Time Walker

Victorian Public Schools Four Victorian era public schools are still standing in Peterborough. Central School started as a log cabin that doubled as a church on Sundays.   The first brick building, Peterborough Union School (1860), included both elementary and high school, and was an Italianate building with a four-storey central tower.   The tower was unfortunately deemed unsafe and cut in half in the late 1960s.   In 1871, a second building for elementary students was added to the west, and the first building was used for the high school.   The new building was expanded in 1891.   By 1895, it was necessary to also rent a manor house on George Street (Menzies House, demolished in the mid 20 th century) to accommodate the student overflow.   Plans were made to erect a new high school.   Peterborough was a relatively wealthy town, but the project still took over a decade to complete.   The new high school (Peterborough Collegiate) w...

Mansard Mansions Mansard roofs on second empire and Italianate buildings were all the rage in the high to late Victorian period.   Peterborough was thriving during this era, and the town was lush with gorgeous architecture.   The north side of Brock Street from George to Aylmer Streets was almost a full stretch of these elegant buildings.   While some of those mansions survive, none are in their original form, and the mansard roofs have long disappeared.   In Peterborough today, there are maybe half dozen scattered mansard mansions remaining intact. One of Peterborough’s best preserved, the Richard and Robert Hall house, was built in 1877.   The iron cresting over the front entrance originally also graced the roof line.   The house survived as law offices for many decades, and now houses the John Howard Society. The Judge G. M Rogers house, 1877, built for his fiancée, who tragically drowned.   The house was instead rented out, and late...

The Courthouse and Victoria Park Law and order overlooks the town from atop the hill.   The original building was erected from 1838 to 1842, with renovations to the facade made during the 1880s and again following damage caused by the adjacent Quaker Oats fire of 1916. Victoria park covers three acres, and at one time had to be completely fenced off to prevent the town livestock from grazing.   I always thought the “Fishing Boy” fountain was from the Victorian era.   It's a mid-century modern prefab installed in 1952. When I was a child, the fountain was entirely black and the details were obscured.  The patina today is rather nice, and looks as though it is a quite recent faux finish.

Cox Terrace This Second Empire, seven unit terrace was built in 1884 by Peterborough business magnate George A. Cox, who also built the Morrow Building. A conservation triumph, Cox Terrace survived a plan by its owner in the in late 1980s to turn it into a parking lot.   The building was saved by PACAC (Peterborough’s local heritage movement, founded in the mid 1970s), and City Council, which voted 10 to 1 in favour of heritage designation.   Allen McGrath purchased the building in 1989, and remodelled it into apartments, office, and retail space.   Cox Terrace may well be the finest example of a residential, multi unit, Second Empire style building in North America.

The Morrow Building (1880), showing the 1882 addition on the left, and the Pig’s Ear building to the right. The Morrow Building This iconic Peterborough Second Empire commercial building stands, literally and figuratively, in the midst of an architectural conservation controversy.   A real estate development company has received demolition permits for both the 1882 addition to the Morrow Building and the (1865) Pig’s Ear tavern around the corner.     The developer wants to raze the two buildings and erect high end apartments.   They do not want to compromise by including the historic structures in the new construction. The northern addition to the original building never had a mansard roof like the original.    Both were designed by John E. Belcher, renowned Peterborough architect of the Victorian era. The Pig’s Ear structure is two years older than Canada; it served as a pub since 1865.   Only the original Morrow Buildin...

The Roy Studio “Attic” Part III For several years the space was the home to Gallery in the Attic, but the space now houses the artist studio of Daniel Crawford  and others. Spaces and their use are ever changing, but it's so awesome to see this space will not be altered but will continue to be loved for its funky old charm. This old photographer's light window can be seen on the exterior photo in my first post.

The Roy Studio “Attic” Part II The entrance to the studio space opens onto an enchanting staircase of crafted woodwork.