Old City Hall (Toronto) - History

History

Toronto's Old City Hall was one of the largest buildings in Toronto and the largest civic building in North America upon completion in 1899. It was the burgeoning city's third city hall. Designed by prominent Toronto architect Edward James Lennox, the building took more than a decade to build and cost more than $2.5 million. Work on the building began in 1889. It was constructed of sandstone from the Credit River valley, grey stone from the Orangeville, Ontario area, and brown stone from New Brunswick. Angry councillors, due to cost overruns and construction delays, refused E.J. Lennox a plaque proclaiming him as architect for the completed building in 1899. Not to be denied, Lennox had stonemasons "sign" his name in corbels beneath the upper floor eaves around the entire building: "EJ LENNOX ARCHITECT AD 1898".

An annex to this building, Manning Chambers, was built by Lennox at the northwest corner of Bay and Queen Street. Completed in 1900, the 5 storey building was later demolished to make way for the current Toronto City Hall. Manning Chambers was built for and named after former mayor Alexander Manning. York County offices were also located in Old City Hall from 1900 to 1953. With the establishment of Metropolitan Toronto, the county seat moved to Newmarket, Ontario (and to the Old Newmarket Town Hall and Courthouse).

A public square was originally planned in front of the city hall called Victoria Square. The space would be an urban square with diagonal walkways meeting at a central statue of Queen Victoria, its proposed namesake. The plan never came into being and a smaller space was allocated in front of the building by Queen Street. The City Beautiful movement influenced Toronto planning as well in the early 20th century, and a plan was formulated for a grand thoroughfare from Queen Street at City Hall to Front Street that would have been called Federal Avenue. It, too, was never built, though the City Beautiful movement did influence the urban design principles of nearby University Avenue.

At the foot of the front steps on Queen Street is the Cenotaph, erected in 1925 to honour Torontonians who died in the First World War fighting for Canada, and later also in honour of Torontonians who died in the Second World War, the Korean War, and Canadian peacekeeping operations during Remembrance Day ceremonies every November 11.

Four gargoyles were placed on the corners of the Clock Tower in 1899, but they were removed to the effects of the weather on the sandstone carvings in 1938. In 2002, bronze casts of the gargoyles were reinstalled. The replicas are not duplicates as the original designs were lost. The gargoyles are similar to those on the Peace Tower in Ottawa. Two grotesques and antique lampposts at the base of the grand stair case inside were removed in 1947 and sold. They were reclaimed by the City and reinstalled in the 1980s.

In spite of its large size upon completion, Old City Hall proved to be inadequate for Toronto's growing municipal government within a couple of decades of completion. Under Mayor Nathan Phillips, Toronto City Council launched an international design competition for a new city hall and public square across Bay Street and completed a striking Modernist city hall and public square in 1965. Soon after in the 1960s, plans were made to start construction of the Toronto Eaton Centre. The original plans called for Old City Hall to be demolished and replaced by a retail complex, and a number of skyscrapers around a large plaza, leaving only the cenotaph (or in one plan, the clock tower) in the front. Public outcry forced authorities to abandon these plans, and the Eaton Centre would be built around the landmark civic building and also the Church of the Holy Trinity (which was originally planned to be demolished). Old City Hall then became a dedicated courthouse.