Architecture – Natalie the Explorer

Welcome | Two in One

January 8, 2021January 18, 2021Natalie124 Comments

Welcome

Hello and welcome to the new location for Weekend Coffee Share! I’m glad you are here. Please help yourself with a cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate at my “coffee station”.

Alli at Eclectic Alli used to host the party for years until last weekend. I’m your host with the following guidelines for this weekly Coffee Share blog feature:

Everyone is welcome to join in the Weekend Coffee Share in any and every week.
Topics are open – e.g. What’s been going on in your life? What are your weekend plans? Is there a topic you’ve just been ruminating on that you want to talk about?
Use the Inlinkz link provided to join the party or leave the link to your Weekend Coffee Share post in a comment below my Coffee Share post.
You can link to your post any time between 8 a.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Sunday (both Toronto time).
I will be flexible in the way I title my Weekend Coffee Share posts.
I’d ask that participants be social. Read my post and two posts from other Coffee Share participants and leave a comment so we know you’ve dropped by.

I’m trying to build a fun, positive, social, and supportive blogging community here. So, as the owner of the blog and the host of the link-up, posts that I deem to be unsuitable for my audience will be deleted without notice. These may include ads, “drop and run” links, promotions, and any that are offensive in nature, overly political or religious.

Two in One excursion

This past week, the weather was typical for winter here with the average temperatures slightly above freezing point. I went cycling a few times on the Waterfront Trail which is reserved for cyclists, joggers, and pedestrians and is cleared of ice and snow.

I made a stop at a building complex that would be a fabulous place for us to virtually celebrate our first Weekend Coffee Share in 2021. It has a grand entrance, red carpet, and total floor area 9,300 square meters (100,000 square feet).

The Ontario Government Building and Liberty Grand entrance. — The Ontario Government and Liberty Grand main entrance.

I call this excursion a Two in One because the building has two names (Ontario Government and Liberty Grand) and my trip serves me two purposes (Health and Leisure). By visiting the building complex, I get my exercise from cycling outdoors and have fun examining the building architecture and taking photos.

Main entrance with two names. — Close up look of the main entrance with two names.

Name #1 Above the arch – The Ontario Government Building, in Beaux-Arts style, is a heritage building, designed by the architectural firm of Chapman and Oxley in 1926. It was built to display Government of Ontario exhibits during the Canadian National Exhibition.

Name #2 Below the arch – Since 2001, the Liberty Entertainment Group has a long term lease to use the building for private events. The Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex has several areas for banquets and balls, including three grand ballrooms, and one contemporary open-concept room.

Side view of the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex.

Door to the Centennial, one of the grand ballrooms.

There you have it. A Two in One highlight from my first week of 2021. The rest of my week went very well.

Weekend Coffee Share is now underway from Natalie the Explorer blog. I hope that together we make this a fun social event for every weekend in 2021. I’d love to hear your comments.

Linking with Thursday Doors, Life This Week, Senior Salon, The Weekly Smile, Lovin’ Life.

My Favourite Doors from 2020

December 17, 2020December 22, 2020Natalie47 Comments

Dan at No Facilities blog is hosting the Thursday Doors photography challenge. The challenge is open to everyone to participate in. Since December is a month of holidays, I’m sharing my favourite doors from 2020 with red, green, gold and a few more bright colours. Here’s my entry this week.

Gibraltar Point Lighthouse

The Gibraltar Point Lighthouse was built in 1808 to protect ships coming into Toronto harbour from washing ashore during storms. It’s the oldest landmark in Toronto, the oldest surviving lighthouse on the Great Lakes, and the second oldest surviving lighthouse in Canada.

It is said that the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse is haunted. Its first lighthouse keeper J.P. Radan Muller, was murdered by two soldiers from Fort York. The ghost of of J.P. Radan Muller returns every summer, and on hot summer nights, his howls can be heard from one end of the island to the other.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, I had a wonderful summer paddling around the Toronto islands where the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse is located. The red door accentuates the quintessential beauty of the lighthouse.

Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO)

The bold red AGO sign and a modern set of doors welcome people to the Art Gallery of Ontario, one of the largest art museums in North America. Enter the AGO to see, experience, and understand the world in new ways.

Union Station in Toronto

Christmas tree outside Union Station entrance.

Union Station is Canada’s busiest passenger transportation hub and a designated national historic site. In December, a Christmas tree is brightly lit at the station entrance with snowflake-designed banners in the background. The tall columns are some of the 22 limestone columns, each column weighs 75 tons and is 40 feet high.

I’d love to hear your comments.

Linking with MCoW.

Doors at Colborne Lodge

December 10, 2020December 8, 2020Natalie27 Comments

Dan at No Facilities blog is hosting the Thursday Doors photography challenge. The challenge is open to everyone to participate in. Here’s my entry this week.

Colborne Lodge, located in the west end of Toronto, sits on top of the highest point of the Humber Bay shoreline, overlooking Lake Ontario. The building is a rare North American example of a Regency cottage with a wide veranda opening to the garden and the park.

Colborne Lodge built by John Howard in 1837.

The front door is on the west side of the building. The parlour’s three French windows connect it to the verandah, providing comfortable views of the lake in both summer and winter. At the heart of the structure is a tall three-part chimney that provided heat for the house.

Colborne Lodge entrance. — West side of Colborne Lodge with the front door on the right.

John Howard emigrated from England with his wife Jemima in 1832. He worked first as an architect, then as a city surveyor and engineer. He built Colborne Lodge in 1837 and named the residence after Sir John Colborne, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. The house was originally one storey, but Howard later expanded it by adding an upper level.

Additional building next to Colborne Lodge.

Howard also built another building, next to Colborne Lodge, for additional work space and storage. Colborne Lodge is now a museum run by the City of Toronto.

How many doors do you see?

Doors at Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion

December 3, 2020December 3, 2020Natalie24 Comments

Dan, over at No Facilities blog, is hosting the Thursday Doors photography challenge. The challenge is open to everyone to participate in. So, I’m joining Dan for the first time and hope to meet lots of other bloggers who have similar interests in doors, architecture, art, history, photography, and of course blogging. Here’s my entry for this week.

Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion has been a Toronto’s lakefront landmark since it opened in 1922. The pavilion was designed in Beaux-Arts style by the firm Chapman, Oxley & Bishop. It features a highly visible front façade accented by an impressive archway with a decorative panel, as well as by Classical columns and pilasters.

Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion front entrance and archway in Beaux-Arts style. — Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion front entrance in Beaux-Arts style.

Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion Classical columns and pilasters.

Inspired by a bathing pavilion at Lynn Beach in Massachusetts, Sunnyside had enough room for 7,700 bathers at one time. Following a brisk swim in the lake, visitors could retire to the terrace garden for refreshments.

Lakeside façade of Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion. This view features two central towers and a smaller tower at each end.

A heated outdoor pool, known as the “Sunnyside Tank” was opened in 1925. With a capacity for 2,000 swimmers, it was reputed to be one of the largest outdoor pools in the world. In 1980, when the pavilion was refurbished, the pool was dedicated in honour of swimming coach Gus Ryder.

What do you think of the Sunnyside Pavilion Beaux-Arts style? I’d love to hear your comments.