Category Archives: Parks and Plazas

Buchart Gardens (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada)

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Butchart Gardens

From Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal, Grace, Jandy, Cheska, Kyle and I, with our dog Luffy, rode on a double-decker Bus 72 (we missed the direct, one-hour Bus 81), operated by Victoria Regional Transit System, for the nearly 40-min. drive to Saanichton then transferred to a single-deck Bus 75 for the nearly 30-min. drive to get to the world-renowned Butchart Gardens, an absolute must see when traveling to Victoria.

Butchart garden Sign. L-R: the author, Jandy, Kyle and Grace

The lush, 22.3-hectare (55-acre) Butchart Gardens, a group of floral display gardens, located on the Saanich Peninsula, near Victoria on Vancouver Island, has delighted visitors from all around the world with its over a million awe-inspiring bedding blooms (in some 900 varieties) and unique plantings, receiving over a million visitors each year.

The iconic water wheel

It is consistently rated among the world’s most beautiful garden attractions and top places to go to in Canada by USA Today, CNN Travel, Condé Nast, National Geographic, Tripadvisor and Frommer’s and more.

Waterwheel Square

Started by Robert Pim Butchart (1856–1943) and his wife Jennie Butchart (1866–1950), ownership of The Gardens still remains within the Butchart family and, since 2001, the owner and managing director is Robin-Lee Clarke, the Butcharts’ great-granddaughter.

Here is the historical timeline of the gardens:

  • In 1888, Robert Pim Butchartbegan manufacturing Portland cement  near his birthplace of Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. He and his wife Jennie Butchart came to the west coast of Canada because of its rich limestone deposits necessary for cement production.
  • In 1904, they established their home near his quarry on Tod Inlet at the base of the Saanich Peninsulaon Vancouver Island.
  • In 1908, the Bucharts named their home “Benvenuto” (“welcome” in Italian)
  • In 1909, when the limestone quarry was exhausted, Jennie wanted to recreate some natural beauty from the remains of her husband’s mined-out industrial quarry site so she set about turning it into the Sunken Garden, transferring top soil by horse and cart. She commissioned Isaburo Kishida, a 67 year-old garden designer from Yokohama, Japan (he built a wildly popular tea gardenfor Esquimalt Gorge Park in 1907) before he returned to Japan in 1912.
  • In 1921, the Sunken Garden was completed and they began to receive visitors to their gardens.
  • In 1926, they replaced their tennis courts with an Italian garden
  • In 1929, the Bucharts replaced their kitchen vegetable garden with a large rose garden to the design of Butler Sturtevantof Seattle. Samuel Maclure, who was consultant to the Butchart Gardens, reflected the aesthetic of the English Arts and Crafts Movement.
  • In 1939, they gave the Gardens to their grandson Robert Ian Ross (1918–1997) on his 21st birthday. Ross was involved in the operation and promotion of the gardens until his death 58 years later.
  • In 1946, Ann-Lee Ross, Robert Ian Ross’ wife, opened the Benvenuto Tea House (now called the Dining Room) and continued the tradition of serving afternoon teato guests.
  • In 1953, to mark the 50th anniversary of The Gardens, miles of underground wiring were laid to provide night illumination.
  • In 1964, the ever-changing Ross Fountain was installed in the lower reservoir to celebrate the 60th anniversary.
  • In 1977, during summer Saturday evenings, Christopher Ross (1944–2000), Robert Ian Ross’s son, introduced firework shows accompanied by show tunes, choreographing them until his death in 2000.
  • In 1982, the Butchart Gardens was used as the inspiration for the gardens at the Canadianpavilion opened at Epcot Centre in Orlando Florida.
  • In 1993, to commemorate their 50th wedding anniversary, the “Circle of Doves,” given by Ann-Lee Ross to her husband Ian in 1991, was installed in front of the Begonia Bower.
  • In 1994, the Canadian Heraldic Authoritygranted a coat of arms to the Butchart Gardens.
  • On September 9, 2004, two totem poles were installed and dedicated to mark the 100th anniversary.
  • That same year, The Gardens were designated as a National Historic Site of Canada.
  • In the summer of 2008, The Gardens introduced the Jennie B, an electrically driven 12-passenger boat, which plies the local coastlines in the summer giving visitors an appreciation of the waterside history plus coastal aquatic plants and animals.
  • On December 1, 2009 the Children’s Pavilion and the Rose (or Menagerie) Carousel were opened to the public.

Begonia Bower

While Jennie Butchart collected plants, Robert Pim Butchart collected ornamental birds from all over the world (he had a parrot in the house, ducks in the Star Pond and peacocks on the front lawn). Robert also built several elaborate birdhouses for the gardens and trained pigeons on the site of the present-day Begonia Bower.

In the early days, Mr. and Mrs. Butchart often hosted weekly symphony concerts for guests of the family but, later, attracted a larger audience. More recently, during the summer season (July and August) and the winter holiday season, they provide a wide range of local entertainment, from jazz to classical music.

Also, The Weeds (a band made up of staff members from The Gardens) sometimes plays during the summer season, During winter, lights and seasonal decorations adorn the gardens along with an ice-skating rink in the Waterwheel Square.

Upon payment of the admission fee, we were ushered into Waterwheel Square, our starting point, which was aptly named after a lovely waterwheel beside the entrance. The statue of a wild boar, in the heart of the square, was cast in Florence by Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry and purchased in 1973 during a family trip to Italy and installed the next year.

Butchart Boar

The snout of this replica of the Cinghiale, a 1620 marble statue (displayed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence) by Pietro Tacca (in honor of the sculptor, it is called “Tacca”) is, just like the original, shiny from the many visitors rubbing it for good luck. In front of the residence is another nearby statue, by Sirio Tofanari, of a donkey and foal.

Check out “Uffizi Gallery”

Donkey and Foal (Sirio Tofanari)

Buchart Gardens encompasses five separate gardens: the Sunken Gardens, the Rose Garden, the Japanese Garden, the Italian garden and the Mediterranean Garden.   To keep these gardens looking impeccable, they have 26 greenhouses and employ 50 full-time gardeners, 12 part-time gardeners as well as 550 staff during peak season.  With regards irrigation supply, the gardens are entirely self-sufficient as, every year, millions of liters of rainwater are collected, via runoff, from the parking lots and stored in a number of reservoirs and wells.

Laurel Walk

From the flower-lined Laurel Walk, a pathway on the left led to the Begonia Bower which was overflowing with hanging baskets of begonias and fuchsias. Designed in 1917 by Samuel Maclure as a “Chinaman’s Cottage,” it was later renamed the Gardener’s Cottage, circa 1950.

Above the Sunken Garden

Past the Laurel Walk is the top of “the Mound,” a massive limestone rock embankment (designed by Raoul Robillard) rising, above the switch back stairs, from the center of the iconic, 5-acre Sunken Gardens, the crown jewel of the Butchart Gardens.

