View allAll Photos Tagged geometricpattern
A closeup of the simple geometric weave of a household glider, illuminated by the warmth of the evening sun, reveals striking patterns and colors, as well as several missed weaves.
Collection: A. D. White Architectural Photographs, Cornell University Library
Accession Number: 15/5/3090.01501
Title: Cairo. Egyptian Home (Interior, Staircase)
Photograph date: ca. 1865-ca. 1889
Location: Africa: Egypt; Cairo
Materials: albumen print
Image: 16.4173 x 11.1417 in.; 41.7 x 28.3 cm
Style: Modern Egyptian
Provenance: Gift of Andrew Dickson White
Persistent URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1813.001/5tqj
There are no known U.S. copyright restrictions on this image. The digital file is owned by the Cornell University Library which is making it freely available with the request that, when possible, the Library be credited as its source.
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Description:
Plate XXV: Pompeian No. 3 (Collection of mosaics from Pompeii and the Museum at Naples. - From the author's sketches.)
Owen Jones (British designer, 1809-1874)
1856 57 cm (page height) x 39 cm (page width)
From: Jones, Owen. The grammar of ornament ; Illustrated by examples from various styles of ornament. One hundred and twelve plates, Folio ed., London: B. Quaritch, 1910
See MCAD Library's catalog record for this book.
Style period: Islamic, Spain (Nasrid period)
Title/Subject: Alhambra: Mexuar (Concil Chamber)
View: interior, detail view of décor showing calligraphic stucco work and glazed ceramic tile mosaic in geometric patterns
Date: 14th century CE
Classification: Architecture; mosaic
Work type: buildings, houses, official residences, palaces; building divisions, interior spaces, halls
Location: Granada, Andalusia, Spain
Image_Filename: ISP011
original photograph by Allan T. Kohl
Rights: Creative Commons (Use with attribution)
See how the oriel windows have sheet metal panels with embossed images of torches and festoons.
The frieze of brickwork beneath the cornice displays a "diaper pattern," ugh. Everybody should have stopped using "diaper" in decoration contexts as soon as the word acquired its associations with poop and pee. Shame on English speakers, for having allowed a "diaper" homonymy to develop.
I happily truncate steeples anytime I can.
I think some kind of sculptural metal ornament ought to be hung upon the plain expanse of bricks at the center of the building.
I see you admiring that Honda Accord from model years 1997-2000. Its color is "Heather Mist Metallic."
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In downtown Racine, Wisconsin, on April 25th, 2021, the former Frank Lintner Building (built 1903) on the east side of Wisconsin Avenue, north of 7th Street, a "contributing property" in the Historic Sixth Street Historic District, 88000263 on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Racine (7014308)
• Racine (county) (1002815)
Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• apartments (300004063)
• architectural metalwork (300411548)
• architectural ornament (300378995)
• brick (clay material) (300010463)
• brickwork (works by material) (300015333)
• cafés (restaurants) (300005176)
• commercial buildings (300005147)
• corbels (300003610)
• cornices (300001788)
• diaper patterns (300010144)
• embossed works (visual works) (300389856)
• festoon (motif) (300167386)
• friezes (300123582)
• geometric patterns (300165213)
• historic buildings (300008063)
• historic districts (300000737)
• lampposts (300101536)
• light brown (300127503)
• mixed use (300112289)
• Neoclassical (300021477)
• olive green (300129180)
• oriel windows (300002954)
• pale yellow (300127919)
• sedans (300227972)
• sheet metal (300223016)
• show-windows (300002970)
• storefronts (300002533)
• three-story (300163795)
• torches (lighting devices) (300037652)
Wikidata items:
• 25 April 2021 (Q69306031)
• 1900s in architecture (Q16482507)
• 1903 in architecture (Q2744826)
• 1990s in transport (Q81720241)
• April 25 (Q2531)
• April 2021 (Q61313052)
• contributing property (Q76321820)
• Historic Sixth Street Business District (Q16976410)
• Honda Accord (Q463632)
• Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI Combined Statistical Area (Q110495108)
• National Register of Historic Places (Q3719)
• neoclassical architecture (Q54111)
• parallel parking (Q527129)
• Treaty of Chicago (1833) (Q87256769)
Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Dwellings—Wisconsin (sh85040266)
• Grids (Crisscross patterns) (sh2006005408)
• Sheet-metal work (sh85121251)
• Torches in art (sh2005002495)
Mural entitled "Visionary Reality Threshold" by Saya Woolfark aka @sayawoolfalkstudio seen at 1005 Walnut Street in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Drone photo by James aka @urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
Edit by Teee.
