The Caribbean Apartments at 1940 Fort Street is situated a block or so away from the Oak Bay border, directly adjacent to the Royal Jubilee Hospital complex. It's a nondescript and somewhat stark building, making its colourful name in bright yellow tropical font all the more ironic.  

A 1964 newspaper ad highlighted the wall to wall carpet, free Cablevision, hot water and heating but more importantly - each apartment was named after a Caribbean island.  Exactly which islands and the decor of the suites remains unknown - so we can only speculate.  While renters may have been content living in a unit named after the Cayman Islands or Jamaica, The Cuba (after the missile crisis of 1962) and The British Virgin suite would have been awkward, especially for recent UK immigrants..  For many years the building has been off the rental market and currently appears to be mental health/medical care housing.  

Alright, what's the deal with the cinder blocks?  A mere 2.5 km away is the Oak Bay Marina, where another building completed in 1964 is perched over the water - a  gift shop/marine supply store.  While enjoying a leisurely seaside stroll on September 27, 2024 I noticed a rather pleasing composition of this building between two trees - I snapped the photo at 12: 35 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.  The following day while meandering up Fort Street,  I passed the ironic Caribbean Apartments.  Kind of funny, kind of cool thus deserving of a photo - image captured at 11:25 a.m.

Later that night while perusing the photos on my computer I noticed the seemingly random pattern of cinder blocks extruding from the end of both buildings was not random.  In fact, they are nearly identical.  My heart began to race as I realized I may have discovered an encrypted message from an advanced alien civilization or the launch code for Canada's top secret apple pie throwing catapults.  Less dramatic and more probable -  'twas the work of a cinder block construction artist who took pride in their work.