The pair of Arbor vitae trees

Flanking the main path are an iconic pair of Thuja occidentalis Fastigiata trees (Arbor vitae), commonly called the “tree of life,” planted by Jennie in 1930 (they are now on their third pair). The Mound has spectacular views of the garden including the tall chimney of the long vanished kiln. To the left of the cement stack are six Lombardy poplars (Populas nigra italica) planted by Jennie in 1910 to hide the cement factory.

Once a pile of rock and rubble, the quiet and peaceful Sunken Garden is, as the name suggests, located below road level. The first land reclamation project in the world, the garden, dotted with benches, boasts 151 flower beds, 65,000 bulbs planted for spring and cradles an impressive assortment of flowers, trees and shrubs.

The Sunken Garden

A path, from here, winds past the undulating and spectacular Ross Fountain, installed in 1964 by Robert Ian Ross (Jennie and Robert’s grandson) to celebrate the 60th anniversary of The Butchart Gardens.  The fountain is surrounded by a rotating selection of seasonal blooms.

Ross Fountain

In summer, during The Gardens Night Illuminations displays, it comes alive as magical lighting effects dance across its waters.  Another path leads to the serene pond of the Bog Garden which is surrounded by weeping-willows.

Bog Garden

From the Sunken Garden, a path led us, half-way through The Gardens, to the 700 sq. m. (7,500 sq. ft.) Children’s Pavilion, which has a dome with a 23-m. (75 ft.) clear span, a full-fronted glass façade and a roof planted with native plant species.  It also has an event room for such things as children’s birthday parties.  Annabelle, the elegant bronze carousel horse sculpted by Nathan Scott, is located next to the pavilion.

Children’s Pavilion

Housed within is the popular Rose (or Menagerie) Carousel, the only carousel on Vancouver Island.  The carousel was crafted by Brass Ring Entertainment of Sun Valley, California.  The brightly painted and hand-carved wooden menagerie, mirroring the world from which The Gardens draws its visitors, includes thirty animals ranging from bears, to horses, to ostriches, to zebras, to cats.

Rose (or Menagerie) Carousel

In consultation with an artist from North Carolina, Robin Clarke (the gardens’ owner and great-granddaughter of Jennie Butchart) handpicked the design of each animal carving.  Done by some of the few remaining carvers of carousel art, they were carved from basswood and took many months to complete. There are also two chariots able to accommodate disabled persons.  Kyle didn’t want to miss out on the carousel so, accompanied by Jandy, tried it out ($2 per person).

Concert Lawn and Stage

Across from the pavilion is the Concert Lawn and Stage.  Here, between 1953 and 1967, the Victoria Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Hans Gruber), under the sponsorship of Mr. and Mrs. Ian Ross, performed summer concerts on the main lawn. The concerts also featured many international artists such as Teresa Stratas, Bernard Turgeon and Grace Bumbry. On occasion, guest conductors were also invited to lead the orchestra.

Organ Pavilion

Nearby is the Organ Pavilion, the original dairy barn which now houses the Aeolian Pipe Organ played at The Butchart Gardens. Fully playable manually, this organ boasts just under one thousand individual pipes, a set of twenty tubular chimes and a forty-nine note percussive harp.

California Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens, 1934)

Located on a back path behind the Concert Lawn are tallest of two California redwoods (Sequioia sempervirens) which were planted as seedlings Afred Shiner, former Head Gardener, in 1934.

Totem poles

Another path led us to two 9.1 m. (30-ft.) high and 1.2-m. (4-ft.) wide totem poles dedicated on September 9, 2004 in celebration of the 100th anniversary of The Butchart Gardens, they are a recognition of the rich cultural heritage provided by the First Nations peoples.

Eagle with Salmon, Orca, Bear with Salmon

Raven, Beaver with Grouse, Otter with Pups & Clam, Frog

The “Eagle with Salmon, Orca, Bear with Salmon” was carved in Contemporary Coast Salish style by master carver Doug LaFortune of the Tsawout First Nation while the “Raven, Beaver with Grouse, Otter with Pups & Clam, Frog” was carved in Classic Coast Salish style by master carver Charles Elliot of the Tsartlip Nation.

Seed & Fireworks Field

Nearby is the Seed and Fireworks Field.  The land here was purchased in 1903 from Mr. Fernie, a local dairy farmer. In 1969, a reservoir was excavated to ensure a water supply for irrigation and a single jet fountain was installed to aerate the water supply in the largest reservoir. Today, the fountain is now the focal point of a fireworks display.

Dragon Fountain

On our way to the Rose Gardens, we passed by the striking bronze Dragons Fountain, the newest addition to The Gardens.  A gift from Suzhou (Victoria’s sister city) and the People’s Republic in China in 2015, at night, color-changing LED lights create beautiful scenes in the waters of this peaceful fountain.

Rose Garden

The vibrant Rose Garden, in the center of the grounds, brims with an impressive collection of seven types and at least 280 varieties of roses.  From summer to early fall, this heavenly scented garden bursts to life with 2,500 rose plants.

The 30 arches, intertwined with large sprays of rambler, floribunda, climber and hybrid tea roses, is a favorite spot for a stroll.

Fountain of the Three Sturgeons

On our way to the Japanese Gardens, we passed by the Fountain of the Three Sturgeons, once the location of a large Japanese teahouse. This bronze fountain of three dancing sturgeon, purchased in 1973, is the first casting (by the Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry) from the enlargement of a work created by Sirio Tofanari in 1958. Visitors often sit on the surrounding benches and enjoy the tranquil sounds of the fountain.

Torii (Japanese gate)

A torii gate, marked the entrance, to the quiet, 1-acre Japanese Garden.  The gate is flanked, on each side, by magnificent purple European copper beech (Fagus sylvatica purpurea) planted in 1906.  The first of Jennie Butchart’s formal gardens, it was started in 1906. In her design, Jennie was assisted by 67 year-old, Japanese landscape artist Isaburo Kishida.  Under the supervision of Hugh Lindsay (the first of Mrs. Buchart’s head gardeners), laborers from the cement works implemented Kishida’s plan.

A scenic relaxation sanctuary, it is home to 500 rhododendrons and azaleas, 74 Japanese maple trees (Acer palmatum dissectum), moss-covered grounds as well as 200 m. of trickling streams.  The European beech trees and Japanese maple trees (at the head of the stone stairs leading down to the garden) are the oldest non-native trees in the Buchart Gardens.  Himalayan Blue Poppies blossom in the spring.

Star Pond

From the Japanese Garden, a path led us to the fantastic, 21,780 sq. ft. Italian Garden.  Once the Butchart family’s tennis court, it was designed by famous architect Samuel Maclure and completed in 1929.  The garden is home to 22,000 bulbs and biennials as well as 18 flower beds and 85 varieties of plants.

Italian Garden

Two beautiful, flower-studded ponds are also located here – the Star Pond (originally designed for Mr. Butchart’s collection of live ornamental ducks) and a sophisticated, cross-shaped pond. Bronze statues and the nearby Gelateria Benvenuto bring a taste of Italy to the grounds.

