Something Old, Something New

We shape our buildings; thereafter, our buildings shape us.

Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

A research road trip for Mom took us to the town of Thorold. I was drawn to this building by its cupola, which seemed to me to be a cross between a lighthouse and a church bell tower. In fact, it is a combination bell tower and hose tower for the town's old fire hall, built in 1848. Having never heard of hose towers, I learned that their purpose was to provide a high hanging space for drying out the canvas water hoses after a fire so that they wouldn’t rot. Fascinating.

Neither of us had ever had a reason to visit Thorold before, much to our detriment because from our brief look today it seems like quite an interesting place with 46 designated historical buildings on the Heritage Thorold website. Certainly another road trip is needed to explore the town further and to see the fire hall's new roof.