July 2025 - Toronto ON
Corner of Yonge and Wellington
The two buildings on-site include a former Bank of British North America building at 49 Yonge St., completed in 1873, and the 1847-built Commercial Travellers Association Building at 51 Yonge St.
The former was home to the popular pub The Irish Embassy, a lively fixture at this intersection for the last two decades, until closing its doors at the onset of lockdowns in early 2020.
The first Bank of British North America building on this site – designed in 1845-46 by well-known Toronto architect John Howard – was ideally positioned between the import and wholesale activity of Front Street and the busy retail shops on King Street. It was part of the city’s first financial district and its Wellington Street neighbours included insurance companies and other banks.
Of this group, only the facade of the Commercial Bank of the Midland District (1845-46, William Thomas) remains – rebuilt within the galleria of Brookfield (formerly BCE) Place.
In the late 1800s Toronto became Canada’s mercantile capital and experienced a building boom. Between 1871 and 1891 the number of factories in the city increased from over 500 to approximately 2,500. This heady prosperity may have prompted the bank to replace the Howard structure with a design in the hottest architectural style of the day: Second Empire. The new building by Toronto architect Henry Langley was completed in 1872-73.
Developers have filed a rezoning application that would permit a 60-storey tower to rise from the site. A corresponding application for condominium approval confirms that these will be more of the condos that Toronto loves oh, so much.
The tower would include 258 of these condominium units, though there would also be 1,701 square metres of non-residential (likely retail or restaurant) space assumed to be at the tower's base.
And while this redevelopment spells the end or at least relocation of the Irish Embassy in the not-too-distant future, heritage lovers need not freak out. The 19th-century landmarks that exist today would be preserved in some form, thanks to the heritage protections in place.
...in its day Second Empire was high style!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful architecture. Glad the heritage protection is in place. It would be too bad to lose such beautiful buildings.
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