Dominion Public Building

The Dominion Public Building

The Dominion Public Building is a five-storey neoclassical structure built between 1926 and 1935 for the government of Canada at southeast corner of Front and Bay streets in Toronto.^[1]

The building was designed by architects Thomas W. Fuller and James H. Craig and originally served as Toronto's federal customs clearing house. It remains a federal property, currently housing a number of administrative and support functions for Canada Revenue Agency.

Wholesale warehouses along Front Street, c. 1872

The building north facade is curved to follow the property line along Front Street east of Bay Street. To the south is the Union Station Bus Terminal, formerly the site of the CP Express and Freight Building which replaced the old Grand Trunk Freight Shed after 1904.

old Customs House at corner of Front and Yonge Street

Prior to 1920s, the site was occupied by a series wholesale warehouses along Front from Bay to just west of Yonge. These buildings were destroyed by the Great Toronto Fire of 1904. To the east were the City's seventh Customs House and the annex Customs Examination Warehouse which were built in 1876 on the site of the sixth Customs House.

site of Dominion Public Building to the north of the ferry docks and east of Union Station

By 1919, the old Customs House was demolished and the stretch along Front laid vacant.

Other Dominion Public Buildings

In 1935-36, the government erected Dominion Public Buildings in Halifax, London and Hamilton.^[2] In 1991, the Hamilton facility was renovated and expanded to become the John Sopinka Courthouse.^[3]

References

1. "Dominion Public Building". Emporis. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
2. "Dominion Public Building". Canada's Historic Places. July 29, 2005. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
3. "John Sopinka Courthouse" (PDF). NORR Architects Planners, Inc. Retrieved 2014-04-28.

Coordinates: 43°38′45″N 79°22′40″W / 43.64592°N 79.377857°W