Building Conservation
Spotlight
2 Queen Street West
2 Queen Street West has served shoppers on the corner of Yonge and Queen since its construction in 1895. Designed in the Renaissance Revival style in a rare partnership between Samuel Curry and Francis S. Baker, the building first opened as the P. Jamieson Clothier Outfitter. It was eventually surrounded by the rise of the...
The University of Toronto’s FitzGerald Building
The University of Toronto’s FitzGerald Building is a 1927 Georgian Revival-style heritage building situated on the south end of St. George Campus. Originally built as a state-of-the-art facility for the Faculty of Medicine and the newly created Connaught Laboratories, the uses have subsequently moved to other locations. ERA was engaged as the heritage architect for...
The Historic Dominion Hotel
The historic Dominion Hotel building has seen significant changes since its construction in 1890, including a fire that destroyed the fourth storey. Torontonians will recognize it as the Dominion Pub, an east-end landmark with red bricks and elaborate sandstone features at the corner of Queen Street East and Sumach Street. ERA was engaged to redesign...
577 Yonge St
The owner of 577 Yonge Street, KingSett Captial, set out to restore the prominent four-storey, Edwardian-style brick building. The 125-year-old structure has undergone several modifications throughout its history, most notably the removal of the original storefront glazing, the replacement of the fourth-floor windows with unsympathetic vinyl, and the covering of the brick façade with white...
80 Richmond Façade Restoration
ERA led the façade restoration of 80 Richmond Street West as part of Dream Office REIT’s commitment to conserving heritage properties within their financial district portfolio. Our work focused on two areas of intervention — full restoration of the building’s façades and renovating the building’s base and storefront. The façade restoration scope included general cleaning,...
Case Goods Warehouse
The Case Goods and Cannery buildings are an integral component of Toronto’s Distillery District and reflect the industrial heritage and architectural character of the 19th-century distillery operations in the city. Now home to Collège Boréal, an educational and cultural hub for Ontario’s Francophone communities, the Case Goods Warehouse and 3rd floor of the Cannery were...
Centre Block
Centre Block, in its impressive setting on Parliament Hill, is perhaps Canada’s most recognized landmark. This iconic building houses the seat of government for the country, including the Senate of Canada and the House of Commons. The Centre Block Rehabilitation project is one of the largest and most complex heritage projects of its kind. The...
St. Hilda’s Towers Transformation
ERA was the Architect of Record for a multi-phase modernization project at the St. Hilda’s Towers in partnership with the City of Toronto and WoodGreen. St. Hilda’s has been a cornerstone of its community for the past 40 years, providing affordable housing for seniors at the heart of the new Eglinton LRT corridor. Made possible...
Toronto House
Rehabilitated and updated to include office, retail, health club, and residential use, the restored heritage façade of the former Southam Press Building at 19 Duncan Street anchors the new development “Toronto House” at the corner of Adelaide St and Duncan St. One of the earliest warehouses in the area, it is recognized as a fine...
Kiever Synagogue
The nearly century-old Kiever Synagogue in Toronto’s Kensington Market is a stalwart landmark of the historic Jewish community there. Designed by Toronto architect Benjamin Swartz, the synagogue was erected between 1923 and 1927 at the northwest corner of Denison Sq. Park. It is now heritage designated and located within the Kensington Market National Historic Site....
The Webster (121 Scollard)
The three-storey brick building at 121 Scollard Street is designated under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act, as part of the Yorkville-Hazelton Heritage Conservation District. The building was constructed c.1900 as semidetached units and developed by Leeds Sheppard, a prominent landowner in Yorkville. In the 1950s, the building was transformed into one unit. Fast...
480 Yonge Street
The landmark Victorian-era clock tower located on Yonge Street, just north of College Street, has a multi-layered history that links many communities and generations. First built in 1872 as Toronto’s Fire Hall No.3, it was an impressive early punctuation on Yonge Street due to its imposing height and rich architectural detailing. By the 1950s the...
The York Club Landscape
ERA’s Landscape Architecture department was engaged to prepare designs to enhance the York Club’s storied dining courtyard garden and adjacent outdoor spaces. The proposed landscape improvements coincided with the new kitchen expansion and interior accessibility upgrades (also led by ERA). Set amidst a mature tree canopy in the south lawn of the club, and enclosed...
The York Club Renovation
Since 2019 ERA has worked closely with one of Toronto’s oldest private clubs. ERA brought its multivalent expertise to provide full architectural services for the renovation, accessibility upgrades and kitchen expansion of Waveney, the historic (and heritage designated) Romanesque Revival Gooderham Mansion, home of the York Club. ERA worked closely with the Club’s Renovation Planning...
