I’m a big fan of the game of chess, which is why I was thrilled to find this 800-year-old chess piece – a chunky king with a sword across his lap and a bug-eyed expression on his face – on display at the Canadian Museum of History. Standing 10 centimetres (about 4 inches) tall and…
The urban art scene in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, has truly taken off since I lived in the city 10 years ago. When I visited Ottawa in September 2018, I happened upon dozens of new-to-me murals, sculptures, statues and installation pieces. At times, it seemed like there a was new public art work around almost every…
It’s a Canadian icon: the tall, stately Peace Tower rising above the Centre Block of Parliament in Ottawa, Canada. The Peace Tower has stood sentinel over the nation’s capital, serving as a silent witness to the workings of government, since it was inaugurated on July 1, 1927. But there’s much more to this striking structure…
Want to see over 65 historically significant aircraft in one place? Check out the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario. A visit to this museum’s vast exhibition gallery provides a first-hand look at aircraft that have shaped both Canadian and world aviation history. Displays cover early aviation, war planes, bush flying, helicopters, fighter…
If the shoe fits, x-ray vision will tell you. At least, it did in Port Angeles, Washington – and other towns across North America – in the early- to mid-1900s, when any shoe store worth its salt had a contraption called the shoe-fitting fluoroscope somewhere on its sales floor. A waist-high box topped with eyepieces,…
It looks, from the front, like a bad accident between a cargo ship and a loading ramp. But this mass of metal on display in Nakusp, British Columbia, played an important role in Canadian rail history. Winter-worn residents of rail-side communities might recognize this machine for what it is: a snowplow, or, more accurately, a…
The Road Home 