Located in the historic St. Lawrence Market District of Toronto is one of the most iconic structures in the city: The Gooderham Building. The Gooderham is the oldest flat iron building in Canada and one of the oldest in North America.

 

 

 

The building was originally designed by architect David Roberts, Jr., who was commissioned by George Gooderham Sr., son of Gooderham and Worts founder, William Gooderham.  Construction was completed in 1892 at a cost of $18,000, and the building housed the the Gooderham and Worts distillery offices for over half a century.

 

In addition to the wedge shape, what I find appealing about the Gooderham is the symmetrical design. There are an equal number of windows on each floor, laid out in identical linear patterns on both sides of the building.  The windows are flat on the lower floors and arched on the upper floors.  There are also four gabled dormers on each side of the steep roof.

 

 

The building has a Roman style cornice and frieze above 4th floor windows and the main Wellington Street entrance is also arched. Another interesting design aspect is the raised sandstone foundation, which stands in contrast to the main red brink facade at the entrance to The Flatiron and Firkin Pub at the front of the building.

 

In addition to it’s shape, the building is also famous for the mural on the back wall.  The Flatiron Mural uses a trompe l’oeil effect to fool the eye into believing the building has more windows than it does, and that the mural is falling off where not suitably affixed.

 

 

Interestingly, the Gooderham replaced another shorter, but similarly shaped building called the Coffin Block.  It is the current iteration however, that has become one of the most iconic, and often photographed historical buildings in Toronto.

 

 

My next post will focus on the area just west of the building, facing the mural – so please come back and take a look!

 

Until then, I’d appreciate hearing what you liked about about this post! As well, I’d love to see any great shots you have of the Gooderham building!

 

 

 

COMING SOON:  The second instalment in my “How To” series on how I created my Flatiron Mural Lens Ball shot, focusing on creating a mirror image. If you haven’t read the first post please take a look!

 

Don’t forget to click like and recommend Jonathon C Photography to your friends or someone you know who may find it interesting.

 

Finally, please follow jonathoncphotography.com so you can always be first to hear about all the new content that I post!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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