The September theme for the City Daily Photo Blog community is "Teach" and I chose this carving of a book which is found on the old Ontario Government Building on the Exhibition Grounds downtown. The building was finished in 1926 to be used for displays during the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) but is now an event space known as the Liberty Grand. The wonderful carvings on the building have been wonderfully maintained and I thought this was a good one for teach.
Taking part in the theme "Teach". Click HERE to see more examples of it from around the world.
This is a pic that I took last September of the Press building at Exhibition Place which I showed you yesterday in a night time pic. Those flowers and green leaves certainly look appealing to our winter weary eyes. And the clock was telling the correct time.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
I was at the Exhibition grounds a few weeks ago to see an art show and when I came out the Press building was all lit up and looking quite good. This Beaux Arts beauty was built in 1905 and is the oldest building on the Exhibition grounds built specifically for the exhibition. It is no longer functioning as the press building but is now used to house the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) staff. That funny streak in the sky was a helicopter flying by. I'll show you a daytime pic from last fall in tomorrow's post.
I'm into my archives for some pics since I haven't been out wandering very much. I found this beautiful urn on the grounds of Exhibition place and then I seemed to keep finding more of them as I kept walking. It reminds me of a sunny day in the autumn!
This is a view taken from Exhibition Place near Scadding Cabin (the old log cabin home) that I showed you a few weeks ago. From this spot we are looking out at part of Ontario Place which is a piece of land sticking out into Lake Ontario. At one time it was very lively with an amusement park, theatre, music amphitheatre and more but its future has been much debated over the last few years. One nice thing has been the recent conversion of a parking lot into a park! That is part of the Martin Goodman walking/cycling trail that you can see in the foreground.
Not all of the buildings on the Exhibition Place grounds are vintage. This is the Better Living Centre which was opened in 1962 and is one of several Modernist buildings found there. It was originally used to showcase cutting edge consumer goods during the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) but like most of the other buildings on the grounds it is now used primarily as an event space.
The Horse Palace which I showed you yesterday has many wonderful Art Deco details on its walls. I particularly like these low relief horse heads that are carved into the limestone!
This is one of the entrances to the Horse Palace at Exhibition Place. This heritage Art Deco beauty opened in 1931 to support the equestrian events at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and still today houses a private riding academy and provides space for the horses of the mounted unit of the Toronto Police. There are wonderful carvings in the limestone over the doors which may be a bit hard to make out in this pic. I'll show you a close-up of some tomorrow.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
We are still touring the grounds at Exhibition Place and this is the second major fountain found there. This is the Shrine Peace Memorial - the sculpture and bench were presented to the people of Canada in 1930 by the Shriners as a symbol of the peace and friendship between the USA and Canada. The fountain around it was opened in 1958 as well as a beautiful rose garden surrounding the whole thing. Very powerful don't you think?
I was at the Exhibition Place grounds early on a Sunday morning so there was very little traffic around which meant easy crossing for this pair. This large crosswalk is suitably found in front of the Automotive Building which was built in 1929 to showcase automotive displays during the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE). This is no longer a priority and the open display room has been converted to a large ballroom and the space is used for events and conventions. It is a lovely Art Deco building and one day I will bring you a lot of detail shots. Like everything else these days sponsorship of the building has been sold to Beansfield so their name is up top.
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
Although not as old as Scadding Cabin which I showed you yesterday the fire hall at Exhibition Place is an old one too. This Tudor Revival beauty was built in 1912 and as you can see has been beautifully cared for over the years. I think it had been newly painted this summer before the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) opened in August. The clock tower would have once been used for hanging hoses to dry.
This is the house referred to in yesterday's post - Scadding Cabin, the oldest surviving house in Toronto. Located in the Exhibition Place grounds since being moved there in 1879 but built in 1794, it now has a perfect view of Lake Ontario and is surrounded by beautiful landscaped gardens. I wonder what it would go for in our crazy real estate market?
I love these historical plaques since they give you so much information while you are looking at the actual sight. I toured around Exhibition Place on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago and after viewing the Liberty Grand building which I showed you last week I happened upon this sign erected in 2012. I will show you the cabin tomorrow and in case you can't read this sign the cabin is the oldest known surviving house in Toronto having been built in 1794 and moved to Exhibition Place in 1879 for the first Canadian National Exhibition (CNE).
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
This is one of several cast cement lions that are found outside of the Liberty Grand building at Exhibition Place. I've shown you a few shots of the building in the last few days. The lions look quite stately don't you think?
This shot shows some of the details found above the door in yesterday's post. Since the building was originally built to showcase Ontario provincial exhibits it looks as if these panels are depicting types of industry found in the province. The one on the left looks like the lumber industry, the middle one is mining while the one on the right is a mystery to me. I couldn't figure it out at all. I do like this type of carving though.
This is the entrance to one of the wings of the Liberty Grand building which I showed you yesterday giving you more of an idea of the wonderful exterior decorations. I'll show you a detail shot of the carvings over the door tomorrow.
This is the Ontario Government building found on the Exhibition grounds. It was built in 1926 to provide space for provincial government displays during the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) but since 2000 it has been used as the Liberty Grand, an event and banquet space. The Beaux Arts building underwent extensive restoration in 2001 and is beautiful inside. I'll show you some more of it tomorrow.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
This fountain in the Exhibition grounds is the traditional meeting place during the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) that takes place here from the middle of August until Labour Day every year. The fountain is called the Princess Margaret Fountain and the Princess attended the opening of the fountain in 1958 when it replaced the original one that had been there since 1911. That domed building behind it was built in 1907 as the Horticulture building but it now serves as a night club and event venue.
This is an early Sunday morning pic of the lakeshore taken from the Exhibition grounds downtown. There was not a whiff of wind and even though it was only 10˚C it was beautiful down there. I'll have more pics from the grounds in the days to come.
