Brewer Beach Pavilion

It could be said that this is one of the ugliest buildings in the city.

A cinder-block building with only a few small windows, this characterless club house looks as though it should have sunk into the swamp in which it's surrounded decades ago.

But the Brewer Beach Pavilion lives on and is the thirty-seventh location in the Where In Ottawa photo challenge.

Congratulations to Marc, who came up with the correct location. He also solved last month's challenge, so only bragging rights are bestowed upon him.

Here are the clues, explained:

1. No beer found here—though this pavilion is located in Brewer Park, there has never been a brewery at this site. Broken beer bottles, maybe, but I certainly found no beer.
2. No sandy shores—Brewer Pond, to which the pavilion serviced, used to be a popular swimming hole, complete with a beach, for which sand was brought every year. When city regulations changed concerning still-water swimming in public places, the beach disappeared and a natural, swampy shore now lines the pond.

3. Stilted—the main parts of the pavilion are raised to withstand annual spring flooding, and each end is supported by concrete stilts.
4. Still pond-ering this place?—perhaps the tell-tale clue, Brewer Pond is still used for canoe courses. I was there just a couple of weekends ago, refreshing my canoe-handling skills in preparation for a white-water course.

The next Where In Ottawa challenge will be on Monday, July 7.