Paris

Many buildings from this era suffer from an excess of ornament, but the more beautiful buildings done in this style are truly magnificent. The Opera House in Paris by Garnier is a good example. It is a huge building with an extravagant and avant guard floor plan. Each wing of the building is calculated to give maximum visual impact and to create a sense of occasion both inside and out.

Blois 1635

Francois Mansard

This is one of Mansard's finest works showing the grand simplicity of the French Classical style. The massing of the blocks is masterful. Like the Coliseum, the ground floor has the Doric order, the second level has the Ionic, and the third or attic story has a truncated version of the Corinthian order.

The crowning feature of this design is the high pitched roof with two angles broken by dormers that bears his name.

Belleville

Just across the street is a smaller example with iron cresting, arched dormers, a Mansard roof, and ornate cornice brackets. The windows within the Mansard roof have heavy round-headed cornices and brackets.

The walls are undulating and rooms are intricately placed with maximum access to balconies. Many large second and third floor windows are placed for a good view. The house is not as grand as Glanmore, but it has all the detailing found in the larger Second Empire buildings. The first floor has a long covered sun porch on the street side, like a Parisian café.

Belleville

Glanmore is a residence built for J.P.C Phillips, a wealthy banker, in 1882. The house is opulent, ornate, and absolutely dripping with decorative molding. The entire periphery of the roof is trimmed with iron cresting. The Mansard roof has arched dormers on dichromatic slate shingles; the roof cornice has embellished brackets. Windows and doors have hood molds, label stops and keystones. The porch has iron cresting, keystones and elaborate columns.

The house is beautifully maintained and remains relatively unchanged.

Seymor House Madoc

Not too far up the street at Madoc there is another Second Empire house with a similar dichromatic mansard roof. The roof tiles are slate, and have the same pattern as the example in Dundas below (to be added)

The owners of the Seymour House have done a good job updating the windows but still maintianing the stylke of the building.

Peterborough

This is a very rare example of rowhouses built in the Second Empire style. Each unit has a second storey bay window, at least one fireplace, as can be seen by the chimneys, and a separate entrance.

The curved Mansard roof on this central pavilion has a dormer and two roundels. Under this is an entablature and an ornate cornice with heavy brackets. A central bay window and two high sash windows with coloured lintels completes the second floor of the pavilion.

Across the front of the building is a long, covered porch held in place by Doric colonettes. The colour scheme accentuates the design.

Mallorytown

This Second Empire mansion is in the midst of being remodeled. It has a tall tower between two projecting bays. Both tower and bays have Mansard roofs with high round-headed dormer windows. There is an elaborate roof cornice with large cornice brackets.

The second floor has tall segmentally arched windows with central stone keystones.

The central tower is square with an iron balcony atop the wooden entrance. The left wing of the building has a similar wooden porch.

Waterdown

This brick building in Waterdown is in much better repair. The roof has dormers with very small windows but large cornice returns. Under the roof is a large cornice with heavy cornice brackets.

The second floor has segmentally arched windows with eyebrow cornices and large keystones. The size and quality of the glass in the sash windows suggests that it is not original. There is a band or string course separating the first and second floors.

The front door has a large segmental transom, that is one solid piece of glass. The doors are also glass, which suggests that they are not original either. Nonetheless, this is a very well kept example of an urban Second Empire home.

Paris

Paris

Simcoe

Like the example from Mallorytown, this building has a tall, square tower. The roof of the tower has high iron cresting and an intricate cornice over a Mansard roof. On four sides of the tower there are round dormers. The roof cornice is very large with heavy cornice brackets.

The main body of the building is quite Italianate, with a large cornice, corner brackets, and brick molding under the cornice. There are hoodmolds, keystones, and label stops over the high windows and large brick quoins on all corners. A large lunette over the solid, wooden, front door has an agraffe. Finally, on the right side, there is an arcaded veranda with ornate molding.

The building is of brick with wood detailing, and it is beautifully maintained.

Simcoe

Also in Simcoe is a large residence that, because of the tower, might easily be taken for an Italian Villa style. A closer look, however, will show that there are no elements of Italian design here other than the square tower. There is a large balcony on the tower over a veranda by the front door as opposed to the very much smaller balconies or even balconettes found in the Villa style. The windows are largely segmental with simple cornices. A bay window on the main building has iron cresting, something not found in Italianate designs.

The most obvious difference, however, is the Mansard roofs and dormers that are strictly French. Even the decorated cornices and cornice brackets have a French flare.

Sault Ste. Marie

Here is a vernacular, wooden version of the Second Empire style. The Mansard roof has dormers, but instead of shingles, the roof is finished in wood siding. The tower takes the form of a wooden turret, and the iron cresting is also of wood. Under the turret is the opening to a balcony with a wooden balustrade.

On the street level there is a bay window with small pediment-shaped cornices and a large roof. The other first floor windows also have pedimented cornices as well as painted shutters.

The main entrance is a glassed in porch or sunroom. This house has all the elements of the Second Empire house, but everything is made of wood.

Simcoe

Here is a completely different kind of Second Empire building used for commercial purposes. The roof has the standard Mansard slope and dormers. In this case there are four dormers, two of which are roundels.

Beneath the roof are dentils and a row of chevrons, then another row of dentils making three decorative bands all in brick.

The second storey windows have round-headed arches and keystones. These windows are extremely high, and suggest that a lot of light was needed in the interior.

On the ground floor are segmentally arched windows, also with keystones, and dripmolds. The pilasters separating the bays of the windows have brick molding.

This is a very intriguing building.

Brantford

Now the residences for the Brantford Campus of Laurier University, this building is an example of arenovated 1880 Second Empire style. The building is white brick constructed using the Flemish bond pattern with grey brick detailing. Above each window are ornamental dripmoulds with keystones and labels stops. Five horizontal bands (or string courses) accentuate the design.

The roof is a Mansard style with dormers; the central dormer has an elliptical pediment. As a federal building, it lacks the iron cresting and other fancy ornament found in residential applications.

Dundas

Also in Simcoe is a large residence that, because of the tower, might easily be taken for an Italian Villa style. A closer look, however, will show that there are no elements of Italian design here other than the square tower. There is a large balcony on the tower over a veranda by the front door as opposed to the very much smaller balconies or even balconettes found in the Villa style. The windows are largely segmental with simple cornices. A bay window on the main building has iron cresting, something not found in Italianate designs.

The most obvious difference, however, is the Mansard roofs and dormers that are strictly French. Even the decorated cornices and cornice brackets have a French flare.