Gooderham Building - Architecture and Art

Architecture and Art

The Gooderham Building is well known both for its narrow wedge shape and for the mural on its back wall. The Flatiron Mural by renowned Canadian artist Derek Michael Besant uses a trompe l'oeil effect to not only make the wall appear to have more windows than it does, but to also give it a more mobile effect by having its edges 'fluttering' away where they are not 'tacked' down. It is a picture of the Perkins Building, which is located directly across the street.

The building has a Romanesque cornice and frieze above the arched windows on the 4th floor. The main entrance located on Wellington Street makes use of a French Gothic archway. The foundation is made of sandstone. The steep copper roof has eight gable dormers: four on the south facade and four on the north facade.

With its linear pattern of fenestration distributed equally on all floors, it conveys a light feeling of a corporate office building. The Gooderham Building is set on a high foundation that reaches half a storey above the ground. These days it is still being used as an office building. The 1st floor uses rectangular sliding windows on the south side, but it has fixed windows on the north side. Conversely, on the 2nd floor, it uses fixed windows on the south side and rectangular sliders on the north side. On the 3rd, 4th and 5th floors, the Gooderham Building has single-hung and arch-hung windows.

The Gooderham Building has three entrances. Entrance doors are in pairs, and have wooden frames for windows. There is a small pub in the basement with a large patio around the south side of the building. Entrances for the pub are located in the basement and the 1st floor. The main entrance for the Flatiron Building is located on the north side, and is made up of fanciful pinnacle dormers and arch frames with French Gothic styling. Beyond the pub, the building is open to view from Monday to Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.