Bank of Upper Canada Building facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bank of Upper Canada Building |
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Front of the building in 2005
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| General information | |
| Type | Office |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical (with later mansard roof in the Second Empire style) |
| Address | 252 Adelaide Street East Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Construction started | 1825 |
| Completed | 1827 |
| Renovated | 1982 |
| Client | Bank of Upper Canada |
| Owner | Allied Properties REIT |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 7,500 square feet (700 m2) (original) 2,500 square feet (230 m2) (1851 addition) |
| Official name: Bank of Upper Canada Building National Historic Site of Canada | |
| Designated: | June 6, 1977 |
| Official name: Bank of Upper Canada Building | |
| Designated: | November 26, 1975 |
The Bank of Upper Canada Building is a very old building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It used to be a bank! It's one of the few buildings in Toronto that was built before the city officially became Toronto in 1834. You can find it at 252 Adelaide Street East, in the historic Old Town area.
This building first opened in 1827. Back then, Toronto was called York. It was home to the Bank of Upper Canada until the bank closed down in 1866. After that, the building had many different jobs. It was a school, then a place for businesses and factories. In 1982, it was carefully fixed up and became office space again. Today, it's recognized as a special place called a National Historic Site of Canada since 1977.
Contents
What Does the Building Look Like?
The Bank of Upper Canada Building was finished in 1827. It's made of limestone, a strong type of rock. When it was first built, it had two floors and a flat roof. People think William Warren Baldwin designed it, but it might have been Francis Hall.
In 1843, a fancy front porch called a Doric portico was added. This part was designed by John George Howard. Later, after 1859, a new roof with small windows called dormers was put on.
In 1876, the De La Salle Institute added a special type of roof called a mansard roof. This roof style is part of the Second Empire look. The building has also been made bigger twice, extending north along George Street.
In 1982, Stone Kohn Architects helped restore the building. It stands next to the old De La Salle Institute building (from 1871) and Toronto's first post office building (from 1834).
A Look at the Building's History
The Bank's Early Days
The Bank of Upper Canada started in a nearby store in 1821. Then, in 1827, it moved into this new building. At that time, it was one of the very few stone buildings in York. It was also the town's first bank building.
During the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837, a group led by William Lyon Mackenzie marched down Yonge Street. They planned to attack this bank building and take the gold inside. Luckily, they were not successful! In 1851, the bank added more space to the back of the building. However, the bank itself failed and closed down in 1866.
Becoming a School
In 1870, the building was sold to the De La Salle Brothers. These Brothers built a Roman Catholic boys' school next door in 1871. This school was called the De La Salle Institute. It later became known as De La Salle College.
In 1874, the school also bought another building nearby. This building at 264 Adelaide Street was built in 1834 for the town's postmaster. The Brothers sold all three buildings to the Catholic School Board in 1884. But they continued to use them for free. When the school started offering high school classes, it began using the old bank building too. The school finally moved out of the site in 1913.
New Uses and Restoration
After the school left, the building was used for many different things. It was a meat processing plant and a place where soldiers signed up during World War I. It was also used by companies like Christie, Brown and Company and the United Farmers' Co-Operative Co. (UFC).
In 1921, Christie Brown bought the building. They mostly wanted the land behind it. The buildings were rented out to various businesses. These included a jeweler, machine shops, and even a department that made Esso signs in the basement.
In 1925, the UFC bought the building to use as their main office. The old bank building became offices. The De La Salle and Post Office buildings were used to store food. In 1926, the UFC added another three-story section to the north. The UFC sold the building in 1956.
The buildings were rented out until 1971. Then they were closed and left empty, planned to be torn down. They started to fall apart. In 1978, a fire damaged much of the roof.
However, by then, the site had been named a National Historic Site and a special heritage building in Ontario. A lawyer named Sheldon J. Godfrey and his wife Judith became interested. They bought the three buildings in 1978. They oversaw the restoration work, which was finished in 1982.
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Today, the building and the former college next door are used as commercial office spaces. For example, in 2013, a tech company called Myplanet used part of the building.
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The building is officially protected under the Ontario Heritage Act since 1975. This means it's recognized for its important history and beautiful design. It's seen as the home of the first major bank linked to the growth of Ontario. It might also be the oldest surviving building built as a bank in Canada. It's a very old and well-designed stone building in the neo-Classical style. It's also the last important historic building in the Old Town of York area. Its history and later additions make it stand out on Adelaide and George Street.
