Wednesday, July 3, 2013

The most spectacular scenic walk in Victoria



Na’Tsa’maht – the unity wall at Ogden Point
Watercolour and crayon
©2013 Charlene Brown

An 800-meter granite and concrete breakwater was completed at Ogden Point on the south shore of the city of Victoria in 1916 in anticipation of a massive increase in trade from vessels using the recently-opened Panama Canal. 
For various reasons, most of the really massive stuff has always sailed right by Victoria to Seattle or Vancouver, but in the last few years, more and more Alaska-bound cruise ships have found their way here.

The Ogden Point Enhancement Society, which includes some excellent aboriginal artists, decided it would be nice to have something besides a 90-year-old stretch of blackened breakwater surrounding the cruise ship docks…  Now the first thing many visitors to Victoria see is this illustrationof the legends and culture of the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations. When completed, the 2000 m2 mural will be among the largest in the world.