Mediterranean Garden

We almost missed the diminutive and quaint, 21,780 sq. ft. Mediterranean Garden which was hidden near the parking lot.  A homage to Vancouver Island’s Mediterranean climate, it hosts an array of 110 varieties of exotic plants (in 9 garden beds), ranging from electric-blue delphinium to massive-leafed banana plants and one awe-inspiring agave plant.

Coffee Shop

The food and beverage outlets within The Gardens are the Coffee Shop (salted caramel mocha;  Oh Canada latte; fresh, house-made shortbread cookie; etc.), The Dining Room Restaurant, Gelateria Benvenuto in the Italian Garden (12 locally-inspired flavors of ice-cold gelato) and the cafeteria-style Blue Poppy Restaurant.

Blue Poppy Restaurant

Buchart Gardens: 800 Benvenuto Ave., Brentwood Bay, near Victoria, British Columbia V8M 1J8.  E-mail: email@butchartgardens.com. Website: www.buchartgardens.com. Open daily, 11:30 AM to 3:30 PM (up to 10 PM during summer, June 15 to September 3).  Tel: +1 250-652-4422.  Coordinates: 48°33′55″N 123°28′10″W.

Admission (including tax):

  • Spring 2022 (April 1–June 14): CAD 35.40 (adults, 18 + years old), CAD 17.70 (youth, 13–17 years old) and CAD 2.00 (child, 5–12 years old)
  • Summer 2022 (June 15–September 30): CAD 38.00 (adults, 18 + years old), CAD 19.00 (youth, 13–17 years old) and CAD 3.00 (child, 5–12 years old)
  • Fall 2022 (October 1–October 31): CAD 31.80 (adults, 18 + years old), CAD 15.90 (youth, 13–17 years old) and CAD 2.00 (child, 5–12 years old)
  • November 1–November 30: CAD 24.75 (adults, 18 + years old), CAD 12.40 (youth, 13–17 years old) and CAD 2.00 (child, 5–12 years old)
  • Christmas 2022 (December 1–January 6): CAD 34.00 (adults, 18 + years old), CAD 17.00 (youth, 13–17 years old) and CAD 3.00 (child, 5–12 years old).

Waterfront Park (North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

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Waterfront Park

Upon arrival at Lonsdale Quay and exiting the ferry terminal, Grace, Jandy, Bryan, Kyle and I turned to the left and, after walking less than 180 m., reached snug Waterfront Park on the banks of Vancouver Harbor. Here, there are plenty of walking trails for us to get immersed in nature, irrespective of weather.

One of the first parks in British Columbia, in the 1800s, the area of Waterfront Park was originally a sawmill. When the mill closed, the place was redeveloped and turned into a park which officially opened in 1985, just in time for Expo ’86.

Perfect for a family picnic on a nice day, wheelchair and buggy accessible Waterfront Park has plenty of benches, picnic tables and places to sit throughout the park, as well as a children’s play park. Also found within the park are a dock (Goldsworthy Dock), a large grassy area, a dog park, a small Japanese garden, a maritime memorial and restrooms. There were also several artists selling their creations.

Children’s play park

Frequently, on summer weekends, the park is activated with a festival with food, flea markets and events such as Philippine Days (cultural event in June) and Canada Day Celebrations (July 1).  Caribbean Days, a cultural festival in July, used to happen in Waterfront Park until it moved to Coquitlam in 2022.  In addition, this is a great place to watch the International Fireworks Competition from Stanley Park when it is on.

Waterfront Park is also one of about eight parks and other outdoor public venues where you can drink alcohol in public, subject to certain times and restrictions, in the City of North Vancouver. You don’t even have to buy it there as you can bring your own booze. Other venues where you can do that include Shipbuilders’ Square and Cates Deck near Lonsdale Quay, both of which are just a 5-min. walk from Waterfront Park.

Goldsworthy Dock

We strolled by the water, catching some beautiful and spectacular wide-angle views, either from the shore or the covered Goldsworthy Dock, of the Vancouver skyline, Lyons Gate Bridge and the Burrard Inlet. Here, we also watched the SeaBus come and go as well as other ships navigating the harbor.  Too bad we weren’t lucky enough to see a harbor seal or other marine mammals.

View of the Vancouver skyline from Goldsworthy Dock

We also passed some of the park’s collection of great public art honoring the history and culture of the area. Currently, within the park are three main pieces.

Cathedral (Douglas Senft)

Cathedral, the biggest and most noticeable piece of art, was created by Douglas Senft in 1985 and placed in the park in May 1986.  This archway of large flowing structural steel beams was bent and arranged to echo the outlines of the heavily-treed mountain peaks from North Vancouver to Howe Sound.

Although it’s tempting (especially for younger children), the city asks visitors not to climb on the artwork.

Harubang

A large, 9-ft. high statue called Harubang, made from porous Korean whinstone, is another notable piece of art along the waterfront. Donated to the community by South Korea to promote understanding and friendship between the Port of Vancouver and the Port of Incheon, it is similar to sculptures commonly found on Jeju Island to serve the dual function of guardian and boundary marker.

First Nations Theme Pavilion

The First Nations Theme Pavilion, at the southwest corner of the park, is also home to two Welcome Figures.  Representing a grandfather and grandmother welcoming visitors to the Great Trail, it was carved by a Squamish Nation artist.

A Welcome Figure

Not far from the First Nations Theme Pavilion is the Sailor’s Point Memorial commemorates the sailors lost in the North Atlantic during World War II. The memorial is designed like a compass with plaques and signs describing the history of the area.

Sailor’s Point Memorial

Waterfront Park: Block 200, Esplanade W, North Vancouver, British Columbia V7M 1A5.  Tel: (604) 985-7761.

How to Get There: Waterfront Park is just a 12-minute Seabus ride away, across Burrard Inlet, from Waterfront Station in Downtown Vancouver to Lonsdale Quay in the Lower Lonsdale District of North Vancouver. The park is just a 10-min. walk away.

Cathedral Square (Vancouver, Canada)

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Facing the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Cathedral Square is a public plaza in downtown Vancouver filled with magnolias and ginkgo trees. It was designed by Bruno Freschi and completed in 1986, just in time for the World’s Fair, as a component of a major BC Hydro underground substation on the site which supplies power to the downtown core.

Check out “Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary”

Cathedral Square

Just north of its reflecting pool and fountain are six pillars that support a canopy structure (which previously had protective glass for inclement weather protection, but it was removed due to upkeep costs) over a paved, terraced area with seating.

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary as seen from the square

In May 2021, the under-utilized plaza had a makeover that helped activate the space into a site of renewal and celebration, becoming a re-energized public space that will celebrate the visual culture of the three local nations – Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh.

The reflecting pool

The square’s six massive concrete cylinder columns at the northeast corner of the intersection of Dunsmuir Street and Richards Street, just across from the cathedral, were used as a blank canvas for a First Nations-themed mural called “Blanketing the City IV,” the fourth in a series of first large-scale public art collaboration between weaving artists. Other past works were applied to the two pillars of the Granville Street Bridge, below Granville Island, and the southern facade of the former Biltmore Hotel at 395 Kingsway, now used as supportive housing.

