PA in PA, part 3 RAD (Rotary Arts District)

For the other possible walks, see the Echo Centre area and the Victoria Quay area.

The Harbour Quay and Rotary Arts District section is a fairly straightforward walk.  But you might want to make a couple of jogs, in places.

Particularly if we are continuing on from the Victoria Quay section, you might be interested to jump up to Fourth Avenue at Bute, and check out Sitka Silvaculture.

As well as the artistry applied to things like garbage cans and utility boxes, they, at some time in the past, enclosed their parking lot in images from the Museum and Archives.

The medium is a bit tattered, by now, but still impressive.

(Depending upon your interest and energy, you might want to jog a couple more blocks up Bute to another semi-mural.)

The mural that is first on the Valley Vibes list is an interesting one.  I think it might be a kind of alt-right reaction to the generally First Nations, and nature, themes that are emphasized in most of the other artworks.  It’s interesting to see that a good deal of the content of this particular mural actually has absolutely nothing to do with Port Alberni.  The open pit mine might be a reference to the open pit mine on Texada Island, but that’s not really too near to Port Alberni itself.  There is farming in the Alberni Valley, but not on the industrial scale shown in this mural.

  (The Mars Bomber does get another "mention" in the mural  :-)

(The oil drilling platform may be a bit much, but, given the socio-political bent of this mural, it may be an attempt at wish-fulfillment.)  Whatever you feel about the political statement of this mural, the artistry is truly amazing.  It is an interesting mural, with some three-dimensional aspects to it, although you can't really see them until you get very close to the mural.

(Not too far away is another of the garbage cans.)

Just off Third Avenue, up Burde, just slightly past Fourth, is Needsum Murals.  Their mural is possibly for advertising, but it's a mural, nonetheless.

Heading south down Fourth Avenue we soon pass the Friendship Centre with some interesting First Nations art.

The old Fraternal Order of Eagles hall has a new owner, and is being renovated, but there are some remnants

L B Woodchoppers has not only their signature woodchoper

(although, to me, he looks more like a fisherman than a lumberjack), but another

(looking more like a modern lumberjack), and  also a mural (and, yet again, another visual mention of the Mars Bombers).

The signage on the north and south ends of the retail building have some artistic merit as well, and one wonders why they haven't taken advantage of the large canvas presented by their warehouse building.  (But then, there are lots of blank walls in Port Alberni that cry out for additions to the mural project.)  However, their warehouse is also surmounted by yet another figure

Crossing Third Avenue, look south and notice a bunch (school?) of fish on the median.

(Of course, if we *don't* walk south up Third Avenue, we miss this mural.)

Heading down Dunbar Street and Harbour Road, rather than Kingsway, to Harbour Quay, one comes across a few more interesting examples of public art.  There are a number of pieces, not all of which are noted, documented, or possibly noticed.  There are, for example, a couple of anchors at the entrance to the Fisheries office parking lot.

There is also a small bouy that has been placed in a parking lot near the train station, and some propeller blades

which are difficult to distinguish, as is the explanatory plaque

The signage does provide a kind of bittersweet reminder of the high and low points of Port Alberni's industrial and economic history, as does the fact that the parking lot *used* to be for Fishermans (sic) Harbour

and is now mostly for Tyee Landing

and, if necessary (which it usually isn't) for Harbour Quay.

But the next piece of public art that is counted as part of the mural project is the mural across from the old train station (VV 14).

Unfortunately, while this is quite accessible, and easy to view, it may be unregarded because it is on the street that is little used by residents or tourists, and mostly used by trucks who are servicing facilities at the port, or other industrial sites.

At the entrance to Harbuor Quay there is a larger boy, with signage to The Maritime Discovery Center.

But once in Harbour Quay itself, there is quite a wealth of public art.  Once again, there are a number of the garbage cans that have been painted and decorated, some of which have been defaced in the intervening years.

There is a mural, considered part of the mural project, beside the Banfield lifeboat, which is, itself, a interesting attraction and almost a piece of art as well (VV 2).

One other mural is rather hard to find: it is on the All Mexed Up restaurant, but on the *back* side of the restaurant, and so only accessible via a rather unsalubrious alleyway, where relatively few people will find it VV 7).

There are also a number of sculptures on the inlet side of the Starboard Grill,

and, of course, the non-watered fountain in the turnaround of the harbor key parking area, as well as the clock tower, which no longer has a clock, but does have some First Nations art now mounted on it.

The wind tends to whistle up the inlet pretty strongly, and you can feel it around Harbour Quay.  The windbreak is pretty artistic, itself.

From Harbour Quay one can then head east up Argyle Street for more pieces of public art.  As well as the garbage cans, other pieces of public infrastructure, such as this utility box, have also been decorated.

Around Second Avenue there is an interesting piece, tucked in above a parking area, showing a forest scene, but, intriguingly, incorporating chimneys and other pieces of the building infrastructure into the mural itself (VV 12).

But you might want to take a side trip down Second Avenue, for Timber Tiles

some gargoyles

the CMHA steps

and the second most impressive doorframe I've ever seen!

As one continues up to Third Avenue, there is the metal sculpture, Pipe Dream, at the intersection of 3rd and Argyle.

Around Third and Argyle, as befits a location in the Rotary Arts District, one has some other pieces of public art as well.  From the intersection, going south, uphill, on Third, there is an alcove and entranceway adjacent to Sage Haven, the old hospice society office, which is (appropriately) illustrated by a field of sunflowers,

and just about across Third Avenue from it is a metal sculpture, consisting primarily of a large gear (appropriately, since it's in front of Steampunk Cafe).

A little farther up the street is a piece which has been locked up for a while, but is now more accessible, mid-week ...

More garbage cans, in the Rotary Arts District, some in a different style.

You can loiter here on a truly breathtaking bench.

Nearby, though rather hidden, is another gem.

However, if one instead heads uphill, east, on Argyle from the intersection, one of the storefronts encloses a mural with an underwater scene, and a few scuba divers. 

This is somewhat adjacent to some artwork (VV 16) on the Schill insurance office,

and across the street at the McPhee building.

Just past, on the east side of the Capitol theater, there is another mural, showing the Capitol building in its prior days (VV 8).

(These sepia toned reproductions of old photos are from our, by now, old friend, Shayne Lloyd.)  From this position you can also see a mural, which, for some reason, is not considered a mural, on the Little Bavaria restaurant.

There is also a metal sculpture on the front lawn of city Hall.

Heading uphill, south from this area, up to Second and Mar Street, there is the old Woodward's building, which is now home to a range of display windows for a number of the charitable groups around town.

And then on to the Blue Fish art gallery, with a Shayne Lloyd mural painted on their fence (VV 3).

From this point, if you have the stamina, one can walk down Third Avenue to canal beach, where there are two additional murals, adjacent to the middle parking lot (VV 11).

If we finish up by heading towards Echo Centre, we might swing a little bit further east than Tenth, and check out Maquinna.

If we continue north on Tenth, we'll also pass the Industrial Heritage Centre.

A little further east, at the United Church, is another semi-public piece by Geena Haiyupis (to which I actually contributed, painting the upper half of the very left side  :-)

If you are taking the Great Spiral Route, next you probably want Echo Centre.

Public Art in Port Alberni, introduction and overview

https://fibrecookery.blogspot.com/2023/08/public-art-in-port-alberni-introduction.html