Gooderham Flatiron - 21
by Rick Shea
Title
Gooderham Flatiron - 21
Artist
Rick Shea
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
A snowy January morning brought me out to shoot Toronto's "Flatiron" building. I wanted to shoot it in an unconventional way, if I could. I backed away to the south east corner of Front and Market streets to take in a bit of the bustle of the St. Lawrence Market area. It combines to make a nice set of four, along with images 20, 21 and 24 in this series.
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 fa�ade 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
October 24th, 2014
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