This is a documentary series that I recently began on the Fairbank Mansion, in Petrolia, Ontario. It was built in 1890 by John Henry Fairbank, an oil magnate and successful businessman in the area. It is a beautiful old home that boasts the amenities and character of the era of wealth and low building costs. The three story home has 6 bedrooms, 6 baths, 6 fireplaces, a billiards room, ballroom, library and full servants quarters. It was kept in the Fairbank family for several years, until it was no longer affordable and it was sold and its contents auctioned off. Since then, the house acted as an antique store, and was also utilized as apartments until a fire several years ago. Since then it has been vacant and the current owner has been working to return it to a livable condition. I was lucky enough to get permission to shoot the outside of the home, and here are a few shots from it. There are plans in motion to shoot the inside of it, though to my knowledge it is quite dilapidated as a result of fire and water damage.
If only I had a few million dollars laying around to buy it up and bring it back to the glory days...maybe someday! In one of the most well preserved and historically rich towns in Ontario, it's a shame that it sits slowly rotting and hasn't been historically designated.
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Looking upwards from the ground at the front of the house. You can see the intricate detailing in the trim around the front of the porch, and christmas lights left behind from days when the house was full. Looking towards the peak of the house you can see plywood covering the area where the fire broke out in the attic years ago. The top of the windows are charred black from it. Thankfully, the fire was stopped before it could consume the entire house. The entire interior of the house was built with brick as well, and prevented the inner walls from burning and collapsing. |
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| The porch with the front door in the background, which would have been the main entrance to the home. Storm doors cover the original oak doors. |
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| A window on the first floor of the beautiful turret. The top windows of the turret feature glass that was curved specially to fit. |
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| The turret on the south east corner of the home. |
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| The entire west side of the house. |
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| The front veranda, which as you can see is in very bad shape. The wrought iron that decorates the top of it is one of my favourite features of the house. |
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| A window on the east side. |
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| The veranda overgrown with vine. In the summer time the front of the house becomes hidden by overgrown shrubbery. |
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| A large window on the west side of this house. Indoors, this window would shine in on the landing of the oak staircase connecting the first floor to the second. |
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| Beautiful wrought iron on the front veranda, another example of the meticulous craftsmanship. |
