Posted on 26 February 2018

When I was in London, I bought this t-shirt at the Tate Modern

And last year on a trip to Toronto I picked this up (yes, at the CN Tower)

What I like about both of them is the way they capture the essence of being in the cities through their built environment. No “I Heart London” or “T dot O” needed: if you are familiar with the places, you know what they are.

It got me thinking about what a similar shirt for Prince George might look like. We do have a few distinctive buildings kicking around and lately I’ve noticed people are capturing them through design.

For example, here’s the backdrop to the Heat Wave music festival over the summer

You’ve got the Grand Trunk Pacific Bridge, the court house, those iconic skylights at UNBC, the downtown clock tower, Mr. PG of course, the Wood Innovation and Design Centre, and the Two Rivers Art Gallery.

Update: Jillian Merrick points out this has been in use as a CelebratePG iconography for a couple years now, and Tourism PG says it was designed by Leanne Schinkel.

When the food ordering app Skip the Dishes expanded here last year, they incorporated a few of those elements– you have Mr. PG and the clock tower, and the art gallery acts as the backdrop.

When I started writing for CBC online I was asked to come up with a stock photo for a portal to all my Prince George stories. I didn’t want to go with Mr. PG as it felt too obvious so I tried a few things: the cutbacks, the art gallery, the bridge. But then a Radio-Canada videographer came through town and came up with what I think is the most “Prince George” spot in the city.

So now when I want to show the changing seasons I just head over there to get another similar photo.

All of this is to say, while we may not have the same sort of skyline as some of the most iconic cities in the world there is enough unique architecture kicking around to fill a t-shirt.

Filed under: Prince George