E. J. Lennox Explained

E. J. Lennox
Birth Name:Edward James Lennox
Birth Date:September 12, 1854
Birth Place:Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Death Place:Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation:Architect

Edward James Lennox (September 12, 1854 – April 15, 1933) was a Toronto-based architect who designed several of the city's most notable landmarks in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including Old City Hall and Casa Loma. He designed over 70 buildings in the city of Toronto.

Life and career

The son of Irish immigrants, he studied at the Mechanics' Institute in Toronto, where he finished first in his class. Upon graduation in 1874, he apprenticed with architect William Irving for five years. He then formed a partnership with fellow architect William Frederick McCaw, before forming his own firm in 1881.

He quickly became one of the most successful architects in Toronto. He rose to the top of his profession when he won the contract for Toronto City Hall in 1886. His caricature can be seen carved in stone on the facade of Old City Hall—he's the one with the handlebar moustache.

Many of his buildings were designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, and he was one of the most important figures in bringing that style to Toronto. His creative prowess in the Romanesque Revival style was especially important in The Annex neighbourhood, where Lennox designed the Lewis Lukes House at 37 Madison Avenue in the mid-1880s, pioneering the Annex House. This style of house is indigenous to Toronto, and it blends elements of Romanesque with that of Queen Anne style.

Later in his life, he served as commissioner of the Toronto Transit Commission from 1923 to 1929.

Buildings

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Hanlan's HotelToronto Islands1875Queen Anne
demolished
Twenty Plenty outlet150 Main Street, Unionville, Ontario1879Queen Anne
built as Unionville Congregational Church and sold to Presbyterian Church 1894 and sold again 1925; later used as veterans hall 1949–1998, home to Home Aid Society and retail store.
Bond Street Congregational ChurchDundas Street and Bond Street (northeast corner)1879Gothic Revival
destroyed 1981 (fire, then demolished)
Berwick Hall139 Main Street South, Georgetown1882Victorian
home of local businessman John R. Barber from 1880 to 1904, then an apartment building
Massey Manufacturing Company Office Building710 King Street West and 519 King Street West1883Richardsonian Romanesque
710 demolished, with 519 now as 511 King Street West (offices and retail tenants)
Lewis Lukes House37 Madison Avenue, The Annex1886Richardsonian Romanesque
converted to office space (Maverick Public Relations Inc.)
Milburn building47-55 Colborne Street1886Richardsonian Romanesque
lower floor restaurants and upper floor offices
Mausoleum of Hart MasseyMount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto1892Richardsonian Romanesque
Toronto Athletic Club149 College Street at University Avenue, Toronto1894Richardsonian Romanesque
now Rotman School, University of Toronto
Beard BuildingKing Street East and Jarvis Street, Toronto1894Richardsonian Romanesque
considered the city's first skyscraper; demolished in the 1930s
Georgetown High SchoolGeorgetown, Ontario1899Demolished 1959 and replaced with current building 1960 (now Georgetown District High School)
Freehold Loan BuildingAdelaide Street East at Victoria Street, Toronto1890Demolished 1960s; became 20 Adelaide Street East c. 1988
Broadway Methodist TabernacleCollege Street and Spadina Avenue, Toronto1899Richardsonian Romanesque
demolished c. 1930
Old City HallQueen Street West and Bay Street, Toronto1899Richardsonian Romanesque
now provincial court house
Massey Harris Head Office915 King Street West, Toronto1899Richardsonian Romanesque
now Massey Harris Lofts
King Edward HotelKing Street East and Jarvis Street, Toronto1903Chicago School
designed with Henry Ives Cobb for George Gooderham's Toronto Hotel Company[1]
Toronto-Bridgman Transformer Station391 Davenport Road1904Toronto Hydro Transformer Station
Bank of TorontoYonge Street and Queen Street1905
Toronto Power Generating StationNiagara Falls, Ontario1906Beaux-Arts
West Wing of the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's ParkQueen's Park Crescent, Toronto1909Edwardian Neo-Classical to interior and additional floor on West Wing
Casa Loma1 Austin Terrace, Toronto1911Gothic Revival
St. Paul's Anglican Church227 Bloor Street East 1913Gothic Revival
Postal Station G765 Queen Street East, South Riverdale, Toronto1913Neo-Classical
Queen/Saulter Library 1980, today the Ralph Thornton Community Centre
Lenwil5 Austin Terrace1913Tudor Revival
built by Lennox as his own residence, and today is the provincial home of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate
Excelsior Life Insurance Company Building36 Toronto Street 1914Beaux-Arts
currently used as office and commercial space
Wolseley Motor Car Company77 Avenue Road1914Richardsonian Romanesque
demolished 1976 and now part of Hazelton Lanes complex
399 Bathurst Street 1906

Neo-Renaissance; 1906 (North Wing), 1910 (South Wing), 1911 and 1923 (additions)

Demolished 1950s-1992; now parking lot

Residence for James B. Boustead134 Bloor Street East1891Tudor Revival
built for James Bellingham Boustead, Toronto entrepreneur and Toronto alderman 1865–1897; demolished mid-20th century and near the site of the Manulife Insurance Building
Hagerman Public School / School Section # 8 4121 Fourteenth Avenue, Markham, Ontario1888Richardsonian Romanesque school house is believed to be designed by Lennox.[2] Now used as The School Fine Dining.
New Toronto Hydro Sub Station124 Birmingham Street, New Toronto1917Edwardian Revival building awaiting historic designation; Now abandoned and awaiting re-development pending sale by city's CreateTO.[3]

Legacy

A small residential street called E.J. Lennox Way is named for him in Unionville, Ontario, behind the former Unionville Congregational Church.

His son Edgar Edward Lennox was also an architect, as well as brother Charles David Lennox, who worked with E. J. Lennox from 1887 to 1915.

Susan M. Lennox great grand daughter of Charles David Lennox and great great niece of E. J. Lennox also an Architect. Graduate of University of Toronto 1992 Bachelor of Architecture. Co-Founder of Lennox Architects Limited Huntsville Ontario with Susana Marques.

Notes

[4]

References

External

Notes and References

  1. http://www.heritagefdn.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_1_7582_1.html Ontario Heritage Trust King Edward Hotel
  2. Web site: Historic Tours Markham.
  3. Web site: Councillor seeks heritage designation for New Toronto hydro substation.
  4. News:
    1. ThrowbackThursday: Berwick Hall in Georgetown, 1913
    . The Independent Free Press. 2018-05-31. 2019-02-10. A familiar Georgetown landmark since 1883, Berwick Hall was designed by Edward J. Lennox, who also designed Toronto's Old City Hall and Casa Loma..