Starting with lightly hammered sterling hoops, I added a beaded pattern around the edge using tiny seed beads and nymo thread. I chose a muted palette of earthy tones.
Styles & attitudes ...
Some glittering pieces of trend
Miss ZENDAYA COLEMAN
#pfw16 # #paris #zenayacolemen #glitter #brillant #metaliccolors #strasses #fashion #trend #geometricpatterns #geometry #streetstyleparis #streetstyle #mode #skirts #navystyle #colors #beauties #stylishpeople #
At Hearst Castle, history and artistry meet craftsmanship in the ongoing restoration of its magnificent ceilings, such as the one featured here. This intricately carved coffered ceiling combines geometric patterns and floral motifs, drawing inspiration from Moorish and Renaissance designs. Rich in detail, the deep red and gold hues speak to its opulent origins, while the restoration work breathes new life into this historic masterpiece. Each starburst and floral pattern is delicately sculpted, reflecting the grandeur that William Randolph Hearst envisioned for his legendary estate.
The ceiling's restoration showcases the careful preservation of Hearst Castle’s architectural heritage. Expert artisans work to retain the original texture and style, ensuring that future visitors will continue to be captivated by its historic charm. These ceilings are emblematic of Hearst’s love for European art and culture, and the restoration efforts highlight the estate’s commitment to preserving this artistic legacy.
Visitors to Hearst Castle are offered a rare glimpse into the painstaking process of historic restoration, with an emphasis on maintaining authenticity. This ceiling, like many others throughout the estate, serves as a symbol of Hearst's passion for design and history. With each visit, one can appreciate the careful attention to detail and dedication that has gone into keeping these ceilings timeless, ensuring they remain a highlight of any tour.
Colorful diamond shapes embroidered on taupe linen make a colorful statement.
I embroidered rows of colorful diamond shapes on linen, and mounted the embroidery on a brass circle to give the pendant weight so it would hand nicely from a chain. I backed the embroidery with soft purple ultra suede, and created a beaded bezel around the embroidery to frame the pendant using tiny metallic bronze seed beads. The pendant hangs from a brass chain with teal beaded accents at the ends. The chain is threaded through an ultra suede loop on the back of the pendant and the closure is a brass lobster claw clasp.
Dimensions: The pendant is 1.625 inches in diameter. The chain measures 18 inches overall, including the clasp.
Geometric pattern of the famous glazed bricks friezes found in the apadana (Darius the Great's palace) in Susa (Shush) by french archeologist Marcel Dieulafoy and brought in Paris. Such polychromic friezes used to decorate the walls of the Achaemenian king's palaces in their capitales of Shush, Ecbatan, and Persepolis.
Pavillon Sully at the Louvre museum, Paris, France, March 2010
Motifs géométriques décorant les fameuses frises de céramique en briques cuites à glaçures trouvées dans le tell de l’Apadana (palais de Darius le Grand) à Suse (Shush) par l’archéologue français marcel Dieulafoy et ramenées à Paris. De telles frises polychromiques décoraient les façades des palais royaux achéménides dans leurs capitales d’Ecbatane, Suse et Persépolis.
Pavillon Sully, musée du Louvre, Paris, France, Mars 2010
Observation point of Ismail I.
Royal Chamber.
Palacio del Generalife (1302-1324).
Granada, Andalucía, Spain.
