinatown arch

Aloha Chinese Architecture

Westsideaction

This is a modern building in Honalulu with an otherwise non-descript exterior. Typically, the bottom few floors are parking garage, apartments above. The front porch however has this generous canopy that celebrates chinese culture and influence. It was not located in Chinatown per se, but along one of the main streets in Wikiki Beach area. I do not recall what the tile mosaic above it on the wall of the garage was portraying. I did think this was a nice touch on a building, particularly if it was located in the Chinatown area. In Ottawa’s chinatown, there is one newish … Continue reading Aloha Chinese Architecture

Chinatown, chinatown arch

Aloha Chinese Architecture

Westsideaction

This is a modern building in Honalulu with an otherwise non-descript exterior. Typically, the bottom few floors are parking garage, apartments above. The front porch however has this generous canopy that celebrates chinese culture and influence. It was not located in Chinatown per se, but along one of the main streets in Wikiki Beach area. I do not recall what the tile mosaic above it on the wall of the garage was portraying. I did think this was a nice touch on a building, particularly if it was located in the Chinatown area. In Ottawa’s chinatown, there is one newish … Continue reading Aloha Chinese Architecture

Chinatown, chinatown arch

Aloha Chinatown Honalulu

Westsideaction

I had heard and read a lot about the Chinatown in Honalulu. Large, bustling, exotic … instead I found it not-so-large, very decrepit, and unfortunately co-existing with the flophouse/druggie scene reminiscient of Vancouver’s lower east side. The streets were strangely empty for a workday at 4.30. As visible in the picture, the downtown core is barely a block away. Two sides of the Chinatown were surrounded by enormous high rise blocks (40 stories) of condos and student residences but they seemed to somehow ignore the Chinatown area. As part of urban renewal or some such scheme, a newish structure is shown … Continue reading Aloha Chinatown Honalulu

Chinatown, chinatown arch

Aloha Chinatown Honalulu

Westsideaction

I had heard and read a lot about the Chinatown in Honalulu. Large, bustling, exotic … instead I found it not-so-large, very decrepit, and unfortunately co-existing with the flophouse/druggie scene reminiscient of Vancouver’s lower east side. The streets were strangely empty for a workday at 4.30. As visible in the picture, the downtown core is barely a block away. Two sides of the Chinatown were surrounded by enormous high rise blocks (40 stories) of condos and student residences but they seemed to somehow ignore the Chinatown area. As part of urban renewal or some such scheme, a newish structure is shown … Continue reading Aloha Chinatown Honalulu

chinatown arch, somerset street

Chinatown arch

Westsideaction

click to enlarge to see gold detailing Construction of the Chinatown Royal Arch begins in April. The whole structure will be precast concrete. The precasting of features may be done in a tented workshop behind Yangtze Restaurant using handcarved wooden molds, then put on the concrete main frame. It will take two months to cast, then painting will take two months, altogether five to six months. The lowest point of the arch will be 16’ above the street; the top point will be about 33’ above the street. The arch spanning the street will weigh 100 tons, when the decorative … Continue reading Chinatown arch

capital crime writers, chinatown arch

Chinatown Mystery

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This info from Capital Crime Writers about a workshop being held in Chinatown at Sushi 88, between Bronson and Cambridge. **Next Sunday’s workshop has limited enrollment, so if you are interested get your tickets soon! The The Dusty Owl Workshop Series Presents Bare Bones of Mystery Writing with Barbara Fradkin Sunday 29 November 2009 1pm to 4pm Sushi 88690 Somerset Street West, Ottawa $15 — tickets available at Sushi 88! For more information: www.dustyowl.com This informal, interactive workshop will examine the enduring power of the mystery novel, in all its guises. There are four magical ingredients of writing crime fiction … Continue reading Chinatown Mystery

chinatown arch, somerset street, streetscaping

Mini Garden in Chinatown

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This brick planter replaces a rickety wooden one at the corner of Upper Lorne Place and Somerset Street in Chinatown. It is simple, inexpensive, attractive. The Chinatown / Somerset landscape could use more such pocket gardens to soften the landscape and generally improve the look of the area, which tends to look a bit bedraggled, especially with the number of vacant storefronts. Continue reading Mini Garden in Chinatown

Chinatown, chinatown arch, Dalhousie, DOTT, LRT

Baird on the Ottawa Transit Tunnell

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Last evening there was a banquet in Chinatown. It had several purposes. It was a birthday celebration for the 60th Anniversary of the current ruling regime in China, and the Chinese ambassador was present. It was a fundraiser for the new archway that will grace Somerset St at Cambridge later this year, and for that welcoming beacon and sign of the Chinese-Asian presence in the Dalhousie neighborhood of Ottawa, significant funds were raised. The final arch design was revealled: it is a royal arch, because Ottawa is a capital city, as is Beijing, which is contributing to the archway here. … Continue reading Baird on the Ottawa Transit Tunnell

Chinatown, chinatown arch, somerset street, streetscaping1 Comment

Chinatown Arch Unveiled

Westsideaction

The Ottawa Chinatown Gateway project aims to construct a Chinese archway over Somerset Street at Cambridge, in the heart of the Asian district, just west of Bronson. See photoshop picture at the top. – There are already Chinatown archways in many North American cities, including one just opened in Toronto. However, Ottawa’s will be the only one with status of a Royal Archway, suitable for an Emperor to pass under. Ottawa is twinned with Beijing, which has supplied the design of the archway and the materials. – Gathered together this morning to announce the construction and design were politicians (Mayor … Continue reading Chinatown Arch Unveiled