On a walk today, I went past the Lougheed House, a sandstone mansion built in 1891 which is currently being restored. The chimneys have been rebuilt, and the roof freshly tiled. There is some very ornate ironwork mounted on the roof; I haven't seen anything quite like that before. Perhaps it's part of the eclectic Victorian style of architecture. There is a huge excavation to one side of the building, where they are reinforcing the foundations with steel beams. Sandstone tends to disintegrate over time. I would have taken photos, but the construction site is surrounded by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. The gardens next to the house were rehabilitated a few years ago, and the estate should be quite impressive when the house is finished.We walked across the street from the gardens to the former site of the Christian Science church, which was destroyed by fire a few years ago. Now it is just a large hole in the ground, overgrown with weeds. There was a large flock of starlings nesting there, sheltered from the wind.