Plate XXXIX: Moresque (Moorish) No. 1, Moresque ornament from the Alhambra, varieties of interlaced ornaments. (1-5, 16, 18 are borders on mosaic dados. 6-12,14. Plaster ornaments, used as upright and horizontal bands enclosing panels on the walls. 13,15. Square stops in the bands of the inscriptions. 17. Painted ornament from the Great Arch in the Hall of the Boat.)
Owen Jones (British designer, 1809-1874)
1856 57 cm (page height) x 39 cm (page width)
From: Jones, Owen. The grammar of ornament ; Illustrated by examples from various styles of ornament. One hundred and twelve plates, Folio ed., London: B. Quaritch, 1910
See MCAD Library's catalog record for this book.
The Fujairah Mosque, formally known as the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, is a major Islamic place of worship in the Emirate of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. Completed in 2015, it is one of the largest mosques in the UAE and a landmark of Islamic architecture in the country’s eastern region.
Collection: Cornell University Collection of Political Americana, Cornell University Library
Repository: Susan H. Douglas Political Americana Collection, #2214 Rare & Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library, Cornell University
Title: Theodore Roosevelt "Progressive Battle Flag" Portrait Textile, 1912
Political Party: Progressive
Election Year: 1912
Date Made: 1912
Measurement: Handkerchief: 22 x 24 in.; 55.88 x 60.96 cm
Classification: Textiles
Persistent URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1813.001/6017
There are no known U.S. copyright restrictions on this image. The digital file is owned by the Cornell University Library which is making it freely available with the request that, when possible, the Library be credited as its source.
The beach spent all day drawing perfect lines, and honestly? Respect the commitment. Evening light at South Beach turns an ordinary snow fence into a geometry lesson nobody asked for but everyone should see — parallel shadows marching across the dune face until the sand itself starts to ripple and the whole thing goes beautifully wrong.
Plate XXXIV: Arabian No. 4 (Portion of an illuminated copy of the "Koran". These designs were traced from a splendid copy of the Koran in the Mosque El Barkookeyeh, founded A.D. 1384)
Owen Jones (British designer, 1809-1874)
1856 57 cm (page height) x 39 cm (page width)
From: Jones, Owen. The grammar of ornament ; Illustrated by examples from various styles of ornament. One hundred and twelve plates, Folio ed., London: B. Quaritch, 1910
See MCAD Library's catalog record for this book.
Back in Frankfurt, the journey continues beneath the glass roof of the airport railway station. The curved structure, repeating lines and reflections create an almost abstract view, with the illuminated strips drawing the eye toward the center. After days of open skies and Southern landscapes in Georgia, this feels like a complete change of scenery. A geometric final impression on the way home.
Zurück in Frankfurt geht die Reise unter dem Glasdach des Flughafenbahnhofs weiter. Die geschwungene Konstruktion, die vielen Wiederholungen und Spiegelungen lassen die Ansicht fast abstrakt wirken, während die Lichtlinien den Blick zur Mitte führen. Nach den weiten Landschaften und dem blauen Himmel in Georgia ist das ein deutlicher Szenenwechsel. Ein geometrischer letzter Eindruck auf dem Weg nach Hause.
Gallileo und Silberturm stehen in diesem Ausschnitt dicht beieinander. Licht trifft auf eine der Fassaden, während die andere fast vollständig im Schatten liegt. Fenster wiederholen sich über das ganze Bild, doch an den Gebäudekanten ändern sie ihren Rhythmus. So entstehen scheinbar mehr Flächen, als tatsächlich zu sehen sind. Erst beim zweiten Blick wird klar, wie viel diese zwei Hochhäuser miteinander anfangen.
English:
Gallileo and the Silver Tower stand close together in this tightly framed view. Light falls across one façade while the other remains almost entirely in shadow. Windows repeat throughout the image, yet their rhythm changes at the buildings’ edges. The result suggests more surfaces than are actually there. Only on a second look does the interplay between these two towers become clear.
