The Errant Æsthete

Trickhouse is a quarterly online curatorial project that likens itself, at least as far as its floorplan (and interface) are concerned, to a bordello. The above illustration (Ice Palace for the Winter Carnival at Montreal, Canada, Ilustration Harper’s Weekly, January 27, 1883), was taken from behind one of the closed doors:

Appearing like a mirage from a winter fairytale, the Ice Palace stood as the glittering centerpiece of Montreal Winter Carnivals in the Victorian era. Constructed from blocks of ice cut from the St. Lawrence River and lit by electric lamps each evening, the Palace mixed a feat of winter engineering with pure and indulgent fancy. This selection of images is gathered from the Ice Palace section of the Leisure Projects Collection.[via link]