By Val Dodge

Torontoist sure does after a visit to the Magic Building on Sumach Street, south of Queen. The pediment over the doorway is graced by what may be both the sexiest and creepiest cowboy hat-wearing gargoyle we’ve ever seen. Or is that a witch’s hat? Either way, she’s marginally less inviting than Father Time at the old Don Jail and one-of-a-kind in Toronto.
Okay, we know that she’s not technically a gargoyle, but it’s the spirit that matters here, not the strict definition. While taking pictures, we half expected her to swoop down on us and eat our brains. We fully expect her to do just that after we go to sleep tonight.
But Witchy Woman isn’t the only magical presence at the entrance. We’re not entirely sure why two busts of Metallica’s James Hetfield (circa 1989) flank the doorway, but we felt comforted by his stoic visage. If anyone can protect us from brain-eating gargoyles after we’re off to never-never land tonight, it’s James.
Like most people who have read Terry Murray‘s Faces on Places, we’ve gotten into the habit of looking up at buildings. Sometimes we wish we hadn’t. We’re usually only frightened by large beetles, but will make an exception in this case.
Photos by Val Dodge.