The Balfour Building is located at the Northeast corner of Spadina Avenue and Adelaide Street in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, close to the Financial and Entertainment districts, Gardiner Expressway, and the LRT. It was named after Arthur J. Balfour, author of the "

Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British Government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...

" in 1917, whose goal was for the British government to support a Jewish homeland in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. The high-rise was built originally for the Schiffer-Hillman Clothing Company; it was managed by numerous Jewish clothing companies in its early years. Presently, the Balfour Building is a historical tower

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

of Art Deco style in the 1930s.

Elevators An elevator (American English) or lift (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive tracti ...

were installed by Otis-Fensom of Hamilton. The building has hardwood

flooring Flooring is the general term for a permanent covering of a floor, or for the work of installing such a floor covering. Floor covering is a term to generically describe any finish material applied over a floor structure to provide a walking surface. ...

, a rooftop terrace and various recently added features, including forced air heating and centrally controlled

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...

. The Balfour Building was listed as a Toronto Heritage Property in 2011 by the

City of Toronto Heritage Property Inventory The City of Toronto's Heritage Property Inventory is a list of buildings, structures, and properties in Toronto that are identified by the city, for the purposes of preserving their original facades and appearances. The inclusion of any property on ...

References

{{reflist Art Deco architecture in Canada Buildings and structures in Toronto City of Toronto Heritage Properties