Palmettes and geometric pattern of the famous glazed bricks friezes found in the apadana (Darius the Great's palace) in Susa (Shush) by french archeologist Marcel Dieulafoy and brought in Paris. Such polychromic friezes used to decorate the walls of the Achaemenian king's palaces in their capitales of Shush, Ecbatan, and Persepolis.
Pavillon Sully at the Louvre museum, Paris, France, March 2010
Palmettes et motifs géométriques décorant les fameuses frises de céramique en briques cuites à glaçures trouvées dans le tell de l’Apadana (palais de Darius le Grand) à Suse (Shush) par l’archéologue français marcel Dieulafoy et ramenées à Paris. De telles frises polychromiques décoraient les façades des palais royaux achéménides dans leurs capitales d’Ecbatane, Suse et Persépolis.
Pavillon Sully, musée du Louvre, Paris, France, Mars 2010
This wonderful Art Deco walnut case wireless radio was made by the New Zealand manufacturers, Temple. According to its serial number, it was made in 1935 and is very much typical of a wireless found in most middle-class homes during the 1930s. It has a pyramid case; still a popular shape after “Egyptomania” or “Tutmania” gripped the world after the discovery of Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922. Its edges however, are rounded, hinting at the Streamline Moderne style so popular in the mid 1930s. Whilst the fine veneer is a warm walnut, the very Art Deco speaker grille and the two fin details on the front are made of stained blackwood. The manufacturer’s name is picked out in brass on red enamel above the convex glass dial and the lozenge knobs are of mottled chocolate brown Bakelite (an early form of plastic that came into everyday use in the 1920s and 30s). Worked with beautiful glass valves, this radio has to be allowed to warm up before use, but still works beautifully, sending forth a soft, slightly dappled sound that only wireless radios of this era and vintage can do. It can still pick up all AM radio stations as well as shortwave radio from around the world.
Private collection.
Black Polka Dots - Studio Symmetry (B&W): Stripped down to essentials, the portrait focuses solely on expression and form. The subtle tonal variations in the background enhance the dimensionality of the subject. The interplay of pattern and negative space speaks to a quiet, sophisticated drama. Which mood do you find more compelling: the stark clarity of monochrome, or the soft dynamism of color? Let me know your preference below.
Styles and Attitudes ......
Some GEOMETRIC Patterns in Fashion
La luminosa GIOVANNA BATTAGLIA
#pfw16 # #paris #giovannaBattaglia #fashion #trend #geometricpatterns #geometry #streetstyleparis #streetstyle #mode #skirts #navystyle #colors #beauties #stylishpeople #
Every time you look up in this house, there's a surprise waiting for you. This ceiling is completely different from anything else we've seen—vibrant, bold, and unapologetically colorful. The deep turquoise-blue background is split into sweeping, cream-colored borders that curve and intersect like the ribs of a grand tent. And right in the center of those creamy bands, you've got rust-orange, cross-shaped geometric motifs that give the whole ceiling a wonderful, almost Moorish or Revivalist energy. It’s a huge, unexpected pop of color in a house that’s mostly dark wood and cream plaster.
Sitting right beneath that ceiling is a massive, dark oak structure—likely part of a balcony, a minstrel's gallery, or a formal overmantel. The woodwork is incredibly dense and detailed. Two heavy, cylindrical turrets project outward from the center, each one studded with raised bosses and carved with intricate, almost Gothic patterns. The wood is a deep, polished chocolate brown, and it's accented with subtle gilding that glows warmly in the light. Behind the turrets, dark, scrolling fretwork adds another layer of texture, and a small, carved text panel sits nestled in the center. Two simple, white globe light fixtures on either side illuminate the wood beautifully, making the vibrant turquoise ceiling above and the heavy, dark oak below pop in perfect contrast.
Handwoven Andean textiles fold over one another, with zigzag bands and stepped motifs in magenta, orange and turquoise. The close crop keeps the weave texture sharp across the whole frame.
