Saturday, April 9, 2011

You've got (Art Deco) mail!

Canada Post has released the designs for a series of five postage stamps, to go on sale June 9, that feature five Art Deco structures from across Canada.

Stamp designer Ivan Novotny of Taylor | Sprules says: “Many of the great (Art) Deco buildings across this country have very distinct silhouettes that were defined by the principles of the movement. It’s the commonly overlooked extraordinary details that adorn these great spires that demand a closer look.”

The five buildings featured in the series are:
  • MONTREAL: Cormier House – Ernest Cormier (architect and engineer); 1930–31
  •  OTTAWA: Supreme Court of Canada – Ernest Cormier (architect and engineer); 1939
  • TORONTO: The R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant – Thomas C. Pomphrey (designer, of engineering firm Gore, Nasmith and Storrie); initial phase designed 1932–1937 and opened 1941
  • REGINA: Dominion Building – Reilly and Portnall (architects), 1935–37
  • VANCOUVER: Burrard Bridge – George Lister Thornton Sharp (architect), 1930–32

If I was asked to add five buildings to turn this into a top-ten list, I would recommend:
  • QUEBEC CITY: Price Building – Ross and MacDonald, 1929–30
  • TORONTO: Garden Court Apartments – Page and Steele, 1939–42
  • CALGARY: (former) Bank of Nova Scotia (Eighth Avenue West) – John M. Lyle, 1929
  • VANCOUVER: Marine Building – McCarter and Nairne, 1929–1930
  • VANCOUVER: Vogue Theatre – Kaplan and Sprachman, 1940–41

What great Canadian Deco buildings would YOU add to the list?

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