Or maybe, Chinatown shows the door. Because the Chinatown BIA has embarked on an ambitious scheme to improve the physical look of the properties along the street by painting the doors and façades of various buildings. Not the whole buildings, but the parts closest up to pedestrians on the walkways.

They have commissioned the concepts from the Ottawa School of Art. These were on display to the public and merchants last week. Now the schemes will be revised to reflect the comments of viewers, and painting the doors and some windows will commence later this month.

The CBIA focussed on some of the more dilapidated doorways, those that enter non-public spaces (ie, service doors), and windows of active businesses as well as some of the storefronts used primarily for storage or wholesale purposes.

Here are some of the works:

 

Above: painting an unloved doorway with flowers.

 

 

 

 

Above: Painting the door AND the side panels and roof

 

 

Above: painting the panels under an active shop window.

 

above: painting some “filler panels” where previous doorways and windows have been blocked up

 

above: painting on boarded up windows

My pic of one one concept did not come out. You will have to look for it on the street. The concept was to take a recessed doorway and the side windows leading into it, and painting a trompe d’oeil so that it looks like a curtain now hangs over the recess.

Yet another thing to liven up the neighbourhood and another reason to get out and walk.