Old City Hall, Toronto

Sitting on the corner of Queen and Bay streets in Downtown Toronto is an imposing Romanesque-style building. Between 1899 and 1966, this architectural marvel was home to the Toronto City Council, the third city hall built for the burgeoning city. Upon its completion, what is now known as the Old City Hall was one of the largest buildings in Toronto and the largest civic structure in North America.

Charged with the task of creating it was the prominent local architect, Edward James Lennox. It took Lennox altogether three years to come up with an acceptable design plus another decade or so to have it materialized in stone.

The end result was surely well worth the wait, though. Grand in its demeanor and elegant in its stance, the magnificent City Hall became a heritage landmark, whose distinctive 103.6 metre-tall (340 ft) clock tower was the crowning jewel of the city, well seen from far and wide.

The clock mechanism for it was made in Croydon, England. The clock room was also fitted with three bells: two smaller ones, striking every quarter of an hour, and a bourdon bell which strikes every hour and weighs 5443 kilograms.

Matching the magnificent exterior of the building, its interior is just as charming with intricate details such as the grand staircase with stained glass windows depicting Canadian history, various murals, statues, and other elements.

The overall cost of the project came to more than $2.5 million (which is close to $53 million in today's money). Angered by the cost overruns and construction delays, the city councillors refused Lennox a plaque proclaiming him as the architect for the completed building. Not to be denied his well-deserved glory, however, Lennox had stonemasons "sign" his name in corbels beneath the upper floor eaves around the entire building, reading: "EJ LENNOX ARCHITECT AD 1898".

Despite its size, the Old City Hall proved inadequate to Toronto's growing municipal government within a couple of decades of its completion. In the 1960s, the building was slated for demolition to clear space for a retail complex (Eaton Centre), but fortunately was saved by public outcry and turned into a courthouse. In 1984, the Old City Hall was designated a National Historic Site.

Tip:
Make sure to visit the small "lake" close by, as many of the pictures from Toronto you might know are taken from this place while facing the "TORONTO" sign.