Monolithic architecture against the winter sky

All lit up for the holidays
London, ON
November 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The Canada Life building stands sentinel over London's Victoria Park, an anchor in a city and a world where stability often seems to be in short supply.

Maybe it's an illusion and maybe it's real - it almost doesn't matter as I stand on the downtown sidewalk and try to take in the imposing facade of this iconic structure.

I worked here once - moved my family here in the dead of winter to follow an unknown path. At the time, I remember standing in this very spot wondering whether I had made the right decision.

It dawned on me that my entire professional life in this very alien-to-me town revolved around this one company, in this one building - which, frankly, was a bit of a frightening thought.

Thankfully, time often has a way of filling in the gaps. We grew roots here, and I eventually found other places to work, bigger stages to grow my career. The monolithic company that brought me here no longer seemed so monolithic. Or dominant.

The company's changed hands a few times since we got here, and the really big decisions are now made far, far away. No one knows what the future holds, for this or any other firm. Life is a lot less predictable than it was all those years ago.

But the architecture...well, some things are timeless, and we're glad they're still around to cast a warm glow over the city they helped build, over the place we’ve come to know as home.

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