| E. J. Lennox | |
|---|---|
 1885 portrait | |
| Born | Edward James Lennox September 12, 1854 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | April 15, 1933(1933-04-15) (aged 78) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouse |
Emiline Wilson (m. 1881) |
| Children |
|
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
| Building | Location | Dates | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanlan's Hotel | Toronto Islands | 1875 | Queen Anne; demolished | 
|
| Twenty Plenty outlet | 150 Main Street, Unionville, Ontario | 1879 | Queen 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 Church | Dundas Street and Bond Street (northeast corner) | 1879 | Gothic Revival; destroyed 1981 (fire, then demolished) | 
|
| Berwick Hall | 139 Main Street South, Georgetown | 1882 | Victorian; home of local businessman John R. Barber from 1880 to 1904, then an apartment building | 
|
| Massey Manufacturing Company Office Building | 710 King Street West and 519 King Street West | 1883 | Richardsonian Romanesque; 710 demolished, with 519 now as 511 King Street West (offices and retail tenants) | |
| Lewis Lukes House | 37 Madison Avenue, The Annex | 1886 | Richardsonian Romanesque; converted to office space (Maverick Public Relations Inc.) | |
| Milburn building | 47-55 Colborne Street | 1886 | Richardsonian Romanesque; lower floor restaurants and upper floor offices | 
|
| Mausoleum of Hart Massey | Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto | 1892 | Richardsonian Romanesque | 
|
| Toronto Athletic Club | 149 College Street at University Avenue, Toronto | 1894 | Richardsonian Romanesque; now Rotman School, University of Toronto | 
|
| Beard Building | King Street East and Jarvis Street, Toronto | 1894 | Richardsonian Romanesque; considered the city's first skyscraper; demolished in the 1930s | 
|
| Georgetown High School | Georgetown, Ontario | 1899 | Demolished 1959 and replaced with current building 1960 (now Georgetown District High School) | |
| Freehold Loan Building | Adelaide Street East at Victoria Street, Toronto | 1890 | Demolished 1960s; became 20 Adelaide Street East c. 1988 |
|
| Broadway Methodist Tabernacle | College Street and Spadina Avenue, Toronto | 1899 | Richardsonian Romanesque; demolished c. 1930 | 
|
| Old City Hall | Queen Street West and Bay Street, Toronto | 1899 | Richardsonian Romanesque; now provincial court house | 
|
| Massey Harris Head Office | 915 King Street West, Toronto | 1899 | Richardsonian Romanesque; now Massey Harris Lofts | |
| King Edward Hotel | King Street East and Jarvis Street, Toronto | 1903 | Chicago School; designed with Henry Ives Cobb for George Gooderham's Toronto Hotel Company | 
|
| Toronto-Bridgman Transformer Station | 391 Davenport Road | 1904 | Toronto Hydro Transformer Station | |
| Bank of Toronto | Yonge Street and Queen Street | 1905 | Neo-Classical | 
|
| Toronto Power Generating Station | Niagara Falls, Ontario | 1906 | Beaux-Arts | 
|
| West Wing of the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's Park | Queen's Park Crescent, Toronto | 1909 | Edwardian Neo-Classical to interior and additional floor on West Wing | 
|
| Casa Loma | 1 Austin Terrace, Toronto | 1911 | Gothic Revival | 
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| St. Paul's Anglican Church | 227 Bloor Street East | 1913 | Gothic Revival | 
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| Postal Station G | 765 Queen Street East, South Riverdale, Toronto | 1913 | Neo-Classical; Queen/Saulter Library 1980, today the Ralph Thornton Community Centre | 
|
| Lenwil | 5 Austin Terrace | 1913 | Tudor 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 Building | 36 Toronto Street | 1914 | Beaux-Arts; currently used as office and commercial space | |
| Wolseley Motor Car Company | 77 Avenue Road | 1914 | Richardsonian Romanesque; demolished 1976 and now part of Hazelton Lanes complex | |
| Toronto Western Hospital | 399 Bathurst Street | 1906 |
|
|
| Residence for James B. Boustead | 134 Bloor Street East | 1891 | Tudor 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, Ontario | 1888 | Richardsonian Romanesque school house is believed to be designed by Lennox. Now used as The School Fine Dining. | |
| New Toronto Hydro Sub Station | 124 Birmingham Street, New Toronto | 1917 | Edwardian Revival building awaiting historic designation; Now abandoned and awaiting re-development pending sale by city's CreateTO. |
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
- ^
"#ThrowbackThursday: Berwick Hall in Georgetown, 1913". The Independent Free Press. 2018-05-31. Retrieved 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.
- Ontario Heritage Trust King Edward Hotel Archived 2011-05-17 at the Wayback Machine
- "Historic Tours Markham".
- "Councillor seeks heritage designation for New Toronto hydro substation".
References
- Lennox, Edward James. The Canadian Encyclopedia.
- Litvak, Marilyn M. Edward James Lennox: Builder of Toronto
External
Media related to E.J. Lennox at Wikimedia Commons- E. J. Lennox fonds, Archives of Ontario
