Toronto Old City Hall — Attraction in Toronto

Old City Hall – Toronto’s Timeless Landmark 🏛️

💡 Quick Highlights Built 1889–1899 Style Richardsonian Romanesque Architect E.J. Lennox Clock Tower 103.6 m, tallest in Canada (until 1917) Heritage Status National Historic Site (1984) Former Uses City Hall (1899–1966), Courthouse (1966–2023) Future Possibilities Civic museum, cultural venue, legislative space

🏛️ Rich History & Architecture

Architect & Era: Designed by Edward James Lennox, Old City Hall is a prime example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture—marked by heavy stone blocks, rounded arches, towers, and dormer windows .

Construction Tale: Built between 1889 and 1899, the project faced significant delays and cost overruns—eventually costing about $2.5 million. Lennox, snubbed by council, had his signature carved discreetly on corbels around the exterior .

Clock Tower: The staggeringly tall 103.6 m tower was Canada's tallest structure for nearly two decades. Equipped with a clock and bells from Gillett & Johnston, England—a bell weighing ~5,443 kg—it became a defining feature of the downtown skyline .

🌟 Architectural Features

Materials: Reddish-brown Credit Valley sandstone, contrasting gray from Orangeville, and New Brunswick brownstone .

Exterior Details: Features grotesque carvings and gargoyles—some believed to caricature unruly councillors. Weather-beaten originals were removed in 1938; bronze replicas installed in 2002 .

Interior Grandeur: Enter the two-storey lobby with marble, mosaic floors, bronze and iron railings, dramatic stained-glass artwork (“Union of Commerce and Industry” by Robert McCausland), plus murals by George Agnew Reid .

🕊️ Monuments & Memorials

The Cenotaph: Situated on the Queen Street steps, this granite war memorial honors service members from WWI, WWII, and the Korean War. Modeled after London’s Whitehall cenotaph, unveiled in 1925 during Remembrance Day observances .

🛡️ Preservation & Future

In the 1960s, plans to demolish it for the Eaton Centre were abandoned after public opposition; the New City Hall (1965) replaced it as Toronto's municipal hub .

Declared a National Historic Site (1984) and heritage property in 1986; restoration work since the 1980s has preserved its majestic façade and interiors .

Until 2023, it functioned as a courthouse. With that lease ended, proposals include transforming it into a civic museum, cultural space, or temporary legislative hub. No final decision yet .

🎟️ Visiting & Access

Access: The building is open daily; as an active courthouse you'll encounter security screening. Photography is allowed outside and in the lobby areas; interior restrictions may apply depending on court sessions .

Doors Open Toronto: Participate in self-guided tours, view provincial plaques, and explore...

Went to this old historical building for traffic court. Approximate time between 8am to 9:30am on a Tuesday. Was not looking forward to attending court, after reading all the negative reviews about the place and people that work there.

Throughout my time in the building and attending court, ALL persons I interacted with were friendly, professional and courteous. Although the out come was not in my favour, I had a very positive experience with the process of the court and it was a definite learning experience.

I was raised in Toronto but have not visited this area of the downtown core in over 30 plus years ,as i no longer make the city my home.

This area has changed for the better. It is VERY clean and safe. Yes more people and buildings. Put my phone away,to see if people would interact with me and help with directions .Was taken aback of the help that was given. Toronto the good still stands.

SOME HINTS : Come to the court dressed properly ( no hoodies,sweatpants) etc.

Be friendly and courteous and respectful to all people that you interact with. A positive,friendly attitude will get you the same.

Do your homework as what documents,photos, witness statements,charter rights, etc you will require to defend yourself of the charges brought against you. There is a lot of info online that can help with this.

Do not plead ignorance with a bunch of excuses with the crown or the judge .Use only facts and the highway traffic act, in your defense. Address the judge appropriately "Your Worship" or Sir or Madame. This is still a court.

Majority of the time the officer that laid the charge will be in court ( at least this court). They schedule multiple same day trials for the officer. Unless some emergency is pending i don't see them missing court.

From what I have witnessed you should be able to get through the court procedures without the services of legal representation ( just my personal thought). It will depend on the extremity of the charges against you and how confident of a person you are. I am not overly confident and it was fine for me. Most of the time legal representation gets the fines reduced,but the conviction still stands. Most people can get this on their own as usually the crown will try to make some deal in reducing the charge and or fine. Saves the court time and money

Nobody really likes to go to court but all you can do is try and put on a good defense and use the system that...

This building is a testament to the engineering and architectural genius of its builder. Mr. Lenox. He wanted to give the young city a building it could be proud of. And boy did he accomplish that. Old City Hall went so far over budget city officials. We're furious with Lennox undeterred Lenox continue to execute his plan and the result was a magnificent City Hall that the world over could be impressed at. Rumor has it that the characters which are placed throughout the crown molding of the building and in various other places along the stonework are actually faces of the counselors of the time when the building was built. Of course they're grotesque expressions reflect the feelings that Lennox had towards city council at that time giving their Vendetta against him. When Old City Hall was first built it had Dual Purpose as a courthouse and City Hall however after new city hall was constructed Old City Hall was converted in tirely into provincial courts even the former council chambers are now a courtroom however they have it kept intact the entire original Council chamber where's the public can view at any time through the windows of the doors of the council chambers. With construction of a new Provincial Court House underway the future for Old City Hall remains on certain but surely it will live on. Purposed but hopefully not altered too much it has survived the Wrecking Ball more than once how did Ben left to Timothy Eaton & Company the entire Old City Hall structure would have been demolished safe for the Clock Tower to make way for a very Bland and boring 1970s office building and expanded Eaton Centre thankfully this never happened and hopefully we will have Old City Hall to look at for many years...