The Temple Building was a 12-
storey
A storey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or story (American English), is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the wor ...
, highrise erected at 62 Richmond Street West and Bay Street in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
.
History
Regarded as one of the city's first
skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...
s, it was completed in 1896 to house the world headquarters of the
Independent Order of Foresters
The Independent Order of Foresters, operating as Foresters Financial, is a fraternal benefit society headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that provides life insurance and other financial solutions in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Uni ...
, which was a
friendly society that acted as both a fraternal order and an important financial institution. The IOF was then run by the energetic
Oronhyatekha who commissioned the grand structure. It was designed by George W. Gouinlock, who looked to Chicago's high rise buildings, and specifically the
Rookery Building
The Rookery Building is a historic office building located at 209 South LaSalle Street in the Chicago Loop. Completed by architects Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root of Burnham and Root in 1888, it is considered one of their masterpie ...
, for inspiration.
The building was located at Richmond and
Bay Street
Bay Street is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District, Toronto, Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Economy of Canada, Canada's financial services indust ...
. Upon its completion it was Toronto's tallest building, a title it would hold until the
Trader's Bank Building was built in 1905. Foresters left the building in 1953 for a new building at 590 Jarvis Street at Charles Street (later as Metro Toronto Police HQ and demolished).
The building was demolished in 1970 to make way for the Queen-Bay Centre (120m 32 floor Munich Re Centre built 1973 and 105m 25 floor Thomson Building built 1972) which still stands on the site.
The IOF relocated to
Don Mills
Don Mills is a mixed-use neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was developed in the 1950s and 1960s to be a self-supporting "new town" and was at the time located outside Toronto proper in the suburb of North York. Consisting of residenti ...
in 1967 to
Foresters House at 789 Don Mills Road.
Legacy
A portion of the facade of this building can be found at
Guild Park and Gardens
Guild Park and Gardens is a public park in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park was formerly the site of an artist colony and is notable for its collection of relics saved from the demolition of buildings primarily in do ...
in
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...
.
References
Further reading
*
"Toronto's Edwardian Skyscraper Row"in JSSAC 40 - 2015
{{Buildings in Toronto timeline
Buildings and structures demolished in 1970
Demolished buildings and structures in Toronto
Office buildings completed in 1896
Office buildings in Toronto
Romanesque Revival architecture in Canada
Skyscrapers in Toronto
1896 establishments in Ontario
1970 disestablishments in Ontario