Built in 1901, the former Caledonian Hotel in Yea’s main thoroughfare of High Street is today known as the Grand Central Hotel. Like many other hotels of the same era, the former Caledonian Hotel features a beautiful dado wall of majolica tiles. This building’s glazed Arts and Crafts style tiles are green and the wall features a frieze of arabesques and ellipses edged by black and white chequered tiles.
Yea is a small country town located 109 kilometres (68 miles) north-east of Melbourne in rural Victoria. The first settlers in the district were overlanders from New South Wales, who arrived in 1837. By 1839, settlements and farms dotted the area along the Goulburn River. The town was surveyed and laid out in 1855 and named after Colonel Lacy Walter Yea (1808 – 1855); a British Army colonel killed that year in the Crimean War. Town lots went on sale at Kilmore the following year. Settlement followed and the Post Office opened on 15 January 1858. The town site was initially known to pioneer settlers as the Muddy Creek settlement for the Yea River, called Muddy Creek until 1878. When gold was discovered in the area in 1859 a number of smaller mining settlements came into existence, including Molesworth. Yea expanded into a township under the influx of hopeful prospectors, with the addition of several housing areas, an Anglican church (erected in 1869) and a population of 250 when it formally became a shire in 1873. Yea was promoted as something of a tourist centre in the 1890s with trout being released into King Parrot Creek to attract recreational anglers. A post office was built in 1890, followed by a grandstand and a butter factory (now cheese factory) in 1891. There was a proposal in 1908 to submerge the town under the Trawool Water Scheme but it never went ahead. Today Yea is a popular stopping point for tourists on their way from Melbourne to the Victorian snow fields and Lake Eildon, and is very popular with cyclists who traverse the old railway line, which has since been converted into a cycling trail.
This beautiful, stylised, Art Nouveau stained glass of a geometric pattern features in a window in a bakery shop front along the busy shopping precinct of Glenhuntly Road in the Melbourne suburb of Elsternwick.
Collection: Cornell University Collection of Political Americana, Cornell University Library
Repository: Susan H. Douglas Political Americana Collection, #2214 Rare & Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library, Cornell University
Title: 1904 Democratic National Convention Admission Ticket
Political Party: Democratic-Republican
Election Year: 1904
Date Made: 1904
Measurement: Ticket with 3 stubs: 2 3.4 x 8 3/4 in.; x 22.225 cm
Classification: Ephemera
Persistent URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1813.001/61b1
There are no known U.S. copyright restrictions on this image. The digital file is owned by the Cornell University Library which is making it freely available with the request that, when possible, the Library be credited as its source.
Collection: Cornell University Collection of Political Americana, Cornell University Library
Repository: Susan H. Douglas Political Americana Collection, #2214 Rare & Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library, Cornell University
Title: 1896 Republican National Convention Admission Tickets and Envelope
Political Party: Republican
Election Year: 1896
Date Made: ca. 1896
Classification: Envelopes
Persistent URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1813.001/619x
There are no known U.S. copyright restrictions on this image. The digital file is owned by the Cornell University Library which is making it freely available with the request that, when possible, the Library be credited as its source.
Loreto College Ballarat, a Catholic school for girls was established in 1875 by Mother Gonzaga Barry (1834 – 1915) a member of the order of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary whose members are commonly known as the Sisters of Loreto; a courageous woman with a truly visionary approach that saw her create educational opportunities for girls never before considered in the society of that day. The Loreto Sisters arrived in Australia in response to a request by the Bishop of Ballarat, Bishop O'Connell. The group of ten sisters from Ireland, led by Mother Gonzaga Barry, set up a convent in Ballarat, Victoria and their first girls school, known as Mary's Mount, which today is known as Loreto College.
