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Calgary, welcome to The House at Bag End

July 10, 2002 at 00:19:05

Artist Jeff Doten has carved out a niche for himself in Tolkien's Shire. Or close to it.

While browsing the Web in search of fan art for the proposed 'Princess of Mars' movie (based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel of the same name), we stumbled across the Web site of Canadian artist Jeff Doten.

A quick visit to Doten's homepage revealed he had turned his attention to Middle-earth in a most unique way. While driving around Calgary, Doten noticed a restaurant named The House at Bag End. Quickly sensing an opportunity, he stopped by with his portfolio, and he won a contract to furnish the restaurant with his own interpretation of Middle-earth.

If you look carefully, you may see JRRT himself, enjoying a vibrant tale of Hobbit-laden adventure among his closest friends.

The Calgary Sun gave the restaurant a positive review in August 2001, and we're only sorry it took us nearly a year to discover this little bit of Middle-earth in Canada. Maybe one day we'll be able to visit and see Doten's work up close. In the meantime, those of you who live in Calgary, check it out and let us know what you think.