Toronto Police Headquarters

Toronto Police Headquarters (French: Quartier Général de la Police de Toronto) is the headquarters of the Toronto Police Service, located at 40 College Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the first purpose built police headquarters in Toronto since the formation of the originating force in 1835.

Toronto Police Headquarters
Toronto Police Headquarters
General information
TypeOffice Complex
Architectural stylePostmodern
Location40 College Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2J3
Construction started1985
Completed1988
Height50.0 m (164.0 ft)
Technical details
Floor count12
Design and construction
ArchitectShore Tilbe Henschel Irwin Peters - Architects and Mathers and Haldenby
The main entrance on College Street

History

The current headquarters is on the former site of the downtown Toronto YMCA building at Bay Street and Grenville. The Central YMCA Building was built in 1913[1] and vacated in 1984 for their new building on Grosvenor Street.[2]

Architecture

Completed in 1988 by Toronto firms Shore Tilbe Irwin and Partners and Mathers and Haldenby,[3] the twelve floor 50m tall building is an example of Postmodern style.[4] It was built to replace the older and smaller office on Jarvis Street.

The building is composed of a series of glass block and pink granite cubes which step back as they rise along College and Grenville Streets. An octagonal twelve storey tower meets the southeast corner of Bay and Grenville Streets. Natural light pours into the central area of the building through a ten-storey high atrium. A domed roof crowns the elevator lobby atop the terraced structure.

Street officer nicknames for the structure can vary, depending on the individual officer's opinion of headquarters as an institution: "the Pink Palace" and "the Pink Whorehouse" are two examples.

A fully stocked bar has been located on the 4th floor since 1988. It's operated by the Toronto Police Senior Officers' Association and access to the bar is limited to senior officers, to those ranked inspector or above.[5]

Previous Police Headquarters 1835-1988
Toronto Police Department Headquarters from 1931 to 1960
  • 590 Jarvis Street was a headquarters for the then Metropolitan Toronto Police from 1967 to 1988,[6] then used by the City of Toronto until it was sold and torn down for residential development. The 6 storey building was built originally for the Foresters until the group moved to Don Mills.[7]
  • Old Imperial Oil Building 92 King Street East built 1917, became Police Headquarters 1960 after Imperial Oil of Canada moved to Imperial Oil Building in 1957. Police remained here until 1967[8] and building has since demolished and now King Plaza condo (c. 1991);[9] a doorway pediment was recovered and now located at Guild Park and Gardens.
  • 149 College Street was headquarters for the then Toronto Police Department from 1932 (Metro Toronto Police from 1957) to 1960.[8]

Toronto Police Department headquarters from 1835 to 1932:

  • Old City Hall (Toronto) 1902-1932 - force was located in offices within City Hall building
  • 8 Court Street 1876-1902 - co-shared as police station; demolished and now site of Court House Park since 1997
  • St. Lawrence Market 1835-1876 - Constables based out of South Market building c. 1850 with earlier buildings torn down or burned down
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References
  1. "About us". ymcagta.org. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  2. "Once Upon A City: The long reach of the YMCA". thestar.com. January 26, 2017.
  3. "Toronto Police Service Headquarters, Toronto | 136161 | EMPORIS". www.emporis.com.
  5. Warmington, Joe (2012-05-24). "Retired Toronto police officer questions need for bar inside headquarters". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
  6. "Staff report" (PDF). www.toronto.ca. 2005. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  7. "Old police HQ to make way for condos" – via The Globe and Mail.
  8. Search page

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