The Loreto Chapel, or Children’s Chapel as it is known, was built between 1898 and 1902. The architect was William Tappin and the builder George Lorimer. It is built in an English Gothic style with French influences. The stone from which it is constructed is Barrabool Hills sandstone taken from a quarry near Geelong. It also features white stone detailing from Oamaru in New Zealand. Building was interrupted through lack of funds, but the project was finally completed with a large bequest from the German Countess Elizabeth Wolff-Metternich, who had arrived at Ballarat unannounced in 1898, was captivated by the post Gold Rush city and decided to teach German to the Loreto students. A direct descendent of St Elizabeth of Hungary, Countess Elizabeth later found that she loved the peace and simplicity of the Mary's Mount cloister, and informed Mother Gonzaga that she wished to be accepted as a novice. The Mother Superior urged the young woman to return to Germany to discuss her future with her family prior to making a decision. Sadly, Countess Elizabeth was never to return to Ballarat: tragedy struck the RMS India, in the Straits of Messina en route Europe, when Countess Elizabeth died suddenly in April 1899, possibly from cholera, as she was nursing sick passengers on board the ship during its journey. When her will was read, it was found that Countess Elizabeth had left a generous 16,000 pounds to the astonished Mother Gonzaga to `be used as she thought fit'. Funds were once again available to finish the Children's Chapel, but there was to be another, seemingly impenetrable, obstacle: Germany had instituted a law forbidding money to be sent out of the country, so the funds remained frozen in Germany indefinitely. However, Countess Elizabeth's relatives contacted their distant relative, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany (eldest grandson of England's Queen Victoria and Prince Albert) to petition that the funds be released for the Australian convent. It was only through the direct intervention of the Kaiser that the law was waived in this particular case. The Children’s Chapel was officially opened in December 1902.
The inside of the Children’s Chapel is decorated in soft pastel colours with artwork and statuary donated to the Sisters of Loreto by families in Ballarat and back in Ireland. The Rose Window over the Organ Gallery depicts Saint Cecilia the patron saint of music, surrounded by symbols of the four Evangelists, Matthew Mark Luke and John. The windows over the alter depict the instruments of the Passion of Christ. The marble alter features the Nativity scene as was requested by the girls attending Loreto at the time.
Styles and Attitudes ......
Some GEOMETRIC Patterns in Fashion
#pfw16 # #paris #fashion #trend #geometricpatterns #geometry #streetstyleparis #streetstyle #mode #skirts #navystyle #colors #beauties #stylishpeople #
Located on Coburg's elm lined and most prestigious street, The Grove, this property was one of the original buildings of the Moreland Park Estate.
Although it looks like one large high Victorian mansion, this property, constructed in the 1890s is a clever piece of architectural trickery, and is in fact two semi-detatched double storey residences. This in no way suggests that they were small. Quite the contrary, each was of a substantial size with their own towers, stables and outbuildings, and would have suited a wealthy upper middle-class Victorian family.
Built of polychromatic bricks, each villa is a mirror to that of its neighbour with a return verandah featuring elegant cast iron lacework. The roof is made of slate tiles with a striped pattern laid out as part of the design, whilst the verandah is of corrugated iron. The brown and yellow bricks are constructed in a profusion of geometric designs, which even make the shared wall between the two villas a smart feature. Even the chimney is built of polychromatic bricks. Perhaps its most outstanding features are the distinctive French inspired Second Empire mansard roofed towers, which make the property stand out for miles around.
This villa represents the brief initial period of development prior to the bust of the 1890s and subsequent housing boom of the early 20th Century, in which much of Coburg's residential development occurred.
The Grove, was part of the Moreland Park Estate. This was Coburg's most prestigious subdivision in the 1880s. In 1882 Charles Moreland Montague Dare, a St Kilda businessman, bought Jean Rennie's forty acre farm and, with his architect, T. J. Crouch, subdivided thirty acres of it into 147 allotments. The Grove was originally christened Moreland Grove after its owner. A covenant was placed on the subdivision prohibiting the building of hotels or shops, or any house under the value of 400 pounds. By 1890 there were twenty-four brick houses on the estate, twenty one of them owned by Charles Moreland Montague Dare himself. There was a caretaker to tend the streets, the wooden pavilion and the tennis courts, which soon became a bowling rink to suit the more sedate interests of the residents. Men of substance, including a banker, a merchant, a manufacturer and several civil servants and accountants lived on the estate and the Moreland Park Ladies' College in The Grove offered a genteel education. By the 1890s the Melbourne property boom had burst and by 1900 there were still only twenty seven houses in The Grove and many vacant allotments; Charles Moreland Montague Dare's own place at "Moreland Park", a ten acre property on Merri Creek, added to the rural atmosphere. In 1896 Dare fell into financial difficulties and had to transfer many of his properties to the Australian Widows' Fund Life Assurance Society. In 1900 he owned only seven houses, a few allotments and Moreland Park. He died in 1919.
