F. W. Woolworth Building (Toronto)

The Woolworth building, located at Queen Street West and Yonge Street in downtown Toronto, pre-dates the Toronto Eaton Centre.

The F. W. Woolworth Building today.

History

Early Tenants

Built in 1895 by Curry, Baker and Company Architects, the building was once site of Elliot Thomas' Sun Tavern (1830-1850) and Agricultural Hall from 1850-1890.[1]

The four storey building has been home to several owners:

  • Philip Jamieson Clothing Company - a clothier/wholesaler/outfitter and first occupant in 1895 and remained in business shortly after Jamieson's death in 1909
  • S.H. Knox and Company - American Five and dime retailer that briefly occupied it from 1910 to 1913
  • F.W. Woolworth - an American retailer and longest tenant from 1913 to 1960s acquire the store when Frank and Charles Woolworth merged their store with their cousin Knox to form F.W. Woolworth

Woolworth Tenancy 1913-1990s

Woolworth's would dramatically alter the building by cladding the entire building hiding the original architecture in the late 1960s.[2]

Later tenants

The building would be renovated in the 1990s after Woolworth's departure from the Canadian retail scene with some of the building's original design more visible[3].

The building was later home to several tenants including RBC bank branch, now defunct Tower Records Superstore, sports store Sport Chek (originally as Coast Mountain Sports then as Atmosphere) and gym GoodLife Fitness.

Restoration

The building's façade was restored and additional floors were added above by Zeidler Partnership Architects[4] (and assisted by restoration firm ERA Architects) for a new tenant in 2017.[5]

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See also
Woolworth's on the left corner in the 1930s.

References
  1. "The N/W Corner of Yonge and Queen/ A Brief History". Lost Toronto. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  2. "Dramatic Makeover at Yonge and Queen Streets now underway". BlogTO.com. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  3. "Toronto's architectural gems — the northwest corner of Yonge and Queen St. West". Historic Toronto. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  4. "2 Queen West, Toronto, Ontario". Zeidler. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  5. Bell, Bruce (February 8, 2018). "Historic Downtown Toronto Building To Get Facelift That Dates Back To 1895". TorontoStoreys.com. Retrieved September 1, 2019.

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