Old Toronto City Hall
Old City Hall is a historic stone building in the heart of downtown Toronto, designed by Toronto architect E.J. Lennox, that dates back to 1899. It served as the city hall until 1965 and then as a courthouse until 2025. The building is currently sits empty while the city decides how to best use it in the future, though pop-up events, exhibits, and Doors Open Toronto have provided occasional access to the inside. The clock tower is one of the building's most striking features and was the tallest structure in Canada when it was built. The exterior is two-tone sandstone, a light brown-grey paired with a darker reddish-brown, and both came from New Brunswick. The stonework across the building is dense with detail. Around the entrance there are a series of carved faces believed to be caricatures of city councillors that Lennox clashed with during construction. The one with the handlebar moustache is thought to be of Lennox himself. He also had stonemasons carve his name under the eaves all the way around the building after council refused to put up a plaque. The south side has a triple arched entrance reached by a wide set of steps with the Cenotaph war memorial at the base. The New City Hall sits directly to the west, and the contrast between the curved modernist towers and the old sandstone and copper roof line is strong from several angles along Queen Street. (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
