A small crack in the concrete shell of a defunct silo on Toronto’s waterfront created a spontaneous pinhole camera, capturing a perfect projection on its interior.
The crumbling silo is part of the old Canada Malting Co facility, which is currently undergoing construction as part of the Bathurst Quay neighbourhood plan. The building is closed off to the public, and the chance discovery was made by staff from the City of Toronto who documented their find on Twitter.
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‘It’s kind of fun to think about the fact that this has been occurring in that space for potentially decades, you know, and nobody’s probably ever been in there to take notice of it, says Brian Bowen, one of the city workers who made the discovery.
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The Canada Malting Silos was built in 1944 and are a local landmark, despite being abandoned in 1987. Since then the crumbling building has been the focus of several failed redevelopment proposals. They are now being rehabilitated as part of the Bathurst Quay public waterfront park, with the silos being reused as giant beacons, signalling across the waterfront.
Whether the camera obscura will be kept remains to be seen.
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