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Peter Coffinman

@petercoffman.bsky.social

1.8K followers 980 following 1K posts

Architectural Historian, History & Theory of Architecture @carleton.ca‬. https://carleton.ca/aah/people/peter-coffman/ Photographer. Pilgrim. Occasionally a writer. Chief of Staff to two cats. Photos mine unless otherwise credited.

carleton.ca

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Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 6d

It’s October, which means it’s time to turn our thoughts to places that #OughtToBeHaunted. Or maybe ARE haunted. I’m told the basement here is the spookiest place in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. But not, apparently, the most haunted. Stay tuned.

Lunenburg Academy, designed by Harry Mott, built 1894-95.

A slightly warm-tinted black & white photograph of an ornate, three-story wooden building. The lower two stories are white with pronounced dark trip around all of the many windows. The upper story is darker and has very large Serliana windows. The roof has a robust and picturesque skyline of towers and turrets, silhouetted against a menacingly dark sky with stormy grey clouds that seem to be in motion.

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Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 4h

“Kind”, that is. I meant “too kind”. Spelling is harder than teaching. Apparently. 😳

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Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 4h

You are too ind, Shirley! But that’s okay, don’t change!

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Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 4h

I was chuffed to see this new story on the @carletonfass.bsky.social website, profiling three @carleton.ca grads whom I had the privilege of teaching. Our grads are doing great work, and we’re very proud of them!
carleton.ca/fass/story/c...

Carleton Alumni Curate the Senate - Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences

Behind the scenes at the Senate of Canada, Carleton-trained curators are shaping how the nation’s history is told on Parliament Hill.

carleton.ca

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Reposted by Peter Coffinman

Stephen Fearing @sfearingmusic.bsky.social · 18h

Calling friends in Simcoe County and Central Ontario: Thursday next week, October 16th, I kick off my Ontario tour with The Sentimentals in Midland at Midland Cultural Centre. It's going to be a special night. Get your tickets now via my website or from Midland Cultural Centre. See you next week!

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Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 1d

"Meanwhile, administrators said they've been rethinking programming at the site, switching from a focus on Queen's undergraduates to inviting cohorts of learners from all levels and other schools."

Hmmmm…. 🤔
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Queen's University's U.K. castle to undergo regular inspections | CBC News

Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex was abruptly shut down in November 2023 after serious structural issues were discovered and the building was declared unsafe.

www.cbc.ca

Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 3d

If there’s one building in eastern Ontario that #OughtToBeHaunted, it’s Kingston Penitentiary. Haunted by the despair of its occupants, and the cries for justice of their victims. By those whose sentences extended beyond life.

A gloomy, dark stone space with a staircase that climbs up the centre before branching symmetrically to the left and right before ending at a mid-wall level walkway with a steel railing.

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Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 3d

I was amazed to see lots of them at St. Andrew’s Dam on a visit a couple of years ago. I didn’t even know that we had Pelicans in Canada!

Several pelicans crows around another that has a fish bulging from its beak.

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Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 4d

…by helping out a bit with this episode of the podcast...
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podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/c...

Could a legendary Ottawa music venue be resurrected?

Podcast Episode · This is Ottawa · 2025-09-22 · 21m

podcasts.apple.com

Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 4d

I’m proudly toting my new CBC “This Is Ottawa” tote bag! It was earned fair and square...
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Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 4d

Worked for me….
carleton.ca/aah/2025/hta...

HTA Podcast: Requiem for a Lost Building - Art and Architectural History

Toronto's historic St. Anne's Church was destroyed by fire, but violinist Anne Lindsay's new album gives us one last way to experience its glory

carleton.ca

Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 4d

“I’m too irresistible to need to say ‘please’”.

The face of a small kitten, with mottled colours and a nose that is bisected: one side light, the other side dark.

Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 4d

Thank you! The ingredients are simple enough: start with great Victorian architecture, add dawn sunlight and billowy clouds, mix thoroughly….

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Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 4d

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Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 4d

You can check out the blog I wrote about Dorothy (and its ghosts):
carleton.ca/aah/2025/vac...

