Doors Open 2017
This year, my brother was brave enough to accompany me during this year’s Doors Open weekend. As usual, it was a challenge to narrow down the choices when there were so many buildings to choose from. In the end, we decided to focus on the area around Yonge and King and visited St. James Cathedral, Tom Jones Steakhouse, and the Commerce Court ( Read more... )
Thank you very much, karen9! :-D I'm glad this post was worth the wait. I'm happy you found it interesting and liked my photos.
The cathedral is beautiful, both inside and outside. I particularly like the spire and the carved organ casings.
I'm glad you think it's beautiful. I've been to St. James Cathedral at least a few times, and I'm always struck by its beauty. The spire certainly adds to the cathedral's beauty. I think the organ casings are one of my favourite things about St. James. :-)
Your brother looks as if he was enjoying himself ringing the changes.
He probably enjoyed it more than I did. I think I was terrible at it. In my defence, you can't instantly tell if you've rung the bell properly. It doesn't ring on that first pull because it's circling around. I honestly couldn't tell if I was doing it correctly or not because I never heard the bell ring. Maybe it did and I assumed it was somebody else's. *g*
When I read of ringing bells I always think of Dorothy Sayer's Nine Tailors novel.
Me too! Once you've read The Nine Tailors, it's almost impossible not to think of it whenever the subject of bell-ringing comes up.
The graffiti by the 19th C choirboy is wonderful!
I'm so happy I looked up and noticed it! I thought I was imagining things at first when I read the date! :-) I only learned it was a choirboy after watching that Bells of Old York video. Apparently, it was a fairly common practice for choirboys to climb up into the bell tower and etch their names into the stone.
The Tom Jones restaurant is certainly magnificent, but because I disapprove of steakhouses, I skimmed through those photos!
No problem. I understand. :-) If it makes you feel any better, I was interested in visiting the building because of the architecture first and foremost. The building is just so unusual and seems so out of place.
I guess you know of the famous Elephant & Castle in London?
Yes, I do but I can't remember if I saw it in person on either of my two visits to London. I have a feeling that I might have seen it waaaaaaaay back in '96 -- or that could be one of my past lives I'm thinking of. *g* I think it's safe to say that the North American Elephant & Castle chain took its name from the more famous original.
The Commerce North Court is attractive, the carvings, the lovely ceilings and elevator doors.
It's definitely decadent, especially considering that it was built during the Depression, but it's hard not to be impressed by the sheer work and craftsmanship that went into everything.
The banking hall is absolutely spectacular. I think a comparison with a magnificent Roman building is appropriate.
I have to confess that the banking hall is the main reason why I wanted to visit Commerce Court North. I saw a picture of it and knew I wanted to see more. Yeah, I'd say it wouldn't be out of place in a Roman building at all! *g*
I like the office equipment and uniforms, though I remember using an old telephone like that when I was young.
I did use something very similar to that black phone when I was a kid. In fact, I had a phone like that (with the black casing and rotary dial) in my room when I was a teenager. My dad never throws anything out. *g*
Your brother was enjoying himself again! He looks mischievous.
Yeah, I think he was enjoying himself. He certainly seemed to be having fun at the time, anyway. I suppose he does have a bit of a michievous streak. I think of it as being goofy (which is pretty rich coming from me). The adjective my family often uses for him is "git" (especially my mom). *g*
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