Former Toronto Stock Exchange - Toronto, Ontario
N 43° 38.878 W 079° 22.803
17T E 630644 N 4834049
The Art Deco façade of the former Toronto Stock Exchange building has been incorporated into the Toronto-Dominion Centre. The Frieze is by artist Charles Comfort.
Waymark Code: WMP57R
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 07/03/2015
Views: 12
In 1934, the Toronto Stock Exchange merged with its key competitor the Standard Stock and Mining Exchange. The merged markets kept the Toronto Stock Exchange name. The TSX opened its new trading floor and headquarters in an Art Deco building on Bay Street in 1937.
In 1983, the TSX vacated its Art Deco headquarters on Bay Street and moved into the Exchange Tower. The old TSX building later became the Design Exchange, a museum and education centre.
The building on Bay Street that at one time housed the Toronto Stock Exchange was deigned by the architectural firm of George and Moorehouse, in associate with S. H. Maw. It was Maw who conceived the simple but impressive facade and selected the Canadian artist Charles Comfort to created the frieze, which depicts various Canadian industries. The building cost $750,000, the price considered enormous for that decade.
The facade is a combination of art deco and streamlined moderne. Its surface is relatively flat, with no indentations, maximizing the interior space. The carved stone designs of the frieze, sculpted by Peter Schoen, can be seen above the two imposing front doors. Employing a mixture of 1920s designs, the frieze depicts the various industries whose stocks traded on the Exchange floor within. The figures are bold, almost heroic in size.
The windows on the first floor are deeply recessed into the pink granite. Above the first floor, on either end of the building, are parallel straight lines. The ledge near the top of the structure, below the small rectangular windows, contain modillions that display touches of classical designs.
In 1992, when construction was completed on the fifth tower of the TD Centre, the old Stock Exchange Building was surrounded by modern architecture. Today, the building is home to the Design Exchange, which promotes designs and the artistic endeavours of Canadians.
Style: Art Deco
Structure Type: Commercial/Retail
Architect: George and Moorehouse
Date Built: 1937
Supporting references: Not listed
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