Historic London

You'd never know from this picture but in London, Ontario, it is often down with the old and up with the new. In this picture, the castle-like building on the left is the former courthouse designed in 1827. On the right is the former jail which was added in 1842. The last hanging in London occurred on the grounds of the old jail.

Towering over both is a recently completed apartment tower. The bird sculpture featured recently hangs just above street level in one corner of this building.

It is believed that the courthouse was partially modelled after the ancestral home of Thomas Talbot's Malahide Castle, near Dublin, Ireland. In future London Daily Photo posts we will revisit these buildings and spend more time examining the old courthouse and jail. Both are worth a more extensive look.

Art Gallery

Museum London is now skinned with simple grey plates. Note chimney-like vent.

Officially it's Museum London but locally it's simply The Art Gallery. Located at The Forks of the Thames in downtown London, Ontario, the building itself is rather interesting, both to look at and to write about. First, the story which ran as an investigative news story when the local paper claimed the design is a rip-off of Louis Kahn’s Kimbell Art museum in Fort Worth, Texas. I don't think so. The Kahn building is an inspiration for the London's building. And, as any student of art can tell you, inspiration of this nature has a long and very proud history in the world of art. This is a non-issue.

Louis Kahn’s Kimbell Art museum is in Fort Worth, Texas.

Designed by Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama and built in 1980, Museum London was originally a deep rich blue, a colour almost demanded because of the gallery's location at the forks of the Thames. The original blue plates had a dynamic fan design filling each arch.

Unfortunately the metal plates rusted badly and a few years ago the blue skin disappeared to be replaced by the present grey panels. The dynamic fan shapes were replaced with rectangles. Some say this was done to save money. Supposedly, the fancy shapes came with a fancy price.

Inside, the lower level shallow pool has been removed. Rumour has it that a lady tumbled into the pool during the opening night celebration. Deemed a safety hazard, the pool was removed. Others say the pool was causing humidity problems in the gallery but I recall a similar pool in a large hall just past the entrance to the Detroit Institute of Art. It apparently caused no grief.

Note the original blue colour and fan shapes under arches.

And the unpainted, grey concrete walls are no longer unpainted and grey. Many have been sloppily painted white. Personally, I liked the unpainted walls but then I liked the original blue colour and the fan shapes at the top of the arches.

The vast majority of readers who have responded to this post, favoured the original Moriyama design over either the Fort Worth building or the modified London gallery.

Moriyama had it right.

Cheers!

Ratty not a Muskrat

Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows, written early in the last century, is one of the best-loved children's books. In 2003 it was voted one of the UK's top 21 books in the BBC's Big Read. Some folk think that Ratty in the Wind in the Willows is a muskrat. Wrong! Ratty, contrary to what his name may imply, is a British water vole, a distant relative of his cousin from across the pond.

This muskrat was spotted in a marshy area leading to a rain runoff collector pond in one of the newest suburbs in London, Ontario. The culvert under the nearby major roadway, seen at bottom right, gives the muskrat quite the large range.

But if Ratty wasn't a muskrat, don't worry. The muskrat still has made it into pop culture. Are you old enough to recall The Captain and Tennille and their hit single Muskrat Love? No? Well, check out the YouTube video of Toni Tennille.

Pipeline Serving 350,000 Ruptures

The damaged pipe sits off to the side as workers finish the pipeline repairs.

A 48-inch pipeline runs for 48-km through Southwestern Ontario carrying water from Lake Huron north of Grand Bend to Arva on the north edge of London, Ontario. Early Monday morning that pipeline broke, pressure dropped in the line and a small pond formed near the village of Mount Carmel.

Tuesday the break, which affected two sections of pipe, was repaired. By afternoon the line was being refilled and would then be flushed to return it to full operation by sometime that night.

London, Ontario, and area is growing and the pipeline is admittedly overtaxed both in volume of water carried and by the velocity of the water being transported. The line has been partially twinned and this break has underlined the importance of finishing the twinning job.

Full story on Digital Journal.

Art

A simple sculpture dresses up the exterior of a new apartment building.

There's a new apartment building in downtown London, Ontario. It was built as an upscale place to live but it is getting mixed reviews. A retired gentleman told me that he and his wife considered moving there but when they saw the apartment that was in their budget range, it was far too small. It made them feel claustrophobic, he said.

Today I was downtown and noticed that a large piece of art has been hung at the corner of the building. The place does keep trying.

Getting Ready for Spring

Spring is here. Winter is gone. It's time to get the snow tires taken off and stored safely until next winter. Stroll through the neighbourhood and you'll see lots of signs of spring --- like these two brothers washing their twin motorcycles.

Wanna Play?

It looks like the little ones at the Saturday learn to swim class at the London Aquatic Centre are learning more than how to swim; They're learning how to share.

Little Miss Baby on the right was struggling not to cry. Dad, a certified lifeguard, loves the water and Little Miss Baby found it hard to share dad's enthusiasm. But when little Mr. Baby was near, the little girl's tears stopped. The little baby girl loves other babies; She smiles and laughs on seeing herself in the hallway mirror --- finding a cute baby at the pool with whom to share a moment was a real bonus.

Before leaving the pool dad checked out little Miss Baby's mammalian diving reflex; Babies are supposed to naturally hold their breath when submerged. Miss Baby passed the test and without any tears.