Mural of “Blanketing the City IV”

The design of the installation, organized by the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association and the Vancouver Mural Festival, is a collaboration between Musqueam artist Debra Sparrow (involved in the revival of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm or Musqueam weaving for 25+ years), Squamish chief and accomplished weaver (co-founder of the L’hen Awtxw Weaving House) and teacher Janice George (Sḵwxwú7mesh) and the Tsleil-Waututh’s Angela George (səlilwətaɬ) who has dedicated her career to the betterment of First Nations people and communities.

Cathedral Square: 566 Richards St, Vancouver, BC V6B 1X4.

Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz (Binondo, Manila)

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Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz

The 1,460 sq. m. (15,715 sq. ft.), ellipse-shaped (unlike other plazas in Manila) Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz (or Plaza Lorenzo Ruiz),  a major public square fronting the Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz (Binondo Church), one of the main churches of the City of Manila, is considered the center of Binondo as a whole. It is bounded by Quintin Paredes Street (formerly Calle Rosario) to the east and Juan Luna Street (formerly Calle Anloague) to the west, parallel to the Estero de Binondo.

Check out “Minor Basilica and National Shrine of San Lorenzo Ruiz“

Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz

Originally called the Plaza de Binondo (sometime in the 1700s or 1800s), and then Plaza Carlos IV (after Charles IV of Spain), the plaza was eventually renamed Plaza Calderón de la Barca (often shortened to Plaza Calderón), after the famous Spanish playwright Pedro Calderon de la Barca later in the 19th century. It is believed that the plaza may have been renamed after Calderón either by the then-sitting Governor-General, or by the Dominican friars who had adored his works and who were, at the time running the Binondo Church.

Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz was created to serve as the largest plaza (originally an open grass field) of Binondo, the settlement of for Chinese migrants arriving in Manila which was established in 1594 on the northern bank of the Pasig River by then Governor-General Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas. During the Spanish colonial period, the plaza was a hub for economic activity, now surrounded by trees and tipped with two large fountains, both of which still stand today.

Trade around the area increased with the completion of the Binondo Church in 1854, and several large buildings and mansions were built around the plaza. During American rule, economic activity continued to grow in Binondo, and the plaza, alongside other major plazas in Manila, was a busy center of activity, being also well-served by Manila’s pre-World War II tram network.

A small Chinese shrine

During the Battle of Manila in 1945, the plaza was spared and economic activity in Binondo recovered thereafter.  However, around the 1960s, the area around the plaza started declining when most business activity shifted from Manila to Makati and Cubao in Quezon City.

Fountain at northwest corner

On September 12, 1981, by virtue of Batas Pambansa Blg. 133, the plaza was renamed after Lorenzo Ruiz, one of the Martyrs of Japan and the protomartyr of the Philippines.  In 2005, during the tenure of Lito Atienza, Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz was redeveloped by the Manila city government with help from the Metrobank Foundation (which donated Php3 million for the project). A perimeter fence which previously circled around the plaza was removed. In 2014, during the tenure of Joseph Estrada, another redevelopment was completed.

Fountain at southeast corner

With a fountain on each end, Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz is paved with granite tiles and multicolored interlocking concrete bricks (similar to Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, with park benches, installed around the plaza’s perimeter, and a number of royal palm trees planted in the plaza’s center, complementing a number of existing narra trees. At night, the plaza is lit with 42 promenade lampposts, 32 floodlights and 24 uplights that have been installed at strategic points around the area.

Statue of San Lorenzo Ruiz (Eduardo Catrillo)

When the plaza (and the area in general) was in serious decline by the 1980s, the plaza became the repository for four monuments (two of which are over a century old), moved from nearby Plaza Cervantes and Plaza Goiti (now Plaza Lacson), which were cleared to make room for parking space.  A 12 ft. high, brass statue of Blessed Lorenzo Ruiz, repositioned to face the Binondo Church (where he was baptized and served as sacristan and clerk at the parish office), is the most notable monument.  Created by the late Filipino sculptor Eduardo Castrillo in 1989, it was installed during the 2005 rehabilitation.  A memorial to Chinese Filipino victims of World War II, behind the statue, was erected in 1995 by the Confederation of Filipino Chinese Veterans.

Memorial to Chinese-Filipino Victims of World War II

A small, unassuming and sadly not well-maintained monument to Joaquin Santa Marina (the founder of the La Insular Cigar and Cigarette Factory), said to have been built in the late 19th century, is found at the southern end of the plaza. A taller obelisk, at the northern end of the plaza, dates back to 1911.  Erected in memory of Tomas Pinpin, the first Filipino printer, it was moved, from the smaller Plaza Cervantes (south of Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz), to the plaza in 1979.

Monument to Joaquin Santa Marina

AUTHOR’S NOTES:

Today, the park and plaza looks run-down and in a sorry state of neglect, with homeless people, beggars and vagrants using it as a clothes drying, sleeping and dining area. Trees are untrimmed, bushes overgrown and statues dirty and filled with graffiti.  Trash was everywhere. Surprisingly, both fountains were still functional. So sad…..

A number of notable structures, aside from the Binondo Church, are (or were) located within the vicinity of Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz. The aforementioned La Insular Cigar and Cigarette Factory, a filigreed construction of stone and cast iron opened in 1883 after the lifting of the Spanish tobacco monopoly three years earlier, was the largest building to have been built around the plaza. It was, however, destroyed by fire during the Battle of Manila and the site is now occupied by the Wellington Building, once the headquarters of the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (Metrobank), founded by Chinese Filipino businessman George Ty, but still home to the Binondo offices of a number of Metrobank-affiliated companies.

Tomas Pinpin Monument (1918)

Beside it was the Hotel de Oriente, then the most popular hotel in Manila which also served as the erstwhile headquarters of the National Library of the Philippines.  National Hero José Rizal once stayed in Room 22.  In fact, Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz is mentioned in Chapter 4 of José Rizal’s novel Noli Me Tángere (where Crisostomo Ibarra reaches the plaza and its vicinity after attending Captain Tiago’s dinner party at his house on Calle Anloague). Unlike the La Insular Cigar and Cigarette Factory, the Hotel de Oriente was only partially destroyed in the Battle of Manila but it was demolished afterward and the site is now occupied by Tytana Plaza (home to the current Binondo offices of Metrobank). The Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar complex in Bagac, Bataan has a replica of the Hotel de Oriente.

Wellington Building

Also nearby, sandwiched between the Asia United Bank Building and the San Fernando Building, is the decrepit, century-old Pansiteria Macanista de Buen Gusto, a now crumbling 1880s wooden building, with dilapidated capiz shell windows, which was mentioned by José Rizal in the novel El Filibusterismo. In Chapter 25 of the novel (entitled “Smiles and Tears”), Rizal wrote that the panciteria was the venue of a meeting of 14 students where they ate pancit lang-lang while mocking the Spanish friars. Now owned by Ever New Realty and Development Corp., the building is a “Presumed Important Cultural Property” which means it is protected from being demolished.

