Standing at the cow’s head featured in yesterday’s post and looking north-west you’ll see today’s view. Mind you, you’ll have to visit Dublin at the height of summer to get the benefit of the bright blooms on show. The dome has attracted my attention on a few occasions but as these things go, I didn’t follow-up until yesterday’s bronze bovine tale got the better of me.
My assumption was that it was either a church or official building. However, when I looked on the Big G’s map I noticed the large L-shaped red building with the dome perched quite forlornly on the Mary Street wing. Further research proved me wrong. The building was neither a church or built for officialdom. The building was purpose-built as an upmarket department store and opened in 1905 as Todd Burn’s Department Store.
Even further research took me back to another Dublin Favourite. Come Here To Me tells us a lot more about the history, for apparently there was a store on the spot before which burned down in 1902. Seems in those day planning permission didn’t take very long to be arranged. If you take all things into consideration, to have the brick-built building completed by 1905, the project couldn’t have been hampered by too much red tape.
Anyway… please click here to read the lads from Come Here To Me’s account… you’ll be somewhat more the wiser. All I’d like to add is, if you enlarge the photo a bit, you’ll see a date etched out in the weather vane’s wing… and you’ll also notice a pigeon perched on the guard rail of the building in the foreground.
