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...a glimpse into life on Vancouver Island, needle felting, photography, food, gardening, etcetera...etcetera
"Happiness always looks small when you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and at once you learn how big and precious it is."
Maxim Gorky

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Master Carvers...

This is one of my favorite buildings in Toronto.
Looking a little different than she did back in the day...
This is the Gooderham building, also known as the Flatiron building.
It was built in 1892 for George Gooderham who ran the largest distillery in the country at the time.
The detail in the carving is simply amazing and astonishingly all done BY HAND!
Then it is on to one of my other favorites...
This is the courthouse on Queen Street.
Built around the same time with much of the same expert craftsmanship.
These faces are reputedly faces of politicians of the day and amongst them is the face of the head carver for the project.
The best part about this building though, are the gargoyles!
Want a closer look?
I could have spent all day taking pictures of the detailed beauty....

They definitely don't make them like this anymore.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Those photos are just so cool...I don't often give compliments but the detail is....how would I say it without complimenting you directly?....there are master craftsmen and stone workers and masons and bricklayers and water carriers and architects and hod carriers who have long since passed on to the other side...who may have worked upon these very buildings ....they may be in the ground a long time gone but if they could gaze upon the precious photos that you took of their sweat and toil....they would be able to rest in peace with the knowledge that their lifes work still holds a light up to anything that has been built since then!!! Must get my camera out and go for a walk around the city!!!