Pansiteria Macanista de Buen Gusto

Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz: Juan Luna St., Binondo, Manila. Coordinates: 14°36′01″N 120°58′26″E.

Benito Soliven View Deck and Flower Park (Isabela)

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Benito Soliven View Deck and Flower Park

After breakfast at The Sophia Hotel, our media group again boarded our provincial government-supplied airconditioned bus for our Discover Isabela Tour which would take us to two of the province’s Heritage Churches as well as an upcoming tourism leisure site.  Our tour first brought us to the town of Benito Soliven, just a 33-km. (1-hour) drive away via the Pan-Philippine Highway.

Check out “Hotel and Inn Review: The Sophia Hotel“

The partial medicine wheel garden

Our destination here was the Benito Soliven View Deck and Flower Park, a recreation area ideal for a mini-stroll or pictorial session. The focal point of the Flower Park was its partial medicine wheel garden. More than just a shape, in Native American folklore, medicine gardens serve as ceremonial sites, perhaps for healing ceremonies as medicine wheels build on the radiating energy of circles.

A 2-pax wickerwork basket

Gravel walkways, lined with shrubs, serve as its spokes.  At the moment, its center was dominated by a huge Christmas tree, a carryover from the holidays, and a circular concrete bench. Within the vicinity of the garden is a wishing well and a huge wicker basket where couples can sit and do Instagrammable selfies.  On their own, flower farms are sought after just for photos on social media.

A rustic view of the distant mountains, rice fields and the Pinakawan River

Another feature of the site is its awesome rustic view of mountains, rice fields and the Pinakawan River.  This scenery is best seen from a concrete view deck reached by a steel stairway.  At ground level, there’s a wickerwork ring chair and wooden platform with wooden benches and a heart-shaped wickerwork backdrop (another great backdrop for your Instagram feed). Truly, there’s something romantic about the idea of being in the middle of a flower garden and an awesome view.

An Instagram worthy site….

During our visit, we were treated to a merienda of turon, bananacue and buco juice, a fitting prelude to what’s next in store for us – the Sky Cycle (Zip Bike), a “rush” (due to the rush of emotions) which takes biking to another level.

The media group at the concrete view deck. The author is fourth from right

This would be my second try at this adrenaline-filled activity, the first being at the Chocolate Hills Adventure Park (CHAPS) in Bohol. The bicycle, minus the rubber tires, is securely joined to the zip line so there’s no problem balancing. All we had to do was pedal and feel the ride.

Check out “Chocolate Hills Adventure Park”

Suiting up for the Sky Cycle

After all suiting up with helmet and harness, Ms. Analiza “Azi” Andaya (outoftownblog) and Ms. Riza Divina (Abante) took first crack at it, followed by me and Ms. Marita “Ika” Roxas-Ysmael (YMV & Associates) and, finally, by Mr. Vince Samson (Asian Journal) and Mr. Neilsen Elesis (Woman’s Journal).

Riza and Ana trying out the Sky Cycle

It took some time to for me to feel at ease with the bike (it needed adjustment for my height) but, once adjusted on the return, I got the feel for it and the ride became more enjoyable and exciting.

The author and and exultant Ika (this is her first try on a bike zip) on the return trip (photo: Boy Santos of Philippine Star)

The piece de resistance of our visit, the Sky Cycle was truly an exciting, one-of-a-kind experience.

Benito Soliven View Deck and Flower Park: District I, Benito Soliven 3331, Isabela.

Isabela Provincial Tourism Office: Provincial Capitol Complex, City of Ilagan, Isabela. Tel: (078) 323-3146.  Mobile number: (0917) 317-3820.  E-mail: isabelatourismoffice@gmail.com.

Isabela Provincial Information Office: Provincial Capitol Complex, City of Ilagan, Isabela. Tel: (078) 323-0248.  Mobile number: (0927) 395-7555.  E-mail: letters_info@yahoo.com.

How to Get There: Benito Soliven is located 426.8 kms. (an 8-hour drive) from Manila and 39 kms. (via Junction Naguilian – San Mariano – Palanan Rd. and Pan-Philippine Highway) from the City of Ilagan.

 

Japanese Tunnel (City of Ilagan, Isabela)

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Ilagan Japanese Tunnel

A lull in our 2020 Bambanti Festival proceedings allowed our 20-man media group to make a visit, via the provincial government-supplied airconditioned bus, to the Ilagan Japanese Tunnel, just a short 6.5-km. (15-min.) drive away from the Provincial Capitol.

Upon arrival, we were met and guided by Ms. Gemelet C. Amugauan of the Ilagan Sanctuary Tour Guide Association.  Inside the tunnel, we were not allowed to take pictures though.

Statues of Japanese soldiers guarding the entrance to the tunnel

This man-made war tunnel, part of the Japanese military headquarters during the 1942 to 1945 Japanese Occupation of the Philippines in World War II, was built with the sweat and blood of detained Ilagueños and is one of the few remaining tunnels in the province.

The Japanese tunnel

Aside from being the headquarters, it was also a weapons storage facility for bombs, explosives, guns and ammunition. Captured Filipino guerrillas were also imprisoned and tortured here.

The tunnel  measures about 40 m. long and 3.66 m.  in width and height. However, the real length of the tunnel has yet to be determined as the site has yet to be fully explored. 

Part of the exhibit

The tunnel was restored, reconditioned, and conserved by the city government and, on February 16, 2016, through City Mayor Josemarie L. Diaz,  was unveiled and opened to the public.

Stairway leading up to the watchtower

Inside the cave, Gemelet narrated the history of the place and showed us a replica of a golden Buddha (the original was said to have been inside the cave when it was first found), bomb shells (now defused), a Japanese rifle, a golden fan, replicas of pieces of gold bars and some uniforms of that era. Scattered inside the cave, as well as outside, are concrete, life-size statues of Japanese soldiers. 

The watchtower

Some people say that this tunnel in Ilagan is only a decoy as there might be a larger tunnel somewhere in Brgy. Camunatan, where 6 x 6 army trucks can fit inside but, up to now, they couldn’t find that tunnel.

Japanese Gates (Torii) at the top and bottom of the stairway

A long flight of concrete steps, cut into the hillside, leads to a watchtower. At the top and bottom of the stairway are concrete Japanese gates (torii).

Japanese-style garden

Outside the Ilagan Japanese Tunnel, garden has been designed to look like the parks of Japan, with a Shinto shrine, bridge, wind chime (furin) and a koi pond.

Ticket office and souvenir shop

There’s also concrete model of  Japanese World War II plane (its wing broken), a children’s playground, a treehouse, picnic tables and a souvenir shop.

Treehouse

Lady visitors can have a slice  of Japanese traditional by renting traditional Japanese kimonos, have their hair styled like a Japanese Geisha, carry a Japanese umbrella for a more authentic feel and then have their awesome pictures taken along the stairway or under the torii. 

