Six Landmarks And One Abomination

 On my way over to photograph Strathcona Park for yesterday's post, I decided to photograph some spots along the way in Sandy Hill. I started with this. Toller House dates to 1875 and today is home to the embassy of Croatia. I have been inside here for Doors Open.

A couple of blocks away stands Laurier House, a home to two prime ministers and a national historic site. Built in the Second Empire style and initially built in 1878, it became home to Wilfred and Zoe Laurier, and after her death was willed to the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, William Lyon Mackenzie King, who would be our longest serving PM. Artifacts of the Lauriers and King are inside, and it is open to the public during part of the year. Well, when there's not Covid. Hopefully later in the year I'll get a chance to get back inside.

Across from Laurier House stands the former All Saints Anglican Church, a place with plenty of history of its own. After the parish moved on, it was acquired by an organizer with a vision; she created allsaints, an event space and arts centre. A restaurant has taken up quarters in what was the church basement, something that had been in planning stages when I was last here during a Doors Open visit.

Two more views of Laurier House.

Just down the street stands Stadacona Hall. Dating to 1871 and built for a timber baron, it was subsequently home to our first Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald, and his family, for a few years before they moved off to Earnscliffe not so far away. Today it is an embassy, the High Commission for Brunei Darussalam. For those who might not be aware, high commissions are the term used for any embassy for a Commonwealth member in another country that's part of the Commonwealth.

A peek between hedge bushes. I've been inside a couple of times, during Doors Open, which usually happens the first weekend of June here. Covid being as it is, odds are Doors Open won't happen again this year.

And a bit further up the street, with a view looking down into Strathcona Park. This building dates to 1877, in the Tudor Revival style. What was a mansion now houses a restaurant and culinary art institute in one setting. Signatures is the restaurant side of things, and Le Cordon Bleu is the other side of it. Also a mainstay of Doors Open, and a popular one. I mentioned in yesterday's post about a building with a dash of blue seen from in the park. This is it.

And yet another regular feature at Doors Open, and one I've visited several times. Fleck-Paterson House dates to 1901, built by the timber baron J.R. Booth for his daughter Gertrude Fleck. It later came into the hands of a senator, Norman Paterson. Today it is home to the embassy of Algeria.

Six beautiful buildings above.

Now for the abomination.

The Russian embassy stands close to the Algerian embassy; if standing in the backyard of the latter and looking at the west side of the property perimeter, you're looking up at the back wall of the place. This is the view of the front of the embassy, from the intersection of Laurier Avenue and Charlotte Street. The place looks like a bunker. Hideous. Out of place. Unfriendly.

I took a couple of shots, wondering if I was being watched.

To which I'll say this much to the occupants of this monstrosity: your embassy is ugly, and your president Vladimir is a petty little despotic wanker of a human being with sticky fingers, the pallor of a corpse, a mad-on against the universe just because he was born, and a desperate need to compensate for being overly short, along with other shortcomings- especially south of the beltline.

I don't think Putin's going to invite me for dinner. 

Artistic Ingenuity And New Use

Another spot in Sandy Hill that returned to the Doors Open circuit again this year is a former church, All Saints Anglican. A historic church that dated to the dawn of the 20th century, it was the site of Robert Borden's state funeral in 1937. The parish merged with another Anglican church in 2014, and the church building has found new life as allsaints, an event space that hosts weddings, music, art, and other uses. Organized from within the community, the endeavour is still a work in progress, and will also serve as an interpretive centre for Prime Minister's Row, a fitting concept as the building stands across from Laurier House. Here we have views from outside.

The sanctuary is still used for weddings, but on this day was being prepared for art lessons by the resident artist here. A church service was actually being held in Bate Hall, the old church hall from the parish days.

The stained glass windows in the sanctuary remain in place. This first one is in commemoration of Prime Minister Borden, who worshiped here.

Downstairs, a table was set up to showcase the building's use for receptions. A full time chef has come on board, and plans are well underway to establish a restaurant in this space. He had prepared some samples of his cuisine.

This view looks into what in the parish days may have been a small chapel. Allsaints has found new life as it continues to evolve, saved by the initiative of those in the area. I look forward to seeing more of what they can do.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Sensual

The first day of the month is always a theme day for members of City Daily Photo, and for the beginning of October, that theme happens to be Sensual. You can see how others are interpreting the theme right here.

My take on this theme was done in the first weekend of June, during Doors Open, an event here in Ottawa that showcases architecture of historic and heritage value by opening up numerous locations to public visitors. One of the places I dropped by this year was a former church, All Saints Anglican Church, which has been transformed into allsaints, a multi-use facility for weddings, receptions, artists, performance, and more. On that day, two instructors from a local dance school, Siempre Tango, were teaching the tango in the former church hall while students were looking on. The tango is, after all, the sexiest dance of them all, so this rates as sensual.

Soon it was time for the novice dancers to get started, and the instructors had them go through the process step by step, giving tips along the way. No, I wasn't one of them. First, I was on my own. Second, I'm a terrible dancer.

Architecture And Expression

Since I am in the midst of this series, check out a post at my writer's blog that covers our recent Dragon Boat Festival.

I have more today from allsaints, the former church that has found a new life in the Sandy Hill area. Here are more sanctuary views that were taken during Doors Open.

I went downstairs into the basement, which is presently a large, open space, but can be used for various events. A side chapel also caught my eye, as well as the photographer who was at the entrance to the room.

Following the path to the former church hall, I stopped at another entrance to get a look out into the yard, which was quiet.

A cafe has been set up in one of the rooms of the former church hall.

Coming into the main hall, there was an activity going on, as well as access to the second floor. An artist, Myka Burke, has her studio up here, and had several of her works hanging up. We chatted, and she's very busy not just with her own art, but workshops with other artists, a new app, and a concept for next March called Nuit Verte. It's the same idea as Nuit Blanche, but with a focus on the environment.

I finish with this view from the balcony down onto the floor of the church hall. It was a dance class going on, with the two tango instructors at the front of the hall. Those shots, however, I'm leaving for a future theme day. Tomorrow we move to the last location for my Doors Open series.

A New Use For The Sanctuary

Picking up where I left off yesterday, when I left Laurier House for Doors Open, I crossed the street and went here. The parish of All Saints Anglican Church chose some years back to join another parish in the city, and an initiative was undertaken to save the building itself and turn it into a multipurpose facility. It was a project led by Leanne Moussa, a local resident I spoke with at a Civic Holiday event a couple of years ago. That process is now largely complete, and the result is allsaints (the lowercase letters and no space is as the place bills itself as, so I'm going with it). It hosts weddings, receptions, music, and other events, and serves in other capacities, such as an art studio or for education.

A good deal of the church decor is still there, such as memorial plaques or stained glass windows. Restoration work was undertaken inside and out.

The sanctuary itself was set up to show what a reception in here might be like.

There are several stained glass windows in the sanctuary. This first one is dedicated to Robert Borden, our Prime Minister during the First World War. Borden worshiped in this church when he was in Ottawa. I will show you more from allsaints tomorrow.