Flatiron Sundown
by Rick Shea
Title
Flatiron Sundown
Artist
Rick Shea
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Over the years, I've usually if not exclusively photographed Toronto's Flatiron building in the morning, with the sun mostly at my back, or on overcast or foggy days. On this occasion, the setting sun having ducked behind the Flatiron, created some exposure challenges but also an opportunity to also try a different compositional approach, enhanced by a well placed jet contrail, about to drift past the L Tower.
One of the most photographed buildings in Toronto, the Gooderham "Flatiron" Building dates back to 1891-92. It was designed by Toronto architect David Roberts Jr. who was also responsible for a number of other Gooderham commissions, notably George Gooderham's houses at St. George and Bloor Streets (1889) and Jarvis Street (1891). The "flatiron" building's triangular shape results from the confluence of Wellington Street, which follows the traditional Town of York grid, with Front Street, the irregular diagonal line derived from the 19th-century waterfront. The four-and-a-half-storey red brick building is set on a high foundation that rises a half-storey above ground. A string course divides the second and third floors, with a decorative frieze and cornice above the fourth floor. A steeply pitched copper clad roof is pierced by a number of decorative dormers. A prominent tower with ogee arch windows distinguishes the roof line at the apex of the building. A textured facade results from a dominant pattern of fenestration on all floors. There are hood mouldings over the fourth floor windows. The brick work on the Gooderham Building is exceptional both in terms of the quality of the red bricks and the miniscule thickness of the modern joints.
In 1975, the City of Toronto designated the structure under the Ontario Heritage Act and, in 1977, the Ontario Heritage Trust secured a heritage easement on the building
Uploaded
January 5th, 2019
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