Statue of Japanese soldier

Ilagan Japanese Tunnel : Brgy. Santo Tomas, Ilagan City, Isabela. Mobile numbers (0935) 701-1586 and (0932) 858-3081. Admission: PhP50/pax.  There’s an Information Center at Bonifacio Park in Ilagan City where a guide can take you to the Ilagan Japanese Tunnel. Documentary and pre-nuptial photography sessions as well as other pictorials are allowed for a fee. You have to pay for comfort room use.

Isabela Provincial Tourism Office: Provincial Capitol Complex, City of Ilagan, Isabela. Tel: (078) 323-3146.  Mobile number: (0917) 317-3820.  E-mail: isabelatourismoffice@gmail.com.

Isabela Provincial Information Office: Provincial Capitol Complex, City of Ilagan, Isabela. Tel: (078) 323-0248.  Mobile number: (0927) 395-7555.  E-mail: letters_info@yahoo.com.

How to Get There: The City of Ilagan is located 429.3 kms. (an 8-hour drive) from Manila and 35.5 kms. (a 1-hour drive) from Cauayan City.

Federation Square (Melbourne, Australia)

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Federation Square

Federation Square, a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district, covers an area of 3.2 ha (7.9 acres) and was built above busy railway lines and across the road from Flinders Street station.

It incorporates major cultural institutions (Ian Potter Centre, ACMI, Koorie Heritage Trust, etc.) as well as cafes and bars, in a series of buildings centered around a large paved square, and a glass walled atrium.

Check out “Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia“

Melbourne’s central city grid was designed without a central public square, long seen as a missing element. From the 1920s there were proposals to roof the railway yards on the southeast corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets for a public square, with more detailed proposals prepared in the 1950s and 1960s.

In the 1960s, the Melbourne City Council decided that the best place for the City Square was the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets, opposite the town hall. The first temporary square opened in 1968, and a permanent version opened in 1981. It was however not considered a great success, and was redeveloped in the 1990s as a smaller simpler space in front of a new large hotel.

Meanwhile, in the late 1960s, a small part of the railway lines had been partly roofed by the construction of the Princes Gate Towers, known as the Gas & Fuel Buildings after their major tenant, the Gas and Fuel Corporation, over the old Princes Bridge station.

This included a plaza on the corner, which was elevated above the street and little used. Between the plaza and Batman Avenue, which ran along the north bank of the Yarra River, were the extensive Jolimont Railway Yards, and the through train lines running into Flinders Street station under Swanston Street.

This open public square had its beginnings in 1996 when the then Premier Jeff Kennett announced that the Gas & Fuel Buildings would be demolished, the rail yards roofed and a complex including arts facilities and a large public space to be named Federation Square would be built.

Lobby of Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia

It was opened in 2001, in time to celebrate the centenary of Australia’s Federation, and included performing arts facilities, a gallery, a cinemedia center, the public space, a glazed winter garden, and ancillary cafe and retail spaces.

Built at a cost of approximately $467 million (over four times the original estimate of between $110 and $128 million), its main funding came primarily from the state government, some from the federal government, $64 million from the City of Melbourne while private operators and sponsors paid for fit outs or naming rights. The square was opened on October 26, 2002.

Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) – Australia’s national museum of film, video games, digital culture and art

In 2006, the vaults under Princes Walk (a former roadway) were redeveloped by Federation Wharf into a large bar, with extensive outdoor areas on the Yarra riverbank, with elevator access to Federation Square.

In October 2011, Elizabeth II visited Federation Square. On October 2018, an interim decision to list Fed Square to the Victorian Heritage Register resulted in the square being formally listed in August 2019.

Occupying roughly a whole urban block bounded by Swanston, Flinders, and Russell Streets and the Yarra River, Federation Square is directly opposite Flinders Street station and St Paul’s Cathedral.

The precinct’s layout was designed to connect Melbourne’s historical central district with the Yarra River and Birrarung Marr, a new park.

Its complex and irregular design had gently angled ‘cranked’ geometries (predominating in both the planning and the facade treatment of the various buildings and the winter gardens that surrounded and defined the open spaces) while a series of ‘shards’ provided vertical accents.

Interconnected laneways and stairways and the winter garden connects Flinders Street to the Yarra River. The open square, arranged as a gently sloping amphitheater, is focused on a large viewing screen for public events, with a secondary sloped plaza area on the main corner.

The 1.3 m. high bronze statue of the Fearless Girl by Kristen Visbal

Federation Square: intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets.

Fitzroy Gardens (Melbourne, Australia)

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Fitzroy Gardens

After the 6 PM mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, we all walked to the nearby 26-hectare (64-acre) Fitzroy Garden. Located on the southeastern edge of the Melbourne Central Business District, the gardens are bounded by Clarendon Street, Albert Street, Lansdowne Street, and Wellington Parade with the Treasury Gardens, across Lansdowne Street, to the west.

Named after Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy, a governor (1846-51) of New South Wales and Governor-General of the Australian Colonies (1851-1855), it is one of the major Victorian era landscaped gardens in Australia, adding to Melbourne‘s claim to being the garden city of Australia.

An avenue lined with English elm trees (Ulmus procera)

Here’s the historical timeline of the gardens:

  • In 1848, the 26 hectares (64 acres) of Fitzroy Gardens were permanently reserved as public gardens, with title shared by the State Government and City of Melbourne.
  • In 1856, Edward LaTrobe Bateman was commissioned to produce designs for the garden
  • In 1857, James Sinclair was appointed head gardener.  He worked in the gardens until his death in 1881.
  • In 1858, the border of Fitzroy Square was planted with gum trees and wattles.
  • In 1860, responsibility for Fitzroy Gardens was taken over by the Lands Department.
  • In 1862, a path network was established and a Neo-Classical band pavilion was built near Grey Street entry.  The name of the gardens was also officially changed from Fitzroy Square to Fitzroy Gardens. The path system was also firmly established.
  • In 1864, the small Tudor-style gate keepers lodge was built on the southwest corner.  Four fountains and statuary were also added.
  • In 1865, five gas lamps were installed along main path
  • In 1866, Sinclair’s Cottage was on the main walk
  • In 1873, the “Temple of Winds,” a Neo-Classical rotunda, was built
  • In 1880, many of the blue gum trees were removed, to create more room for existing trees as well as sweeping lawns and ornamental flowerbeds.
  • In 1890, every alternate elm tree on the Avenues was removed
  • In 1897, Lombardy Poplar Walk was planted in line with George Street
  • In 1901, the nursery and stable yard were transferred, from the center of the gardens, to its present site
  • In 1902, Pine Avenue along Grey Street walk was removed
  • In 1908, the original, timber-style kiosk was opened in the center of the gardens. Development of “Mound” in center of gardens was also planted with rhododendrons.
  • In 1915, the external picket fence was replaced by stone edging
  • In 1917, control of gardens passed onto the City of Melbourne
  • In the 1920s, a dining room was added to the kiosk
  • In 1921, work was started on pollarding the Elm Avenue.
  • In 1922, large number of stone pines along Clarendon and Albert Streets were removed.
  • In 1923, advanced specimens of Moreton Bay figs along Wellington Parade were removed
  • In 1927, the plant managers’ house was built
  • On March 13, 1930, the conservatory for displaying glass-house plants was opened
  • In 1934, Cooks’ Cottage was erected after being bought, shipped to Australia and donated by the Grimwade family.
  • In May 1934, artist Ola Cohn completes carving the Fairies Tree and donates it to the children of Melbourne.
  • In 1960, the kiosk was damaged by fire and later demolished
  • In the 1960s, the central section of the creek was piped underground
  • In 1964, the new brick kiosk was opened
  • In the 1970s, the eighteenth century cottage garden was added to Cooks’ Cottage
  • In 2014, an area previously used for depot activities was reclaimed as garden space.

