GN's CanAm 2022 Trip

The following day we loaned a modern daily from Johnny and set out on a day trip 



This is 'Taliesin East' - a little over a 2 hour trip for us 



Its yet more work of the very talented Frank Lloyd Wright - it's been on our list for many years 



The 800 acre estate comprises of many buildings that included his school of architecture, his personal residence, farmstead along with many other dwellings 



We booked a walking tour and our first building visit was the school 





Everything but everything carried the FLW detailed design ethic  






















The theater is currently being restored hence it was out of bounds for the tour 





We headed from the school on a route past other buildings of the estate 

















Our tour then carried onwards to the estate farm 





Before heading towards FLW own residence 







All 37,000 sq ft of it 





















































Very sadly the property was marred with tragedy - the scene of a multiple murder in FLW absence in 1914 with Wright losing his mistress, the property was also set alight by the perpetrator. Wright rebuilt the property with incorporated modifications but in 1925 the property once again fell victim to fire caused by an electrical fault - the house was again rebuilt by FLW in the same year. 



With our return to the visitor center our trip was completed and we headed back home 



Which took in the odd old motor spot 



Along with some signage 







Stop signs were all over when I first started to drive decades ago - now very rarely seen in the UK but very much commonplace in the US 



Roundabouts are a fairly new thing for our US friends 



Next up is some more car stuff 

This truck was for sale but it just didn't look right to me - secondly he wanted close to $65k for it 
























Now hands up I'm not much of a fan of rods but that doesn't prevent me from admiring the skills, dedication, time, effort, money & passion that some owners extend to and this 1929 Chevrolet is probably one of the nicest executed rods that I've seen in a long time 









Not only did it look good 



It sounded fantastic 



I got the handed the keys for the Camero for the drive home which firmly planted a smile on my face 



The trip isn't over just yet and we headed back to Toronto the following day - more soon 

So the following day we said our goodby's to the family and flew from Chicago and back to Toronto 



And a few observations from the airport 



Yep its the real thing and intended for use - not some kids fun ride 



And here's a sign that I have never come across before 



And here is a piece of history - deleted and never to be seen again - well maybe in few museums and less advanced countries but in the developed world now a thing of the past 



And I'm amazed at what you can knock purchase out of a vending machine in today's world 



We travelled from the airport and into the city by train - the line approach to the airport stands very high above that of the highways 



But eventually the line descends to the city level 
 


Toronto is also scaled by architecture and is an expanding city  



Hotel located 



Again we find our room a number of floors up but only 17 floors this time 



We are heading out for the evening so just some general shots as we head over to our waterfront location



To be expected the city holds a bus route system



But also a tram / light railway system - talk about turning back time virtually every city & large town had its own tram system in the UK until the 1950's - The reintroduction of such networks worldwide demonstrates the requirement for user friendly light rail systems 



Nice to see that it's not just the UK road network falling apart





There's some pretty large scale redevelopment of the city 







Another one of Sharon's places of work for a brief period








Just when you thought that the concrete piers that hold up the A4 up at Chiswick / Hogarth roundabout in London were in a bad state of repair 







Waterfront reached 



I told Sharon that I was taking her out for the evening to eat and joked that it was the burger vans when we walked past them 



But then walked around the corner to our intended restaurant destination - Upon knowing that we were heading into Toronto jpsmit made contact in the hope that we could catch up personally whilst we in the city - Hence we spent a few hours with JP & his wife Tori over a very pleasant dinner - Unsurprisingly we all had a great deal in common and lots to talk about - The offer was extended should they find their selves in the UK 



More to follow soon 

Viewed it several years ago along with the Glasgow School of Art, then visited 'Blackwell House' in the Lake District which is an absolute gem 

It is amazing the school of art survived two disastrous fires. I used to drive past it every day going to work (years before the fires) and it is a lovely building.  Haven't done Blackwell House although we have been in Windermere dozens of times as it is a short drive away so maybe next time.

Much of the sites industrial history has been retained but it's a huge collection of buildings that have all been converted 













The original fire pumps for the site had been retained and placed for display 









With many of the retail outlets displaying various items of the industrial past 



With internal walls just left as found 





This truck was left as a display piece in one corner of the yard 



It's not seen the road for many years



There are various art installations dotted around the complex 







Wondering completed we headed off back to the hotel but I made various photo spots along the route 



Yes - That's just $2 million + of your hard earned Candian dollars for a new waterfront Toronto apartment (£1.3 million) 

 

Meanwhile just down the road from your $2 million dollar apartment 



Along with Redpath  - A huge & historically based waterfront sugar refinery
 






Meanwhile by recommendation we called at the liquor store 



We just couldn't leave Canada without taking something Candain back home to the UK 



Decisions, decisions   

A few more posts then I can get this thread wrapped up - I have a few other threads to update that have happened since we returned from this trip 

To my previous email, this just showed up on my facebook feed - the Brewer's Retail in the 60s.



This is a photo of a display of the fine selection of products that the Brewers' Retail Stores offered in the 60's, all contained in the same generic stubby bottles.
Fill out your selection on a form at an in-store kiosk, sign it and pay the cashier, and your order would magically appear though a little window rolling down a wheeled conveyor belt.

As an aside I once met Richard Oland patriarch of the Oland family and owner of Moosehead Brewery - he was part of the group that designed the stubby bottles that they used in those days for every type of beer. (Then and now the Brewer's Retail has one of the most effective recycling programs in the world, recycling 97% of their product) Of course the days of the stubby are long gone but they are missed. The perceptive among you will know that the only brewery that uses stubbies (that I know of) is Red Stripe in Jamaica.

Quick googlefu

The Jamaican beer company began sourcing its bottle manufacturing from a company in Canada in 1972. At that time, most Canadian beers used the “stubby” bottles, wide-body bottles with short necks, which is how Red Stripe adopted the form. From a production standpoint, the bottle was ideal. “It has a low center of gravity,” says Grace Silvera, Red Stripe’s international marketing director. “The bottle does not topple on the production line, has better stability and allows the production line to run faster.” The company also discovered added benefits of the stubby bottle. “The bottle’s shape is such that it takes less space on the delivery units and in refrigerators, and when chilled, it retains the temperature longer.”

so yes there is a connection.

Incidently, in Ontario beer bottles have an average refill reuse lifespan of 15 times.

Some further spots enroute back to the hotel 



Sadley much like every other major developed city around the world Toronto also carries the homeless issue

















And finally back to the hotel - we are out again this evening so it's a late light lunch - and small snooze for Mrs GN before we head back out 



















I loved the way in which that they had managed to retain the period building then build around and over it to incorporate it into the design 







Well would you look at that someone's built a huge tower in the middle of the city 

















Right this tower thing then 'The CN Tower' 553.3 metres or 1,815.3 feet high - opened in 1976 - The foundation alone contains 7,000 cubic metres of concrete with the main tower constructed from a further 40,500 cubic metres of concrete - its variation in true vertical accuracy from top to bottom is a mere 29mm - pretty amazing given that the tower was constructed before the days laser levels & GPS etc - For the 32 years it stood as the world's tallest freestanding structure and still ranks 9th in today's world - Myself & Sharon are heading up there - I hope they serve food when we get to the top I'm going to be starving climbing up that staircase 

More real soon