Saturday, February 4, 2012
Ontario Architecture Site
I was listening to CBC radio fresh air this morning and listened to the guest describe romanesque architecture in Ontario. Her name is Shannon Kyles. She is a regular guest on the show. Teaches architecture and writes for Arabella Magazine Mss. Kyles has an interesting site; http://ontarioarchitecture.com/
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Inhabitat blog
New pedestrian bridge between Detroit and Windsor Blog article from Inhabitat.com blogThey claim design will save the world. Perhaps the best we can hope for is a nice frame for the fires
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Dominion Modern Museum of Modern Architecture and Design
Dominion Modern is an archive of 20th Century Canadian architecture and design. Our goal is to collect, catalogue, preserve and disseminate. Dominion Modern proposes to be a leading voice in advancing knowledge, promoting public understanding and widening thought and debate on the art of 20th century Canadian architecture and design.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
asian art prints show from NYT
asian art prints show from NYT It feels a bit strange to stand in the opening rooms of “Blocks of Color: American Woodcuts From the 1890s to the Present,” the survey of more than 100 prints at the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum. The works in the exhibition are American, but to the casual observer they look Japanese, both in terms of compositional style and subject matter.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
I always see neat things on the TTC The mural segment is at St clair West Station. The work is by Gordon Rayner. Intersting site on TTC Art http://transit.toronto.on.ca/spare/0008.shtml The sign was at night on the back of a streetcar. I love the red of the seats, thought the orange peel was a nice contrast. Downsview is the only station on the TTC that gives me a sense that I am going through a gateway. The compass laid in the sidewalk outside the Wellesley station reminds me of early Twentieth Century street corner homes that have street names attached to them
Sunday, December 16, 2007
The Don Jail
Willliam Thomas
1864
"The “Old” Don Jail opened in 1864 and closed in 1977. It was Toronto’s fourth jail, replacing the one on the site of the old Parliament Buildings at Front and Parliament. While in the years just before it closed it was considered "an embarrassment to the Canadian criminal justice system," when it opened it was called the "Palace for Prisoners." at that time it represented a tremendous advance in the public attitude toward the treatment of law breakers. Until then, (as was then the world wide custom) prisoners had been confined in appalling and inhumane conditions. Its architect was William Thomas, who also designed St. Michael's Cathedral and St. Lawrence Hall. Construction started in October, 1859, and it was almost completed when, in 1862, a disastrous fire necessitated its rebuilding. The firm of William Thomas and Sons reconstructed the building, to his original plans, and it was occupied in January, 1864.
Willliam Thomas
William Thomas ranks as one of Canada's leading architects. He was born in Suffolk, England in 1799 and came to Canada in 1843, where with two of his sons, he established a successful architectural firm in Toronto. He was a master of Classic and Gothic design, and some of the finest buildings in Ontario were designed by the firm. He did not live to see the Don Jail completed as he died December 26, 1860. He is buried in St. James' Cemetery"
Willliam Thomas
William Thomas ranks as one of Canada's leading architects. He was born in Suffolk, England in 1799 and came to Canada in 1843, where with two of his sons, he established a successful architectural firm in Toronto. He was a master of Classic and Gothic design, and some of the finest buildings in Ontario were designed by the firm. He did not live to see the Don Jail completed as he died December 26, 1860. He is buried in St. James' Cemetery"
This building I find both fascinating and creepy. The last prisoner in Canada was hung there in the 1960's The carving over the door I call the jail god. The face is neither threatening or judgemental but seemingly all knowing yet oblivious I have gone by this entrance at least a thousand times and never noticed it before. The entrance is blocked by steel fence. I shot most of these photos during a snowstorm as a cheap way to highlight the eerie quality of the place. The barbed wire atop the west end of the old structure is oddly decorative. Regardless of the buildings function(s) the stone work is stunning. I will go back and shoot more of the carving.
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