Day 3 / 365

This is the Lougheed House in Calgary's beltline district. "Lougheed House, also known as Beaulieu, was home to Senator James Alexander Lougheed, Lady Isabella Hardisty Lougheed, their six children and staff. This grand sandstone prairie mansion was built in 1891 and enlarged in 1907; the impressive scale and the high quality of the design, materials and interior furnishings of the house reflected the wealth and prestige of the Lougheeds. An article in the Calgary Daily Herald claimed it was one of the finest residences in the Canadian northwest. In their day, when the population of this pioneer town was under 4,000, the Lougheeds were among Calgary's most influential citizens; they would remain so for decades. Their house was a political and social hub of this young and fast-growing prairie center, and received many renowned visitors. Lougheed House received important state visitors on many occasions. In 1912, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught and their daughter Princess Patricia stayed at the house. In 1919, the Lougheeds entertained the Prince of Wales at a garden party. Prince Edward visited again in 1923 and 1928. Other notable visitors included Prince George; Governor General Lord and Lady Byng; Prince Erik of Denmark (1928); Lord and Lady Willingdon; and the Right Honourable Stanley Baldwin. James Lougheed was appointed to the Senate in 1889, and worked to grant provincial status to Alberta in 1905. Following the Conservative victory in 1911, he held a number of key portfolios. He was knighted in 1916 for his role in establishing hospitals and services for Canadian veterans after the Great War. Successful in business and property development, Lougheed also supported the arts, building Calgary's Lyric and Grand Theatres." (http://www.lougheedhouse.com/)

I walk past the Lougheed House and its beautifully planted garden on my way to and from work every day. I am always drawn to the texture of the stone walls and the fact that it has a sense of history, which is rare to find in Calgary and I entirely miss quite a bit from Europe. The building with today's perfect photography sky looks quite dramatic as a vertorama (vertically stitched images to allow for more foreground AND more sky) with a 10mm lens, but it is taking me too long tonight to figure out how to fix the distortions. So, here is a less dramatic but also undistorted look. The cloud scattered sky nicely diffused the sunlight, creating a perfect naturally lit scene.

1/100s @ f/10.0 ISO 200