Ipswich Tour
You know how you live in a city for years, but you never take pictures of the landmarks, and then someone visits and they know three times as much of your city's history than you do? Well, today I went undercover as a tourist to get you these pictures of our new, albeit temporary, home.
I'd also recommend reading this Wikipedia article on Ipswich, which tells lots about the town's history and importance. Among other things, I learned that this is the home of the metal band Cradle of Filth, which I reluctantly admit to having heard of before residing here.
After dropping off Sarah at school, I hiked down to my first destination, the Ipswich waterfront.
This is where lots of redevelopment is happening: new condo towers and restaurants have been and are being built, and it's generating the gentrification vs. historic preservation opposition one would expect. I hate taking pictures like these because they only capture a small part of the total scene - some panoramic camera would be more ideal. And there's also all those stinkin sailboat masts blocking the view of some of the newer buildings.
These are some of the taller buildings in downtown. On the right is the Willis building, clad entirely in black glass, which has historical architectural signifigance for its modernist design.
This is the Buttermarket shopping street, the smaller of two main shopping streets in town. It's closed off to all auto traffic except delivery trucks, which are more abundant in the morning hours, when I took this. On a mid-day or Saturday, shopping streets like these are filled wall-to-wall (or, sidewalk-to-sidewalk?) with pedestrians.
And here's part of Tavern Street, part of the larger shopping street.
Adjacent to Tavern Street is this square. Open markets like this are held here Tuesdays, Thursdays (I think) and Saturdays.
Also on Tavern Street is the Great White Horse Hotel (and bar and cafe). I had a pint there today and learned more about its history. It's been in operation since the 1300s. Charles Dickens stayed there and made mention of it in Chapter 22 of The Pickwick Papers, entitled "Mr. Pickwick journeys to Ipswich, and meets with a romantic Adventure with a middle-aged Lady in Yellow Curl Papers". I've borrowed this from the library today and have begun reading it (Cheers, Jason!).
This is the view from inside the non-smoking lounge, one of two that face the street. It's a fine place to people-watch, though the beer selection is only moderately varied.
And on the subject of suds, though I didn't get a picture today, I've made a few visits to The Dove Street Inn, which has arguably the area's finest selection of real ales, and where I endeavour to become a regular some day.
I'd also recommend reading this Wikipedia article on Ipswich, which tells lots about the town's history and importance. Among other things, I learned that this is the home of the metal band Cradle of Filth, which I reluctantly admit to having heard of before residing here.
After dropping off Sarah at school, I hiked down to my first destination, the Ipswich waterfront.
This is where lots of redevelopment is happening: new condo towers and restaurants have been and are being built, and it's generating the gentrification vs. historic preservation opposition one would expect. I hate taking pictures like these because they only capture a small part of the total scene - some panoramic camera would be more ideal. And there's also all those stinkin sailboat masts blocking the view of some of the newer buildings.
These are some of the taller buildings in downtown. On the right is the Willis building, clad entirely in black glass, which has historical architectural signifigance for its modernist design.
This is the Buttermarket shopping street, the smaller of two main shopping streets in town. It's closed off to all auto traffic except delivery trucks, which are more abundant in the morning hours, when I took this. On a mid-day or Saturday, shopping streets like these are filled wall-to-wall (or, sidewalk-to-sidewalk?) with pedestrians.
And here's part of Tavern Street, part of the larger shopping street.
Adjacent to Tavern Street is this square. Open markets like this are held here Tuesdays, Thursdays (I think) and Saturdays.
Also on Tavern Street is the Great White Horse Hotel (and bar and cafe). I had a pint there today and learned more about its history. It's been in operation since the 1300s. Charles Dickens stayed there and made mention of it in Chapter 22 of The Pickwick Papers, entitled "Mr. Pickwick journeys to Ipswich, and meets with a romantic Adventure with a middle-aged Lady in Yellow Curl Papers". I've borrowed this from the library today and have begun reading it (Cheers, Jason!).
This is the view from inside the non-smoking lounge, one of two that face the street. It's a fine place to people-watch, though the beer selection is only moderately varied.
And on the subject of suds, though I didn't get a picture today, I've made a few visits to The Dove Street Inn, which has arguably the area's finest selection of real ales, and where I endeavour to become a regular some day.
posted by Michael Nelson at 5:18 am
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