The Lorraine

[JAS_Photo]

620-12th Avenue S.W.



JAS Photo on Flickr

Lorraine Block

The Lorraine was built on the edge of the residential estate district of Calgary in 1912. The land was purchased from Sir James Lougheed whose famous Mansion "Beaulieu" is nearby. The Ranchmen's Club which was built at about the same time on land procured also through the Senator is just a block away.

The building features an entrance portico and three tier brick balcony and extensive use of terracotta ornamentation with busts, medallions, window sills and cornices all made of terracotta; rare in Calgary in 1913.

In January of 1998, it suffered a major fire caused by careless smoking. The tenants at the time were largely students, art students and artists. Many lost everything in the fire. The fire, combined with the cold caused a major rift in the buildings brick structure. It sat empty and neglected for many months before being bought and and completely restored. It received its historical designation in 2002.

A five photo handheld HDR rendered in Oloneo

[QuietOne]

Wonderful old building. You've brought out the detail of the bricks beautifully.

[edG]

nicely done JAS - damn shame about the fire, I'll bet they lost some of the original architectural details/fixtures in the interior.

[JAS_Photo]

Thanks, QuietOne and Ed. Yes, I think much of the interior was lost, Ed