August 2025.
Toronto’s dual city halls are examples of two very different sensibilities in the history of architecture--the revivalism of Victorian architecture and the monumentality of Modern architecture. Personally, I think the Old City Hall achieves a better monumental effect and has a more effective relationship with the street and pedestrian, while the current city hall is an aloof, anonymous island that looks more like an office building than the seat of city government.
Toronto’s city hall is located at 100 Queen Street West in downtown Toronto, Ontario. It is bordered by Hagerman Street to the north, Nathan Phillips Square to the south, Bay Street and Bell Trinity Square to the east, and Osgoode Lane and 361 University Avenue Courthouse to the west.
History
Demolition of the Land Registry Office while City Hall is erected in the background.
Planning of a new city hall began in 1943 and took almost 20 years. Its site was decided early on--on a block bordered by Queen Street to the south, Bay Street to the east, and Chestnut Street to the west. The city of Toronto acquired the land in 1947, which was mostly occupied by older two-story buildings and the Renaissance Revival Shea’s Hippodrome. It was the location of Toronto’s first Chinatown.
The first city hall proposal was made in 1952 by Toronto firm Marani & Morris. It was designed “in the same style as the Registry Office”. (Beaux-Arts? New Formalism? This was about 30 years after classical architecture went out of vogue.) Naturally, given the zeitgeist of the time, this proposal was derided by both practicing architects and students at the University of Toronto, and the project was not built.
Marani & Morris, Mathers & Haldenby, and Shore & Moffat’s unbuilt 1954 proposal for City Hall. (Wikimedia)
Marani & Morris were retained as architects for the second proposal in 1955, along with the two other prominent local firms of the time--Mathers & Haldenby and Shore & Moffat. It would have been designed in a New Formalist stylistic language, in harmony with the Land Registry Office, which the plan would have kept. The public squares would have strong axes leading directly to the entrances, and they appeared very classical in nature with orthogonal lines of trees and rectangles of grass. The tower was very similar to Mathers & Haldenby’s Imperial Oil Building, which was under construction at the time. Again, this proposal was poorly received. Frank Lloyd Wright referred to it as a “sterilization…a cliche already dated”, and Walter Gropius considered it inharmonious with the city’s prominence. University of Toronto architecture faculty wrote an open letter further lambasting the design, and the final nail of the coffin was voters rejecting the plans in a 1955 election.
In 1956, Toronto City Council decided to hold an architectural competition for the city hall’s design, which was the first competition open to international entries held by the Ontario Association of Architects. A large number of entries were made, 731 as of October 1957, and 540 entries from 42 countries were presented to the jury. Many proposals were Modernist in style (Miesian, Corbusian); or instead of ripping off prominent Modern architects, there were also “[neoclassical] designs that would have looked fresh around the time of the First World War and Soviet-style palaces that would have gladdened the heart of any Stalinist.” Eight finalists were selected out of these 540, with varying styles including Brutalism and High Tech:
John Andrews
Halldor Gunnlogsson and Jorn Nielsen
William Hayward
David Horne
Frank Mikutowski
I. M. Pei
Perkins & Will
Viljo Revell
These eight finalists were asked to complete a final design, which would be presented four months later in September 1958. Revell was selected as the winner, as the jurors liked his uniquely sculptural form and were only worried about costs. However, the project also faced criticism from other sources. Toronto’s mayor at the time, Nathan Phillips, was worried that voters would blame the heavy costs on him. Frank Lloyd Wright compared it to a tombstone marking “the spot where Toronto fell.” Others thought it looked like sewer pipes and whatever a “Mexican hotel” is.
Revell’s winning design. (City of Toronto)
Along with Mayor Phillips’ worries about cost overruns, Metropolitan Toronto chairman Fred Gardiner tried to cancel the project and design a smaller city hall, which would (again) imitate and retain the Land Registry Office. However, Revell’s design was modified and the budget increased to CA$24 million, along with the Toronto Parking Authority’s offer to completely finance the underground parking garage. Ground was broken on November 7, 1961.
Excavation work on the site. (City of Toronto)
Revell was partnered with local firm John B. Parkin Associates for the city hall’s construction. He moved to Toronto to supervise the design, but after both the Canadian and Finnish government tried to charge him taxes, he moved to Boston in 1962 and taught at MIT to avoid paying extra Canadian taxes.
The construction of New City Hall was marked by delays and setbacks. Right off the bat, the contractor received the drawings late from the architects, meaning the city already could not welcome Queen Elizabeth in summer 1964, when it was expected to be completed. Revell and Parkin had not set up an office on site as of July 1962, again leaving the general contractor without progress, and by October of that year the project was eight weeks behind schedule and the towers had only been completed up to ground level. In 1963, the city of Toronto voted to stop payments to the contractor and restricted any further design changes, as the structural work was five months behind schedule and mechanical work was even further behind. However, once disputes over the concrete exterior and roof were resolved, construction sped up. The Land Registry Office was demolished in stages beginning in 1962, though it had to be adjusted as to not interrupt nearby court sessions (the York County sheriff even threatened the contractors with being held in contempt) and not completed until December 1964.
Revell suffered a stroke in 1963 and moved back to Helsinki, visiting Toronto only one more time afterwards in 1964. He stated that he was “generally pleased” with the project, but pointed out some construction errors. Revell had a heart attack and died only a few days later. At that point in time, the underground parking garage and southern part of Nathan Phillips Square were completed.
In addition to New City Hall, other buildings were built nearby as part of an urban renewal project for what was considered a “commercial slum” at the time. The block south of the site contained the Broadway and Casino theatres, which had burlesque shows, and some pawn shops, while the west had the old Toronto Armories. Both were demolished in favor of a new hotel and courthouse.
Opening ceremony of City Hall in 1965. (Wikimedia)
New City Hall was completed in 1965, and it officially opened to the public on September 13, 1965, which was part of a larger week-long festival. Early issues with the building included water damage to the parking garage and roof of the podium (where the towers sit). Revell’s design had intended for the podium to be landscaped with a pool. However, after leaks continued to the point that mushrooms began to grow above the ground floor ceiling, the landscaping and pool were covered up.
New City Hall was designated a historic landmark in 1991. CA$7,000,000 of renovation work occurred between 1997 and 1998, which added a covered walkway between the towers designed by Bruce Kuwabara. A green roof on the podium was added in 2009.
Photos
Unfortunately, I gave this one its own article because of its expansive history. I only have three photos. Here is a view of the two towers from Nathan Phillips Square:
This is a pretty unusual design, much different from the strictly linear Modern designs going up all over the world at the time. Its curvilinear forms and asymmetry are uncommon features of the style. The walls facing the street are windowless and clad in a special mixture of concrete and marble. The interior walls are more typical steel and glass. These two towers curve around the circular Council Chamber at center.
I can’t lie, I really hate the design of this public square:
There is just way too much bare concrete. Luckily, landscape architects today consider the impact of urban heat islands like this and design projects with more greenery/shade. The upper terrace made it easier to get some detailed shots of the old city hall, though.
Here’s another look from closer:
Yell at me all you want in the comments about not giving this one its flowers, but I think the older design is a lot better (and I documented it accordingly).
Sources:
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