In Prince Rupert Schist is just rock: it is everywhere --- so common we don't see it anymore. It is the mountain behind town and the hills in town. It's the foundation for many homes where "basements" are often blasted rather than dug.
It is rain forest "rock gardens" as these ferns growing on ledges as on right.

Certainly we don't realize how relatively rare regionally this metamorphic rock is.
"Metamorphic rocks " are those altered by heat and pressure, but not sufficiently to become molten Ours are mostly sedimentary rocks that have been "baked" deep down in the earth's crust and subsequently brought to the surface. Somewhat like clay baked into pottery. (see Regional Geology)

 It's interesting how schist has unobtrusively been used in Rupert over the years.
There seems to be a cycle where it's taken for granted, then highlighted then forgotten again.

Yacht Club as convenient "fill" to extend shoreline

Here are 2 examples schist taken for granted as rock fill; or used (with cement) more decoratively

More attractive: upper layers not just stacked but reveal surfaces

Schist easily breaks into flat blocks

Another pair An older purely utilitarian stack wall A later wall that combines utilitarian and decorative

The decorative walls at Service Park and around the civic center mark the apogee of earlier period where schist was used extensively as decorative surface. Subsequently granite from quarries along the Skeena River became popular. Presumably, since it didn't become dull from weather it was viewed as esthetically superior. Examples are City Hall and Skeena Broadcasters building. Later concrete and building blocks became popular. Only recently has humdrum schist re-emerged as wall and decoration.

Peak of 1st phase and more recent revival

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