Monday, March 14, 2011

The Livery/ My World

View of The Livery from the street

In the centre of Goderich - a small town on Lake Huron - The Livery was once a horse stable. It's now a theatre that features quality dramas, musicals, comedies, and historical presentations.

  
Sign outside advertising Goderich Celtic Roots, an annual festival

The Goderich Little Theatre purchased it and in 1983 the building opened as the Goderich's Arts Centre, which in addition to housing a theatre is also home to the annual Goderich Celtic Roots Festival.


Side view of back end of The Livery

The back section of The Livery - erected in 1849 - was originally a tack shop. Evidence of it's 19th century origins are still obvious here.

The front part of The Livery was built in 1878 of Maitland River Stone as an addition to the tack shop. But when cars took the place of horses at the turn of the century, The Livery became a car dealership... until it was slated for demolition.

Thank goodness for the foresight of the local architect who believed the building would make a great theatre!



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37 comments:

Jidhu Jose said...

nice shot and descriptions

Lois Evensen said...

What a wonderful use for a beautiful old structure.

Penelope Notes said...

Thank goodness is right! Not only do most historical buildings become more beautiful with age, they give our fairly young country a sense of its beginnings. How appropriate that a facility for horses would later house cars. The theatre, however, is the best idea yet. What better than a place of such character for actors to perform. :)

Small City Scenes said...

Wonderful that the building was saved. It is a beauty. MB

Suburban Girl said...

What a great interesting building. So glad it found a new use.

Kate said...

I rejoice when I see that buildings are recycled rather than destroyed. This building deserves to be recycled, and how nice to be able to have actors horse around a little bit in this structure!!

Judy said...

I love seeing these old rock buildings and the history is wonderful to know. I hope they will be cared for and put to use forever.

Martha Z said...

I'm glad they found a new use for this interesting building, it would have been a shame to tare it down.

Darla said...

How great that it wasn't demolished. It is quite a handsome structure.

Darla

RedPat said...

Glad it was saved and re-purposed! Fabulous building.

Anonymous said...

here, here for that architect! It's a lovely stone building, and inspired an interesting thought: how would our world be different if we still relied on horses for transportation?

Unknown said...

And probably a tribute to the Scots stone masons who worked their art in Canada. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Photo Cache said...

i applaud those who find uses for old structures other than demolish them and build new ones.

have you seen a play or show there?

Paulie said...

I love it when older things get preserved and find a new use.

Jack said...

Very nice. A good candidate for adaptive re-use. I am always glad to see wonderful old buildings getting another chance.

Barbara said...

A fine building, I am glad to read it is being used as an arts centre and not left to go to ruin.

eileeninmd said...

What a wonderful use for this old building. Great post and photos.

Karen said...

It's a lovely old building. I like Goderich, has a great beach and good fishing on the Maitland!

Kay L. Davies said...

Wonderful to see an old livery stable cum car dealership rescued from demolition and saved for posterity. Such super photos, too.
-- K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

genie said...

I agree....thank goodness the architect came along and saw fit to keep this building and turn it into a theatre. I bet it turn out beautifully. You will laugh but I did not now what a livery was until I moved here to rural Virginia. On the Atlantic Ocean of south Florida we had no liveries. The structure itself stands alone in it beauty.

genie said...

I agree....thank goodness the architect came along and saw fit to keep this building and turn it into a theatre. I bet it turn out beautifully. You will laugh but I did not now what a livery was until I moved here to rural Virginia. On the Atlantic Ocean of south Florida we had no liveries. The structure itself stands alone in it beauty.

Sylvia K said...

I love it when wonderful old buildings like this are saved and put to a new, fun use! This is perfect! Terrific captures as always! Delightful post for the day! Hope you have a wonderful week!

Sylvia

Michelle said...

Nice that the building is being used today.

Viola said...

What a beautiful buildning, and old. You have pictures of so many wonderful buildnings, I like it! :)

Indrani said...

The structure seems strong. great reuse.

Randy said...

What a wonderful stone building. Must have house quite a few horses.

Misfit in Paradise said...

It would have been a great sadness to lose such a wonderful building.

Unknown said...

the stone walls are beautiful. glad that this building wasn't demolished. great shots.

Joyful said...

A nice old building and an interesting bit of history.

Anonymous said...

very nice and interesting posting

Anonymous said...

What a pretty building! And you have a new look for your blog too. Nice!

Cezar and Léia said...

Very interesting, I'm also learning great things with blog friends, thanks so much!
I love the stones, this place is wonderful!The Festival Celtic sign is really cute!
Léia

Walk in New York said...

belles batisses et j'aime bien l'enseigne

Publicity ;o) Every Friday (and the Weekend), The Challenge "Walk In The Street Photography"

L. Neusiedler said...

it's simply great when people open their eyes and see the beauty of some of these buildings and they put them again to a good (and artistic!) use!

Halcyon said...

I love this old building. Glad it's found a new use!

Rose said...

I sure enjoyed seeing all the views of this...I love old buildings, and am fond of any building made of stone...even if it was a chicken coop I would probably love it.

Anonymous said...

What a delightful looking theatre!

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.