Where in Ottawa?

Spacing’s motto is “understanding the urban landscape”. Buildings and streets are major components of that landscape; they are the big picture. Within their frame, often specific elements will come to the fore and become the common image associated with a structure or specific location; the Peace Tower standing for all of Parliament Hill, or the frozen canal under the arch of the Laurier Avenue bridge becoming the default image for the 200 kilometer length of the Rideau Waterway. But this process of forming a collective mental picture often crowds out other important details to the margins, or blurs them out altogether. Yet it’s these small details that so often give pleasure; they provide the thrill of discovery that makes us want to share our own version of the city with others.

So we thought it would be interesting to find a way for people to share their discoveries with their fellow Spacing readers. To make it fun, we’re starting a contest we call “Where in Ottawa?”. To get things started, we’ll supply the wording this week, but in future installments we’d love to run your clue.

The first installment features a structure, and the clue is as follows:

“I am a building, and I just may be the only one in the downtown core to include a depiction of myself on my exterior. Who am I, and where on me do I feature this image of me?

There are no prizes, at least not so far, only bragging rights. So send us your answers, and we will post the names of the correct guessers – and the answer – next Wednesday. You can also use that email link to send us your suggestions for future installments of the contest; if chosen we’ll credit you alongside your clue.

Good Luck!