Horse Palace, Toronto

Tomorrow, the first Tuesday in November, sees the running of the Melbourne Cup. A horse race. Indeed the 'race that stops the nation'. And those of us who work in the Melbourne metropolitian area get a Public Holiday to enjoy the celebration. 2010 marks the 150th running of the Melbourne Cup so it has a long tradition in this town and so I'd like to show you some ...

Not just any horses, these beautiful Art Deco reliefs come from the Horse Palace in Toronto.

This massive complex was erected in 1931 as part of the Exhibition Place grounds where various agricultural fairs and exhibitions have been held since 1878.

It was designed by City of Toronto architect, John James Woolnough, and his team including Kenneth S Gillies, assistant architect and Stanley T J Fryer, designer.

Today, still considered one of the finest equestrian facilities in Canada it is used by the Riding Academy, the Toronto Police Mounted Unit and Toronto Animal Services.

Besides the representation of horses, the building has many other Art Deco features.

There are wonderful sets of red, black and glass doors and pairs of copper lights sitting on columns above the entrances.

Sections with geometric designs such as these three semi-circular areas on this part of the facade.

Chiselled lines create a series of horizontal or vertical elements separating and highlighting other features of the design such as the windows and relief carvings.

All over the building bricks are used to provice contrasting horizontal bands to the grey stonework.

In one particular section, three porthole windows are included in a relatively large expanse of brickwork.

An octagonal tower topped with a copper dome forms an inportant part of the Horse Palace. The facade below the tower features a large vertical setback area that has a large window and zig-zag decoration at its top which is semi-circular thereby mirroring the tower. This setback is flanked on each side by a pair of curious, squat columns.

There appears to be no reference to to horses at this end of the building but this incorrect. The blocks at the corners at the base of the tower are actually stylised horses heads.

So in honour of the 24 horses that will enter the starting gates for the 150th Melbourne Cup tomorrow, I present a palace for horses on the other side of the world.

References:
Horse Palace History, The Riding Academy website
Art Deco Architecture in Toronto, by Tim Morawetz

Kanimbla Hall, Potts Point

This is Kanimbla Hall, a piece of Sydney confection at 19-19a Tusculum Street, Potts Point.

Unfortunately I don't know when it was built or who was the architect but it is a large residential block with a simple roofline and curved section on the corner of the building.

At nice touch, I presume added at a later date, are the metal bars on the ground floor windows are in a sunburst pattern. As are the fence and gates at the garden area between the wings of the building.

The Windsor, Nedlands

The Windsor cinema, on the Stirling Highway in the Perth suburb of Nedlands was built in 1937 and I am pleased to see it is still in use today.

The cinema was designed by W T Leighton and featured a movable projector which could screen films into the adjacent picture garden. An old idea that has been reinvented in the 21st century with various open air and roof top cinemas but unfortunately I doubt The Windsor still has a picture garden.

References:
Windsor Theatre, Places Database, Heritage Council of Western Australia

A House on the Golf Links Estate, Camberwell

Here's another house from the Golf Links Estate in Camberwell. I love the decorative brickwork on this house. In particular around the arched entrance, on the eaves and, as you can see below, on the chimney.

Mac.Roberston Girls' High School, South Melbourne

In 1934, when Victoria was celebrating its Centenary, industrialist and philanthropist, Macpherson Robertson, provided £100,000 for public works. Victoria was in the grip of depression and his generosity was aimed at providing both work and new facilities. One of those new facilities was Mac.Roberston Girls' High School in South Melbourne.

Mac.Rob, as it is often called, was designed by Norman Seabrook who later formed a partnership with Alan Fildes.

One of my favourite aspects of the building is the red framed widows on the ground floor, below the auditorium, separated by pillars of blue bricks. It looks stunning against the the cream bricks of the rest of the building.

And the Art Deco 'rule of three' is proven with this exception. The flagpole has four supports!

References:
Mac.Robertson Girls' High School website
Robertson, Sir Macpherson (1859 - 1945), Australian Dictionary of Biography - Online Edition
Seabrook, Norman Hugh (1906 - 1978), Australian Dictionary of Biography - Online Edition

Maniototo County Offices, Ranfurly

The building of the Otago Central Branch Railway on New Zealand's South Island led to the development of the city of Ranfurly. Within 40 years the Maniototo County Offices were relocated from Naseby which had been by-passed by the railway.

So we have these new offices built in 1935. Not much decoration but there is a horizontal band of plaques level with the top of the window panes each bearing three sets of three overlapping discs. There's that Art Deco 'rule of three' again.

Then below the flagpole on the right hand front corner of the building is a shield showing a horse-drawn waggon disappearing into the distance and a steam train emerging. A wonderful reference to the coming of the railway that gave birth to the town.

Reference:
Rural Art Deco Ranfurly Walk
OtagoRailTrail.co.nz

Fine Arts Theatre, Asheville

Originally opened in 1946 as the Strand Theatre and having survived the 1990s when it showed Adult films, the Fine Arts Theatre in Asheville, NC nows shows first run art and independent films.

References:
Fine Arts Theatre, Asheville, Cinema Treasures website
Fine Arts Theatre website

former Hindmarsh Town Hall, Adelaide

Like many public buildings, the Hindmarsh Town Hall has a long history of rebuilding, renewal and adaptation.

The first district hall was built in 1860. A new hall was designed by Thomas Frost and added behind the original in 1880. Then in 1936 the stone portico was removed and the building refaced in Art Deco style to the design of Christopher Smith. Smith designed several Adelaide cinemas and at this time a cinema was also included as part of the town hall.

Following the amalgamation of the Hindmarsh and Woodville Councils in the 1990s it became the Education Development Centre under the South Australian Department of Education and Children's Services.

This photo shows the Milner Street entrance.

Reference:
Hindmarsh Town Hall Theatre/Hall, University of South Australia, Architects of South Australia database
The heart of Hindmarsh, by Lia Harris, Weekly Times Messenger, 20 Oct 2010