Institutional

The building at 297 Victoria Street was constructed as O’Keefe House, the administrative headquarters for O’Keefe Breweries, in 1939. O’Keefe House was designed by the architectural firm of Chapman and Oxley, a firm that produced some very fine Beaux-Arts and Moderne buildings in Toronto in the 20’s and 30’s. The construction of O’Keefe House represents...

The R.C. Harris Filtration Plant is a fine example of Depression era public works project at a grand scale. In 1998, these Art Deco buildings, set amidst terraced lawns overlooking Lake Ontario, were designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Site. E.R.A. was commissioned to develop Heritage Guildelines for future interventions and Heritage Assessment documents...

The Joy Oil Station is the last of at least 16 stations built of the same design in Toronto in the 1930’s by the Joy Oil Company Ltd. The building is designated by the City of Toronto under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. It was built in a miniature chateau style, with distinctive...

Todmorden Mills is a small mid-nineteenth century industrial complex located in the Don Valley. A designated heritage site, the mill and residential buildings operate as a heritage and cultural centre. ERA provided long-term planning, museological and architectural conservation consulting to the site. One of the houses on the site is a rare adobe building for...

Cultural facilities are a tangible representation of Toronto’s past, present and future potential to serve the cultural needs of diverse communities. In the downtown, cultural facilities such as theatres, galleries, museums, cinemas and outdoor stages have redefined and re-energized districts such as the Entertainment District along King Street or gallery districts along Spadina Avenue and...

Built in 1853, Chiefswood was the childhood home of E. Pauline Johnson, renowned Canadian poet and performer. A National Historic Site, ERA provided full architectural services for the phased restoration of the interior and exterior of the house and the reconstruction of the wood-clad kitchen wing, in accordance with a conservation plan developed with Parks...

The Old St. Thomas Anglican Church yard contains the elaborate funeral box monument of the Chisholm family, who were early settlers in the area. Vandalism and structural movement necessitated the rebuilding of this and other grave markers in the cemetery. ERA was contracted to restore the monument and oversee the repair and restoration of broken...

Mnjikaning Fish Weirs is the largest and best-preserved wooden fish weirs known in eastern North America, in use from approximately 3,300 B.C. “Mnjikaning” is an Ojibway word meaning “the place of the fish fence”, which is located at the narrows between Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching. Mnjinkaning Fish Weirs is a National Historic Site. Fish...

The principal project created new exhibition halls, and incorporated the existing stone and brick Coliseum Complex, dating from 1922-26. ERA directed the restoration and reconstruction of the previously demolished south elevation of the Coliseum Arena and design integration at the junction of the old and new buildings. In a subsequent project, ERA advised on the...

Built in 1836, Colborne Lodge is listed on Toronto’s inventory of heritage properties.It is an early example of the regency cottage in Ontario. Chimney repair, environmental and programming modifications, accessibility and landscape improvements have been undertaken on an ongoing basis. ERA provided heritage architectural services for a program of maintenance, covering all stages of the...

Lowertown was first laid out by Colonel By in connection with the construction of the Rideau Canal in the 1820s. Lowertown was shaped by French-Canadian and Irish immigrants that settled in the area. This population and its relationship to the surrounding urban landscape played a large role in the development of the area’s historic urban...