"Bailey's Mansion" is a magnificent boom period mansion built in 1883 for successful mine manager William Bailey on the corner of Drummond and Mair Streets, in the provincial Victorian city of Ballarat.
William Bailey was born in 1827 in Wellington, Somersetshire, and came to Australia in 1848. He landed at Melbourne and was employed at a wine and spirit merchants however he remained only a short time, and he also had a short stay of eight months at the Ampitheatre Station, Lexton, when he was made manager at the Mt Cook Station, Werribee. He left Mt Cook Station in 1851, having been bitten, like so many others, by gold fever. After initially being involved in mining he entered into partnership with Wilson Brothers in the operation of general stores. Bailey returned to mining with the Staffordshire Reef Company near Smythesdale where he remained for three years as manager before accepting a similar managerial position with the Egerton Mining Company where he was occupied for the next 12 years. The mine was owned by the renowned Learmonth family. Bailey was a loyal manager and when the Learmonths decided to sell the mine he arranged the sale. As a reward the Learmonths paid him a five per cent commission on the sale amounting to 675 pounds, a very sizable sum even in those days. At the time of the sale the returns from the mine had been diminishing, and when the Learmonths paid him his sizeable commission they were unaware that they had rewarded him for arranging the sale of a mine of which he was actually now a part owner. Fortunately, almost immediately after the mine was sold its returns increased dramatically and William Bailey was left a very wealthy man.
For the princely sum of £1,400, William Bailey had a Victorian Italianate mansion, complete with tower, designed by architects Caselli and Figgis. William Bailey and his wife Emily had eight children between 1861 and 1876, so the mansion, described as "one of the most palatial homes in Ballarat" was extended further and had an extra wing added, but in the same style.
The mansion features many architectural elements used in Italianate style houses of the period beyond the typical prominent tower, including; Corinthian columns, arcaded loggias, grouped openings, the use of arches and stuccoed wall treatment. When William built the mansion it originally had cast iron verandah posts, frieze and corner brackets along the loggias, both up and downstairs. The present heavy Ionic columns being a later modification which are not so in keeping with the overall design of the house.
Originally, "Bailey's Mansion" sat amid large and decoratively ornamental gardens, most of which have since been consumed by subsequent divisions of the land and residential construction in the early years of the Twentieth Century.
It was in his beloved mansion that William Bailey died in 1906 after catching a chill, dying a happy and still wealthy man, leaving an estate of some £10,000.
After the Great War (1914 - 1918), like so many other wealthy families of the boom period, the Baileys "gilded age" had come to a shattering end. Rates, death duties and income tax had deminished the family to far more moderate means. The "servant problem" also left them unable to live on such a grand scale as William and Emily had done. They could not sell the mansion, as no-one had the means to maintain, or the wish, to live in an old mausoleum of a bygone age in the new century. There was also a local belief that it was haunted by Bailey's ghost, which made it impossible to sell. "Bailey's Mansion", now deserted, fell into dereliction.
Salvation arrived for the grand old house in 1915 when the Catholic Church acquired it for a mere £4000, £10,000 less than its original cost and a bargain, even in the depressed property market immediately after the First World War. The church restored "Bailey's Mansion" and used it to form the St John of God hospital in Ballarat. It is still an intergal part of the hospital today, the grande dame surviving as a testimony to the wealth and tenacity of its original owner.