Bank of Upper Canada Building

The Bank of Upper Canada Building in 1872. The property was sold to De La Salle Brothers in the previous year.

Completed in 1827, the building is a three-storey limestone building. The building was originally two floors with a flat roof. It is attributed to William Warren Baldwin, but it may have been designed by Francis Hall. The Doric portico, designed by John George Howard was added in 1843.[2] Sometime after 1859, a new roof with dormers was added. In 1876, a third floor in the Second Empire style, was added by De La Salle College.[3] As well, the building has been extended twice to the north, along George Street. Stone Kohn Architects are responsible for the 1982 restoration design. It is adjoined to the next door De La Salle Institute building (1871) and Toronto's first post office (1834) along Adelaide Street.

The bank had opened in 1821 in a nearby store until it constructed the new building, Toronto's first bank building, in 1827, at that time one of few stone buildings in York.[4] During the 1837 rebellion, William Lyon Mackenzie and the Reformers marched down Yonge Street to attack this building and steal the gold stored within - unsuccessfully.[5] In 1851, the bank built an addition to the rear. The bank itself failed in 1866 and was put in receivership.

The property was sold in 1870 to the Christian Brothers. In 1871, a Roman Catholic boys' school, the De La Salle Institute, today's De La Salle College, was built next door at 258 Adelaide Street, adjoining the bank building. In 1874, the school also bought 264 Adelaide, built for the town's postmaster, which dates to 1833–34. The Brothers sold the three buildings to the Catholic School Board in 1884, but used them rent-free after the sale.[6] After the college started offering secondary classes, it took over the bank building as well. The school left the site in 1913.[4]

Condition of block in 1977

The building was used for various uses over most of the 20th century, including a meat processing plant,[5] a recruitment centre during World War I, and industrial uses by Christie, Brown and Company and the United Farmers' Co-Operative Co. (UFC) In 1921, Christie Brown bought the building from the School Board, mostly for the rear yard property. The buildings were rented out to various commercial and industrial tenants including a jeweler, machine shops and the Imperial Oil graphics department, which made Esso signs in the basement. In 1925, the UFC bought the building to use as their head office. The bank building was used for offices, while the De La Salle and Post Office were used for food storage. In 1926, the Co-Operative built a three-storey addition to the north. The UFC sold the building in 1956.[6]

The buildings were leased until 1971, when they were closed up, slated for demolition and redevelopment[2] and fell into decay. In 1978, a fire destroyed much of the roof, but by then the site had been declared a National Historic Site, and an Ontario listed heritage building, and had attracted the attention of lawyer Sheldon J. Godfrey and his wife Judith. The couple purchased the three buildings[2][4] and supervised their restoration to completion in 1982. The building, along with the former college, is used today for commercial office space. As of October 2013, the building is used by tech firm Myplanet among others.[5]

The building is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, since 1975.[7] Per the City's designation: "The Bank of Upper Canada, 252 Adelaide Street East (formerly 28 Duke Street) at George Street (NE), 1830, perhaps by W.W. Baldwin, additions c.1850, additions 1871 for De La Salle College, is designated to be of architectural value as being the home of the first major bank associated with the development of the Province of Ontario, and is probably the oldest surviving building built as a bank in Canada. The building is also important as a very early, exceptionally well-designed and quite well preserved late Georgian stone-built structure in the neo-Classical style. It is, moreover, the last remaining building of architectural importance in the Old Town of York area, where it and the later additions, especially those for De La Salle College, give it a dominance in the streetscape at Adelaide and George Street." [8]

• List of oldest buildings and structures in Toronto

• Bank of Upper Canada Building