From Old to New - Waterfront Buildings Hull Quebec Postcard

This is the view from Parc des Portageurs in Gatineau (Hull) Quebec. The park is on the north shore of the Ottawa River, and the view is facing east, so the setting sun is behind me, casting orange light on the buildings, which make shimmering reflections in the river. The buildings closest to the water are part of the old EB Eddy complex, which gained fame and notoriety as a match factory in the late 1800s,. The company later expanded into pulp and paper. Much of it burnt down in the great fire of Hull in 1900, but was quickly rebuilt. It was sold to Domtar in 1998. The tall grey building on the horizon is part of Place du Centre, a government complex started in 1970 and continued through the 70’s. The group of brown buildings at left are the Terrasses de la Chaudière, constructed in 1978. The flag is at half mast because it’s April 28 today, officially recognised as a memorial day to people who have died due to hazards in the workplace. The 1970s saw a great deal of change and expansion as many low income people were displaced to make room for the government structures. The skyline changed completely and the economy improved due to the influx of civil servants.Peeking out just beyond the Terrasses is a new glass edifice, one of many currently under construction today, as Hull Quebec again experiences a building boom. Once more, old houses are torn down and historic neighbourhoods transformed seemingly overnight into shining towers of glass and steel that reflect the most recent tide of economic prosperity. And, in the foreground of this photo you can see rocks, trees and water – which is what the land looked like before a single building was erected – and what the land will look like again, maybe in thousands of years when this civilisation has passed into the obscurity of immortal time.Overall, this image is about perceptive – it captures a single transient moment in the evolution of the city, a scene that will never again repeat itself … and also illustrates the many cycles of progress as we carry on with this vast and great adventure of life. Photo by local Canadian artist MS Chaume, Gatineau (Hull) Quebec, right across the river from Ottawa, Canada; taken April 28 2015.