Vacation in Canada, eh? 7: Dorothy, Alberta - Art and Architectural History

Human presence is fleeting, but traces linger. Alberta Pacific Grain Co. elevator, Dorothy, Alberta We have good reasons to choose Canadian vacation

carleton.ca

Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 4d

The locals (who number fewer than 10) don’t like it when you call Dorothy, Alberta, a ghost town. But I reckon it #OughtToBeHaunted. Spend some time there and you’ll start to hear the ghosts’ voices.

Two very simple white wooden churches are brightly sunlit against a rolling Badlands landscape beneath a dramatic sky with billowing clouds.

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Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 4d

October is World Blindness Awareness Month.

How do the blind experience, navigate, and enjoy architecture? Check out my podcasts with writer, theatre artist - and blind travel writer - Alex Bulmer.
#BlindnessAwarenessMonth
@blindcanadians.bsky.social

carleton.ca/aah/2024/hta...

HTA Podcast: Sensing Architecture, Part 1 - Art and Architectural History

Seen any interesting buildings lately? What if you literally couldn’t see them? What if you could only experience buildings through your other senses? How

carleton.ca

Reposted by Peter Coffinman

APTN News @aptnnews.bsky.social · 4d

Two Indigenous artists have made it to the final six for the prestigious 2025 Sobey Art Award.

The winning recipient will be chosen in November and comes with a $100,000 cash prize.

2 Indigenous artists on shortlist for Sobey Art Award

Two Indigenous artists have made it to the final six competing for the Sobey Art Award that comes with a $100,000 prize.

www.aptnnews.ca

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Reposted by Peter Coffinman

Stephen Fearing @sfearingmusic.bsky.social · 4d

The Empathist Sessions: I've known John Dymond since the mid-90s. I knew I wanted him on my latest album, The Empathist. I'm also thrilled to announce that he'll be joining me and The Sentimentals on our Ontario tour this month. Tickets via StephenFearing.com (stephenfearing.com)

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Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 4d

Speaking of theatres that #OughtToBeHaunted, here’s one that actually is.

The Empress Theatre, in Fort Macleod, Alberta, was built in 1912. I have it on the best authority (@jimmykeelo.bsky.social, no less) that ‘live’ performances aren’t all that happen here….

A small but stately theatre exterior, in dark brick with white accents. Signage above the multiple ground level doors reads “Empress”. protruding vertical bands of brick on either side simulate Classical pilasters.

The interior of a small theatre, showing rows of seats divided by two aisles, facing a raised stage with an array of stage lighting hanging from the ceiling above.

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Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 4d

There’s no one to play Cordelia in today’s version.

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Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 5d

While you’re in Lunenburg, don’t miss this place:
bsky.app/profile/pete...

Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 6d

Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 5d

Many theatre artists will tell you that theatre buildings are haunted. Stages are places of shadowy souls; beings who aren’t really there, but are palpably present. I’m not sure if the Theatre Royal in Barkerville, B.C. is haunted. But it #OughtToBeHaunted. 🎃 👻

View of a simple, wooden theatre space, looking towards the stage. Bench-like wooden seats face a stage at the far end. The entire space is empty except for one figure on the far right of the stage: a female figure in a full, Victorian dress.

Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 5d

Synaesthesia in action - very interesting, thank you!

Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 5d

I’m very excited to be participating in "Listening Critically in the City” on October 28.

To get my thoughts flowing, I’ll pose a question: how does sound affect your experience of the city?

That’s not a rhetorical question; I’d love to read some replies!

carleton.ca/fass/cu-even...

Healthy Cities | Listening Critically in the City: Music, Sound, Power and Identity in Ottawa - Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences

Location: Woodside Hall, Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, 290 Lisgar Street (parking entrance) In our highly visual culture, we sometimes forget that the city reverberates with sound and music that ...

carleton.ca

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Reposted by Peter Coffinman

Jeff Leiper 🛴🚲🚇♻️🚌📊 @jleiper.bsky.social · 6d

It was exciting to open, with Mayor Sutcliffe, Heritage chair Rawlson King, City staff and my staff (current and former!) the restored Hintonburg Pumping Station space - re-using the ruin in that location as a recreation and green space.

Mayor Sutcliffe and Chair King speak at the re-opening of the pumping station ruin / Le maire Sutcliffe et le président King s'expriment lors de la réouverture de la ruine de la station de pompage

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