The land on which the garden was built was originally swampy, with a creek draining into the Yarra River. The garden, initially designed by Clement Hodgkinson, was planted by James Sinclair, the park gardener, as a dense woodland with meandering avenues.

The creek, used for the irrigation of the western side of the gardens for fifty years, was landscaped with ferns and 130 willows but this did not stop it from smelling foul from the sewage from the houses of East Melbourne.

Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) is a large, massive and heavily branched spreading tree native to Queensland and New South Wales. This fast growing shade tree, 15-20 m. high, has large leaves and oval, glossy fruit.

In the early 1900s, the creek water substantially improved with the installation of sewerage mains to the residences of East Melbourne.

An ornamental lake

In the early years, to provide wind breaks, quick growing blue gums and wattles were planted while elm trees were planted to create avenues along pathways which, unknowingly, created a pattern resembling the Union Flag. With the creation of new planting in areas like the Mound and the Grey Street Walk, sub tropical planting became a feature of the gardens.

The Dolphin Fountain, installed at the northern end of the lake, adjacent to the Mound, was sculpted by June Arnold and consists of a pyramid of granite boulders upon which are mounted assorted sea creatures – dolphins, octopus, crabs, sea birds, sea horses, starfish, turtles and shrimps. Wealthy benefactors Dinah and Henry Krongold donated $30,000 towards the construction of the fountain and the architectural consultants were Perrott, Lyon and Mathieson.

The trees that line many of the pathways are the most notable feature of the gardens. The gardens, home to rainbow lorikeets, ducks, brushtail and ringtail possums, and microbats (small insect eating bats), are visited at night by grey-headed flying foxes (a large nectar and fruit eating bat) and powerful owls. The presence of these Australian wildlife makes the city gardens especially enjoyable for overseas visitors and locals alike.

The old, square, Corinthian-style Bandstand, built adjacent to the Gipps Street entrance to the Gardens, is enclosed by a low iron fence. It was designed and erected by George Dodd in 1864 at a cost of 322 pounds.

Set within the garden are a visitor information center and cafe, a conservatory, Cooks’ Cottage, a model Tudor village, an ornamental lake, a scarred tree, tree-lined avenues, a band pavilion, a rotunda, the ” Ola Cohn’s Fairies’ Tree,” fountains and sculptures.

The “Temple of Winds,” a Neo-Classical rotunda, was built in 1873 by Thomas Julian and Co. at a cost of £275. The building consists of a domed concrete roof supported by ten Corinthian columns.

The River God Fountain, located at the north end of the gardens at the junction of paths facing south, was designed and cast in concrete by the sculptor, Charles Summers and was erected in the Fitzroy Gardens in 1862. Its central feature is a figure of a man on bended knee bearing an open clam shell on his shoulders.

The Ola Cohn’s Fairies’ Tree comprises a series of lovely carvings (fairies, dwarfs, gnomes, a marvelous jackass, koalas, flying foxes and a host of typical Australian animals and birds), done from 1931 to May 1934 (Victoria’s Centenary Year) by Miss Ola Cohn, on the stump of one of the original old red gum trees.

Fairies’ Tree

The trunk was extracted from the ground, in 1977, for chemical treatment and the removal of rotted wood. During the process, the mummified remains of an over 40 year old brush tail possum was found, perfectly preserved within the trunk. To prolong its life, the tree was remounted on a concrete base.

The Conservatory

The Conservatory, one of Melbourne’s favorite tourist attractions, was opened on March 13, 1930 and provides 5 separate, spectacular floral displays each year.

The Conservatory Fountain (Boy with Serpent), a cast-iron ornamental fountain located near the rear entrance, features a snake coiled around the figure of a boy, atop a granite shaped ball.

Hydrangea and Fuchsias are in Display 1 (November – February); Tuberous Begonia and Gloxinia in Display 2 (February – April); Tropical and Poinsettia in Display 3 (April – July); Cineraria and Cyclamen in Display 4 (July – September); and Schizanthus and Calceolaria in Display 5 (September – November).

The Conservatory’s interior

Built in the Spanish Mission architectural style, it measures 30 x 15 m. and originally cost 4,000 pounds.

Cook’s Cottage

Cooks’ Cottage, which originally stood on an extremity of the village of Great Ayton, Yorkshire, England, was built, rebuilt or bought by Cook’s father in 1755. However, from the date 1755 and the initials of James and Grace (Cook’s mother and father) over the doorway, it is apparent that it is older than the rest of the cottage and it would seem that the cottage was rebuilt, and not originally built by Cook’s father when he bought it.

The Great Ayton family cottage is the only concrete historical link we have with Captain James Cook‘s origins (the original thatched cottage in which Cook was born at Marton-in-Cleveland was demolished in 1786) as it is possible that, during his boyhood years from 1736 until 1745, Captain Cook lived in the cottage. In the winter of 1771/72, on his return from the Australia voyage, he also spent some time with his father in the cottage.

The bronze statue of Captain James Cook sculpted by Englishman Marc Clark in 1973

In 1933, the last owner of the cottage, Mrs. Dixon put the cottage up for sale and the prominent Melbournian Russell Grimwade agreed to buy the cottage and present it as a gift to the Victorian people as an ideal focus piece for Victoria’s centenary in 1934. Grimwade dismantled and shipped the cottage to Melbourne in 253 packing cases, arriving in April 1934.

The garden

As research and guess work would permit, the cottage was accurately restored to its mid 18th century appearance and completed in six months.  A site in the Fitzroy Gardens, with its large shady European trees, was selected to complement the cottage. On October 15, 1934, during a centenary ceremony, the cottage was handed over to the Lord Mayor, H. Gengoult Smith by Russell Grimwade.  The cottage has undergone two restorations in the late 1950’s and the most recent in 1978.

The Model Tudor Village

The Village, situated in the center of the Fitzroy Gardens, was one of three such villages modeled in cement, as a hobby, by the 77 year old Mr. Edgar Wilson, a pensioner who lived in Hamilton Road, Norwood, London, England. In appreciation of Melbourne’s generosity in sending food to Britain during the World War II, one of them was presented to the City of Melbourne through the City of Lambeth, England and was officially opened, on May 21, 1948, by the Right Honorable Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Councilor Sir Raymond Connelly.

