Legacy Projects

Completed in 1864, the Old Don Jail was the last work of one of Canada’s most respected early architects, William Thomas, and the largest building project in Toronto’s history at the time. Like much of Thomas’s late work, the jail was conceived in the Renaissance Revival style popular during the mid-1800s which draws inspiration from...

The Automotive Building was constructed in 1929 as a venue for the exhibition of new automobiles. This use continued until the 1960s, however, over the years various unsympathetic renovations occurred and after 80 years the building had became outdated and was no longer in demand as an exhibition space. The new project involved rehabilitating the...

Founded in 1889, the Don Valley Brick Works became one of the largest and most significant brick manufacturers in Canada, relying on locally extracted clay, shale, and sand. Many of Toronto’s landmark masonry buildings, such as Massey Hall, Old City Hall, Casa Loma, and the Royal Ontario Museum, were constructed with Don Valley’s award-winning bricks....

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is an important cultural institution both locally for the City of Toronto and internationally as one of Canada’s most important cultural showplaces. The AGO is one of Toronto’s foremost institutions and has a rich historical and architectural background. Since its inception nearly 100 years ago, the Gallery has undergone...

The Artscape Wychwood Barns are located on the southwest corner of Wychwood and Benson Avenues, near St. Clair Avenue. The modular structure to house streetcars was built between 1913 and 1921 for the Toronto Civic Railway, a transportation system that played a significant role in the development of the newly annexed suburban areas in the...

Built in 1857 and designed by H.B. Sinclair, Cambridge City Hall is a fine example of Italianate public design and is an important heritage landmark. Over the years substantial changes have been made to the building, including a major renovation in 1965 by Peter Stokes and subsequent remodeling in 1990. ERA was appointed on two...

The Ruthven Park National Historic Site consists of one of Canada’s finest Greek Revival mansions, which sits on 1,478 acres of property along the Grand River in southwestern Ontario. ERA was retained as the heritage architectural consultant on a conservation management plan team restoring Ruthven Park. We provided detailed assessments and historical studies of the...

The Royal Ontario Museum is a national cultural and architectural landmark, and is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act by the City of Toronto. Since its opening in 1914, the building has undergone several significant additions by prominent local architects, resulting in a fine building that displays the regional development of early...

The former Eaton’s College Street contains one of the finest Art Moderne interiors in Canada, the Carlu. It was commissioned by Sir John Craig Eaton to be the flagship for Eaton’s department store. Opened in 1931, the Carlu was an impressive and grand complex that was home to refined social and cultural events, hosting several...

The Tip Top Tailor building was constructed in 1929 to the designs of architect Roy M. Bishop. The former garment factory is a fine industrial example of the Art Deco Style in painted white concrete with cast architectural ornament and brightly coloured glazed tile bands. A designated heritage property, ERA was contracted to assess the...

The Chapman & McGiffin designed public library, formerly known as the Dovercourt Branch, was opened in 1913 and renamed the Bloor and Gladstone Public Library in 1938. It was intended to serve a community at Bloor Street and Dovercourt Road and was the first Toronto Public Library branch to be entirely financed by the City...

Commissioned in 1875 by clothing manufacturer William R. Johnston, and designed by prominent local architectural firm Langley, Langley & Burke, the former residence at 571 Jarvis is a significant visual reminder of the affluence and grandeur of Jarvis Street during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Both the exterior and interior of the historic...