X is for...

"Old Strathcona is an historic district located in south-central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Once the commercial core of the separate city of Strathcona, the area is now Edmonton's main arts and entertainment district, as well as a local shopping hub for local residents and students at the nearby University of Alberta. A good proportion of Edmonton's theatres and live-performance venues are also located in the area. The district centres on Whyte (82) Avenue and has shops, restaurants, bars and buskers." Wikipedia

With all it's artistry and color, much of what goes on in this theatre district is X-rated. Local law enforcement and business owners are working hard to make it a clean and safe area.

This architecture is the colorful tower of the Varscona Theatre, one of Edmonton’s premier live theatres, and the centre of the annual Fringe Theatre Festival. (Tawdry Swank calls it the Tower of Tetris.) What caught my attention is the way the Vivid sign provides a title for the tower. The Theatre building to which this tower is attached is actually on the street behind this storefront.

Housed in a former fire hall, the structure contained a dilapitated 60’ tower, once used for drying fire hoses. Sensing great potential for a public art intervention, Ian Mulder brought together community partners with the goal of designing and realizing a monumental art object. The concept was to create a 2 in 1 project, with a unique daytime and night time identity. In the day, the tower functions as a large painted mural, a painting that suggests a digitized theatre curtain. At night, the painting recedes to reveal an illuminated lantern with bands of white LED offset from the surface, and a dynamic LED light curtain, behind the glass block.

Though I quite enjoyed the buildings along Whyte Avenue on this sunny winter day, it was having coffee with my son that was the highlight of my day.