Editing Luke

Mar 7, 2013

St. Patrick's Church Interior: Nave & Altar

After photographing the exterior of St. Patrick's church last spring, I was looking forward to finally coming back around to capture the interior of this Medicine Hat landmark at some point. Finally, I got the opportunity several weeks ago and had a brilliant time doing it. Not surprisingly, I shot so many pictures that I thought it would be best to divide them up into several posts.

Starting with the main portion of the church, the nave and altar, I also put together another photo set featuring all of the stained glass windows, and another featuring the interior of the bell tower. St. Patrick's is absolutely beautiful, and as I shot my images that morning I was fortunate to catch the rising sun as it bathed the altar in golden light.

I wouldn't say that the interior of St. Patrick's church is necessarily as dramatic as the exterior might suggest it would be, but it certainly feels rich and varied. The mixture of wood, marble, and glass creates a beautiful combination of textures, and I loved all of the details.

St. Patrick's has been modified over the years, and the biggest variation is the dropped wooden ceiling, which hides the original vaulted ceiling. In 1932 the wooden ceiling was installed to reduce heating costs, and I have to admit, I love the warm tone the wood adds to the interior. There's no question, St. Patrick's church is still an amazing location today, 100 years after it was built.

Mar 6, 2013

Ogilvie Flour Mill in Medicine Hat

This century old flour mill was constructed in 1912, and received a good deal of press last year when it celebrated its 100th anniversary. Sadly, that news has since been outweighed by the announcement at the end of January that the plant will now be closing in just a few months at the end of May.

Ogilvie has been the largest mill in Medicine Hat for decades. The company bought out the Lake of the Woods Milling Company in the 1950s and acquired the other famous mill in town, along with their Five Roses Flour brand. This mill underwent a massive expansion shortly after that.

Despite the success of this facility, the company is consolidating their efforts by moving production to their larger facility in Calgary. It goes without saying, but obviously it's a shame to lose such a defining business in the community. For the sake of my Around the Hat photo series and the century following the boom in the early 1910s, this seems particularly poignant in the timeline I've been documenting.