Book Club Anyone???

To try something new Jess and I have decided to do mini book reviews and/or recommendations for architectural reading. The books will be written by non-Malcolmite folk! (Oh, don't worry, we'll still promote our own publications too!)

Here's how it will work - we will give a short description of an architectural book, article or other publication and our readers can look them up, read them, and then return to the blog to comment on the reading. We hope to start a dialogue about architectural writings this way.

Book 1: We'll start with an easy one, Looking at Architecture in Canada by Alan Gowans.

This book provides an introduction to Canadian architectural history in a manner that is accessible for anyone. I must admit that it mainly deals with Quebec and Ontario, especially in terms of providing architectural examples, but the written expression is witty, which makes the book an enjoyable read. I think Gowans is best classified as a social historian who deals with architecture, which makes his perspective somewhat more interesting. With that said, my one criticism is that, for this book anyway, Canadian history begins with contact and the author does not deal with First Nations pre-contact construction, but rather refers to it as 'stone age'.

I'll let our readers take it from there! I hope to see comments soon!

And yet another Malcolmite article...

This article examines Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Paris, Ontario and literally dissects the building, which is the result of several building campaigns, attributing its various parts to their architects. The article's author, none other than the leader himself, Malcolm Thurlby, describes the church as, "one of the most interesting 19th-century Gothic Revival churches in Ontario."

If you are interested in churches, architecture, or the Gothic style be sure to read this article, which can be accessed at:

http://www.raisethehammer.org/article/1126/sacred_heart_roman_catholic_church_paris

Another new article brought to you by the Malcolmites!

A new article, written by Malcolm, can be found in the July 19th issue of Raise the Hammer.  The article examines St James's Anglican Church, Paris, Ontario, from its original 1839 building to the changes made by local Brantford architect John Turner in the 1860s to make it more ecclesiologically correct.  The article, like Candace and Malcolm's July 11th article John G. Howard's St James's Anglican Church, Dundas, is accessible to amateurs and professionals alike. 
It is definitely worth a read for anyone interested in the architecture of southern Ontario!

Read it online here: http://raisethehammer.org/article/1121/st_james%27s_anglican_church_paris

A New Article brought to you by the Malcolmites!

The July 11th issue of Raise the Hammer, an online magazine out of Hamilton, published a new article on the now demolished St. James's Anglican Church, Dundas by the architect John G. Howard. The church was an excellent example of the Commissioner's Gothic style in 1840's Ontario. The article, written by Malcolm and Candace, is intended for reader's of any architectural knowledge level and provides a full description of the evolution of Gothic ecclesiastical architecture in Ontario and details the life of the architect. Stay tuned to the Raise the Hammer site for more articles over the next few months.

Chatham's Downtown Churches

For those of you looking for a nice afternoon walk to take in some churches, here are some nice places in Chatham, Ontario.

(Left: First Presbyterian

Church, Chatham)

To begin Chatham has some amazing churches that are well worth checking out. To name a few, Christ Church (1861) (below R) has an interesting exterior and a lovely open-timber ceiling inside.

St. Andrew's (1869) (below L&R) incorporates two major building phases into one structure and has one of the most ornately beautiful timber ceilings in Ontario.

St. Joseph's (below) was designed by the Provincially-significant architect Joseph Connolly. Connolly, an Irish immigrant, designed mainly for the Catholics and is best known for The Church of Our Lady in Guelph. Finally, there is First Presbyterian Church (top left). This church and its architect, T.J. Rutley were the topic of my Master's thesis and therefore this massive Richardsonian Romanesque church is very special to me.