The delightful village, representing a typical Kentish village built during the “Tudor” period of English history, is composed of models of various thatched cottages, a village church, school, hotel, barns, stocks, pump, a scale model of Shakespeare’s home and Anne Hathaway’s cottage, and all public buildings.

Pavilion Cafe

The Italian Romanesque-style, single storey Sinclair’s cottage, a polychrome brick gardener’s cottage located on the main Elm Avenue, was designed by Melbourne architect Francis Maloney White. It was built in 1866 by Thomas Crowson at a cost of 520 pounds.

Sinclair’s House

This house has a gabled entrance porch with overhanging eaves; walls of alternating cream and red brickwork (with cream as the dominant color) and two notable stripped chimneys, built in alternating red and cream brickwork courses, which dominate the roof.

Sinclair’s House

The stables at the back repeat, in a much simpler fashion, the fine details of the main house.

Visitor’s Center

A café and visitor center provides tourism information about Melbourne as well as specific information and services for Cooks’ Cottage and Fitzroy Gardens.

The Children’s Playground, located on the south side of the Grey Street herbaceous border, has a 20-ton sculpted concrete dragon as its centerpiece. The dragon is 7 m. long and 3 m. wide and was sculpted by Martin Moore, Gary Tippet and Aaron Beaucaire from Mothers Art. It was built using a steel frame with a reinforced concrete base.

Fitzroy Gardens: Wellington Parade, East Melbourne, Victoria, 3002, Australia Opening Hours: Open 24 hours; closed from October 28 to November 1.

Parliament Garden Reserve (Melbourne, Australia)

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Parliament Garden Reserve

This small triangular park, beside Parliament House and Spring and Albert Streets, is a pleasant respite at the Spring Street end of town, with views of the Royal Parliamentary House, the Old Synagogue, Eastern Hill and St Patrick’s Cathedral. This grassed reserve, originally part of the Parliament House grounds, is enclosed by a wrought iron fence and surrounded by majestic palm trees and lush foliage.  Here, it’s very easy to forget that you’re literally in the city center.

Check out “Royal Parliamentary House“

Garden entrance

One of the garden’s main features is a life-size memorial in bronze, created by Louis Laumen, to Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls (the pastor of Australia’s first Aboriginal Church of Christ, he is the first aboriginal person to be knighted in 1972) and Lady Gladys Nicholls (Australia Aboriginal activist). Two of Australia’s most prominent indigenous leaders and traditional owners, it reminds visitors of their contribution to aboriginal welfare.

Pastor Sir Douglas and Lady Gladys Nicholls Memorial

Memorial plaque

The unusual Coles Fountain, a gift from the G.J. Coles Co., Ltd., a retailing company, was opened on November 27, 1981 by premier of Victoria L.H.S. Thomson.  A pleasant experience on a hot Melbourne day, you can walk inside the curtains of cascading water, cool off in the spray and not get soaked (not unless you want to anyway).

Bryan, Cheska and Kyle at The Coles Fountain

Made of stainless steel on bluestone paving, this series of cascading fountains resemble water balloons in full blast. In 2011, it was refurbished to use recycled water (in the past, it drew water from the city’s mains), an initiative of Melbourne’s Lord Mayor, Robert Doyle.

Parliament Garden Reserve: 489-531 Albert Street, East Melbourne Victoria 3002.

Carlton Gardens (Melbourne, Australia)

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Carlton Gardens

The 26-hectare (64-acre) Carlton Gardens, a World Heritage Site located on the northeastern edge of the Central Business District, is bounded by Victoria Street, Rathdowne Street, Carlton Street, and Nicholson Street.Often called the Exhibition Gardens, it was designed by Edward La Trobe Bateman and laid out in the late 1850s.  Most of this work was obliterated when the Gardens were redesigned for the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition and the central third excised to accommodate Joseph Reed’s Royal Exhibition Building. 

The rectangular site, gently sloping down to the southwest and northeast, contains the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne Museum and Imax Cinema, tennis courts, maintenance depot and curator’s cottage, and the award-winning children’s playground (designed as a Victorian maze) at the northern section and two small ornamental lakes adorning the southern section of the park.

Check out “Royal Exhibition Building” and “Melbourne Museum“

An example of Victorian landscape design, the Carlton Gardens are of scientific (botanical) significance for their outstanding collection of plants, including conifers, palms, evergreen and deciduous trees, many of which have grown to an outstanding size and form.

Kyle posing beside an ornamental lake

It has sweeping lawns and varied European and Australian tree plantings consisting of deciduous English oaks, White Poplar, plane trees, elms, conifers, cedars, turkey oaks, Araucarias and evergreens such as Moreton Bay figs, combined with flower beds of annuals and shrubs.

The 550 cm. high, circa 1880 bronze French Fountain, at the Nicholson Street entrance, features three youths, each supporting a dolphin, above which rests a cupped scallop shell. The fountain forms the centerpiece of a round garden bed and its waters flow into the large, concrete pool in which it sits.

According to the listing in the Victorian Heritage Register, the elm avenues of field elms (Ulmus procera) and Dutch elms (Ulmus × hollandica) are significant as there are few examples remaining, worldwide, due to Dutch elm disease.

The iconic Hochgurtel Exhibition Fountain, designed by sculptor Joseph Hochgurtel for the 1880 Exhibition, is located in front of the Melbourne Exhibition Center. As described in the plaque, the fountain symbolizes “Arts, Sciences, Commerce, and Trade, and Industry.”

The garden also contains a rare specimen of Acmena ingens (a rainforest tree of eastern Australia, only five other specimens are known), an uncommon Harpephyllum caffrum and the largest recorded in Victoria, Taxodium distichum and, south west of the Royal Exhibition Building, outstanding specimens of Chamaecyparis funebris and Ficus macrophylla.

The pink granite Westgarth Drinking Fountain, manufactured by Alexander McDonald & Co., was presented to the people of Victoria by 1840s pioneer William Westgarth, when he returned to Melbourne to visit the Centennial Exhibition in 1888. This tiered drinking fountain has two cast-bronze drinking spouts, each taking the form of an emu. It has two embracing kangaroos surmounting the drinking troughs, which in turn are surmounted by a finial-like bronze and glass light.

A network of tree-lined paths, providing formal avenues for highlighting the fountains and architecture of the Exhibition building, includes the grand allee of plane trees that lead to the exhibition building.

A duck and its young swimming on the lake

Wildlife found here includes brushtailed possums, ducks and ducklings in spring, tawny frogmouths, kookaburras, Indian mynas and silver gulls while, at night, Gould’s wattled bat and white-striped freetail bats hunt for insects.  When native trees are flowering or fruiting, grey-headed flying foxes also visit the gardens.

The gardens also contains three important fountains – the Exhibition Fountain; the French Fountain; and the Westgarth Drinking Fountain. The gardens, including the Exhibition Building and the fountains, are now a popular spot for wedding photography.

Carlton Gardens: Carlton, Melbourne, Australia