| Building Name: | Beard Building |
| Location: | 163 King Street East Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Coordinates: | 43.6504°N -79.3716°W |
| Demolished Date: | 1935 |
| Completion Date: | 1893 – 1894 |
| Status: | Demolished |
| Building Type: | Commercial offices Hotel |
| Architectural Style: | Romanesque Revival |
| Roof: | 25.8m (84.6feet) |
| Floor Count: | 7 1 below ground |
| Cost: | $60,000 |
| Architect: | E. J. Lennox |
| References: | [1] |
The Beard Building was a seven-storey, 25.38m (83.27feet) Richardsonian Romanesque highrise in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that is considered to be Toronto's first skyscraper. Designed by E. J. Lennox and completed in 1894, initial plans were for a nine-storey, iron-framed structure, but a more traditional wood-brick combination with seven storeys was settled upon.[2]
The Beard Building consisted of a bank at street level, a commercial and office tower, and a hotel. A branch of The Bank of Commerce occupied the building's main space on its ground floor. Above that, the hotel never opened because of the design of the building.[3] [4] However, the space above the ground floor was leased to businesses as office space.[3] The building was named after George T. Beard, the original landowner of the site.
The Beard Building was demolished in 1935[5] and was replaced by a gas station a few years later.