"Old" City Hall

Old City Hall York County Courthouse

There are two plaques at this location.
Both can be seen on this page.

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted March, 2004

Photo Source - Wikimedia Commons

When the Eaton Centre was being planning back in the 70s, one public plan showed the Old City Hall being torn down. After a hue and cry, the Eaton Centre people said well we could keep the clock tower. After more hue and cry, they abandoned plans to tear the building down. Hurrah! This plaque in front of the building, by the Archaeological and Historic Sites Board, has this to say:

Plaque coordinates: 43.652278 -79.381049

City Hall was designed in 1887 by E.J. Lennox to fit this central site at the head of Bay Street. In one structure, these municipal buildings combined a City Hall, in the east portion, and Court-house, in the west. The building, constructed mostly of Credit River Valley sandstone, was begun in 1889 but not opened until September 18, 1899. Massive, round-arched, and richly carved, it is in the Romanesque Revival style, then popular in expanding cities throughout North America. The interior, as complex and monumental as the exterior, includes a large stained glass window by Robert McCausland. The building was acquired by the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto in 1965, when the City moved to a new City Hall on the adjacent Civic Square.

Photos by Alan L Brown - Posted September, 2006

Photo Source - Wikimedia Commons

Here is an Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada plaque which tells us this:

Built between 1889 and 1899, this impressive Richardsonian Romanesque structure by local architect E.J. Lennox was the solution to the need of both the city of Toronto and York County for new quarters. Its superb downtown site, richly carved sandstone surfaces, and variety in colour and texture combine in a clear expression of the region's late 19th century self-confidence. "Great buildings", stated Mayor John Shaw at its opening, "symbolize a people's deeds and aspirations". This structure is among Canada's most important examples of monumentally scaled city halls.

Related Toronto plaque
Robert McCausland Limited

More
Government buildings

Here are the visitors' comments for this page.

Posted April 13, 2010
There is another plaque at Old City Hall. To the right of the entrance is a plaque naming the members of the first City Council. My great-great grandfather, John Craig, is named and the plaque has been pointed out to many young family members to connect them to history in a more personal way. This is a valuable project!

Posted October 9, 2008
Dear Sir, Why was the largest bell in the Bell tower called Big Ben?

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