This rather unusual sculpture is found on the U of Toronto campus near Hart House. By artist Evan Penny, what makes it so unusual is that it is concave rather than convex. I really like it and showed it in 2010 (HERE) too. If you check the link you can see that it has weathered a bit but still looks good.
While wandering around the U of Toronto campus I stopped to take a pic of the Soldiers' Tower at Hart House and found that I was photo-bombed by the CN Tower visible from down by Lake Ontario. The Soldiers' Tower was built to commemorate the members of the university who gave up their lives in the two World Wars and has their names listed as well as a carillon up top.
Soldiers' Tower is attached to Hart House at U of Toronto and was constructed in 1924 to honour alumni who had lost their lives in WWI. It was redesigned in 1949 to include the names of those who gave up their lives in WWII and then renovated in the 1970s when more bells were added to the carillon bringing the total up to 51. It feels like ages since we had such a clear sky and in fact I took this pic in mid October.
In this pic we have left yesterday's quadrangle at Hart House and are heading back down the tunnel to the entrance I showed you on Wednesday. I love the arched ceiling.
This pic was taken from the middle of the Hart House Quadrangle looking back towards where we entered in yesterday's pic. It is a lovely calm space and is often used for wedding receptions in the summer. That is the Soldiers Tower peeking over the wall from the left - I'll show you pic of that in the next few days.
I showed you a couple of interior pics of Hart House at U of Toronto last week and thought I would show you a couple more pics, this time of the exterior. The beaux arts Gothic Revival building was constructed in 1919 as a student activity centre (which meant only men until 1972) and continues to be until this day. This is the west entrance to Hart House which leads to some common rooms and out into the centre quadrangle. I'll show a bit of the quadrangle tomorrow.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
When I was wandering around in Hart House at U of Toronto I spotted this lovely wooden door in one of the hallways. There was no indication of what might be behind it but whatever it is is certainly safe. I love the door surround too.
I was wandering around the downtown U of Toronto campus a couple of weeks ago and took this pic inside Hart House showing some of its Gothic Revival charm. Hart House is a student activity centre which was completed in 1919 and continues to be a vital part of the university.
I liked this view of the Soldiers' Tower at Hart House at the U of Toronto just peeking over the top of the trees with their long autumn shadows. The Gothic style tower was built in 1924 and contains a carillon of 51 cast bronze bells as well as having the names of students and alumni who lost their lives in war engraved in the walls of the ground floor passageway.
It has been extremely cold here (-18 to -20˚C) so I am into my archives again for a couple of days. This pic was taken on a warmer day in summer and is a peek through one of the arched walkways at Hart House at U of Toronto and gives us a view into the quad there. You can see the Sorel Etrog sculpture "Complexes Of A Young Girl" in the foreground and a tent set up at the far end of the quad for a wedding, one of the many that take place at Hart House throughout the year.
This is the kind of walkway that I find intriguing and find it hard to resist exploring further. This one turned out to lead to just a service area off the rear of Hart House on the U of Toronto campus, although a nice service area and if you continue through the next arch in the distance you emerge at the very leafy Queen's Park.
When touring Hart House during the Doors Open event a couple of weeks ago, I spotted this sign in the library and can only imagine what caused them to post such a sign! While we toured the room there were a couple of people asleep on couches so possibly they sometimes make themselves a little too much at home there.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click here for more signs.
I loved the old-fashioned look of this gym at Hart House even though it has one of those new 'Big Ass" fans. Somehow it fits with the look of the place and that suspended track around the sides just adds to the atmosphere. It was nice to get into these spaces during Doors Open that are not open to the general public - you have to be a member of Hart House to use the gym and the pool I think.
Continuing the tour of Hart House finds us inside, viewing the wonderful pool with the Art Deco skylights. The pool is only 25 yards in length but what a wonderful environment to do a workout!
This sculpture of Hermes, the Greek messenger god, is found in the quadrangle at Hart House and is slightly visible towards the centre of yesterday's pic. I can find no info on the artist but did find info on an etching of it done in 1920 so it was probably installed soon after the building opened in 1919. The patina gives us a good indication that it has been out there for a long time.
I have shown several pics of Hart House and some of its art that you can see by clicking the Hart House label below, but decided to take the tour during Doors Open of a couple of weeks ago. This is the inner quadrangle of the Gothic Revival building and it is a lovely space that includes a patio for al fresco dining and also for many wedding receptions, a usage which was not always allowed since Hart House was male-only from its construction in 1919 until 1972 when women were finally allowed throughout the structure. It was built as a student activity centre but only for male students!
If you walk through the open arches in yesterday's pic of the tower and look up - this is the wonderful ceiling detail which you will discover. The craftsmanship is incredible - it probably couldn't be done today as so many of these old skills have been lost! Pity!
This is the tower which is visible to the left in yesterday's pic. It is Soldiers' Tower a bell and clock tower built in 1924 to commemorate members of the University who served in the world wars. The bell tower contains a carillon of 51 bells and the pinnacles of the tower are in the midst of a 4 year repair program to fight off the results of our extreme weather conditions. Unfortunately I cut off the tops of the pinnacles in the pic - the sun was so bright on my viewer that I really couldn't see the image - sorry!
Thought that I should show a pic of the Hart House building itself since I have shown so much of the art work in and around it. Established in 1919, the Greek-Revival style building was designed by architect Henry Sproatt to function as a student activity centre. It has extensive facilities - gym. swimming pool, archery , theatre, art gallery, lounges, music rooms, restaurants. and more. Unfortunately until 1972 it was only open to men - the feminist movement at the University put an end to that!
It was cold but sunny this morning (-7C) so I decided to go out for some pics at U of Toronto. This is yet another piece from Hart House and it was installed in 2001 near one of the wonderful doors into the lower level. By artists Randy and Berenicci it was originally created in 1986 as one piece but was later altered and installed here as 2 large pieces and 1 tiny piece that doesn't show in the pic too well. The work was meant to be a temple to the age of information - quite suitable for a university setting!
