Old City Hall Toronto

     Toronto Old City Hall for a time was the largest civic Building in North America.  It was Toronto’s third city hall.  For years, it housed Toronto’s municipal government offices, courts for York County.  From 1900 to 1953, the York County Offices were located in the building.

     The building was designed by Toronto Architect Edward James Lennon. Construction began in 1889 and was completed in 1899.  Construction costs were 2.5 million dollars. It was constructed of sandstone from Credit Valley River, Greystone from Orangeville, Ontario and brownstone from New Brunsick.  The building is seven stories high.  The style was Richardson Romanesque.

     A new modernist city hall was built as a replacement in 1965.  The old building is currently leased by the provincial government and is used as a courthouse for the Ontario Courthouse.

     In 2005,  the city of Toronto  spent 77 million dollars  to restore the exterior and the 103.6 meter clock tower. In 2012, 7.2 million dollars was spent for interior repairs.