| Canada Life Building | |
| Start Date: | 1929 |
| Completion Date: | 1931 |
| Building Type: | Office building |
| Location: | 330 University Avenue Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Coordinates: | 43.6517°N -79.3875°W |
| Roof: | 285feet |
| Antenna Spire: | 321feet |
| Floor Count: | 17 |
| Architect: | Sprott & Rolph; Kuwabara Payne McKenna |
The Canada Life Building is a historic office building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fifteen-floor Beaux Arts building was built by Sproatt & Rolph and stands at 285feet, 321feet including its weather beacon.
It is located at University and Queen Street in the city's downtown core. Work on the new headquarters of the Canada Life Assurance Company began in 1929 and it opened in 1931. It was the fourth building to serve as the headquarters of Canada Life, Canada's oldest, and at the time largest insurance company. Previously it had been housed in offices at Bay and King Street.
The Beaux Arts structure was the first of a series of planned structures along University Avenue, but the Great Depression halted these plans. When it was completed it was one of the tallest buildings in Toronto. It remains one of the largest office buildings in Toronto with windows that can be opened by its occupants.
The building also houses the majority of the Civil operations of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for the Toronto region.
The building is perhaps best known for its weather beacon, whose colour codes provide summarized weather forecasts at a glance. The information is updated four times every day by Environment Canada's Weather Centre at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The forecast is for the next 4 hours. The top light shows:[1]
The white lights along the support tower show:[1]
Forecast Period:[2]
The beacon was the first of its kind to appear in Canada and was built at a cost of $25,000 . The top of the beacon tower stands 321feet above University Avenue and, when completed on August 9, 1951, made the structure the third-highest in Toronto, after the Canadian Bank of Commerce Building and the Royal York Hotel.
190 Simcoe Street is a 9-floor addition to the campus, built directly west of the original. It connects to the original building through two enclosed, elevated walkways. Currently, only the 2nd floor walkway is used to move between the buildings. It was completed in 1970.
180 Simcoe Street is a 12-floor addition to the campus, built directly south of 190 Simcoe Street. It connects to 190 Simcoe Street through a short walkway. It was completed in 1994.
Canada Life Tower is a 16-floor addition to the campus, built south-west of the original. It connects to the rest of the campus through an underground loading dock area. It totals 16 floors and was designed by Kuwabara Payne McKenna. It was completed in 2005.