Architectural Details

One of the things that amaze me with old buildings is the incredibly intricate details in their construction.

The old Dominion Bank of Canada is no exception. The carved stone probably represents thousands of man hours. I really like the gold plating on the lettering and the funky old style font used. The Dominion Bank merged with the Bank of Toronto in 1955 to form the Toronto Dominion Bank.

Something as simple as this rosette speaks to a by gone day where this was considered normal.

Larger pieces like this shield add character to a building. Downtown Calgary became known as the “Sandstone City” after the 1886 fire that destroyed much of the city center. Afterwards, the city council passed an ordinance requiring public and larger buildings to be built of sandstone instead of wood.

In the best light…