Kitchener Water Concourse Soundwalk May 16-18 1998
A wooden footbridge leads off the far side of the gazebo island and we follow the sound of the dam, along the bank of the lake to where the water disappears underground. Victoria Park's lake is large and mostly quite still, an artificial lake constructed in the 1890s to form a recreational focus for the city. The dam is the only sound around the lake of fast-moving water, as it rushes into the concrete causeway below. Here we cross a side street and take the footpath towards Joseph Schneider House, a historic building. We are walking along the route of the original creekbed. Not far from Schneider house is an abandoned building foundation under a mature tree, where we sit for a moment. Here the soundscape varies greatly from time to time on my walks: sometimes the wind gently rustlng the leaves is clearly audible among cries of sparrows in a high branch of the tree. At other times, nearby weedeaters or lawnmowers mask these quieter sounds. On the Sunday morning, the traffic on Queen St. is much quieter than on other days. From our pause at the foundation, the path leads to Queen St. Across the road, the water emerges from the concrete concourse below, which has smooth, high walls creating a resonance that we can hear as we lean over the fence. We cross back over the road, following busy Queen St. to the next corner, past a construction site dominated by a large crane, and back along the side of the lake to the gazebo.
distant churchbells * under tree * emerging * Lutheran * rushing * clock
downtown * railway * water concourse * listening * acoustic ecology * andra *
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