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1 Early Practice

OCCIDENT HALL

The first known record of E.J. Lennox as a practising architect is an advertisement in the Globe, 15 May 1876 (Illus. 5). At that time he was in partnership with a William Frederick McCaw, and their firm asked for contractors to bid on the erection of Occident Hall, at the southeast corner of Queen and Bathurst streets.¹ McCaw & Lennox developed a successful practice, though they faced stiff competition from a growing number of architectural firms practising in Toronto.² The number of advertisements for contracting bids in the Globe and Toronto Telegram between 1876 and 1881 confirms that McCaw & Lennox were popular and sought after.³ Their commissions ranged from large churches to school houses in Stratford and Owen Sound; from “commodious” brick villas to commercial properties; from a “first class” hotel on the Island, Toronto Bay, to a summer cottage and the design and construction of 2,000 lineal feet of esplanade and terracing at the lakefront in Parkdale. Only a few of the buildings McCaw & Lennox contracted for have been documented. Occident Hall was a major commission and no mean building in its time. C.P. Mulvany, in his Toronto, Past and Present until 1882 (published 1884), praised the building as handsome and “unique in its design and furniture.”⁴ Completed in 1878 (Illus. 6), Occident Hall was a tentative exercise in Second Empire style. The original roof is gone and the building, now called the Big Bop, no longer witnesses the secret meetings of Masons; it now vibrates to the sound of hard rock music.

While building Occident Hall, McCaw & Lennox entered a competition for the laying out and beautifying of “the City Parks, viz, the Queen’s Park, High Park, and the Eastern Park,” which offered $300 to the winners.⁵ Their proposal to the Public Walks and Gardens Committee, dated 17 May 1876, was highly detailed, including a grand promenade, ornamental lamps, a large oval-shaped pond, rockeries, and a great deal more. By 19 June 1876 the committee had chosen the winning plans: “For the Queen’s Park: – 1st Prize Plan, bearing the motto ‘Manu Forti,’ by Messrs. McCaw & Lennox, Toronto.”⁶ Despite the judges’ glowing tributes to their design, the city did not go ahead with the Queens Park beautiflcation program, and months later McCaw and Lennox had to chase City Hall for their $300 prize.⁷

BOND STREET CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

The original Bond Street Congregational Church burned to the ground in 1878, and McCaw & Lennox were called on to design a new building.⁸ They designed a large, “modern” Gothic building that was 24 metres (80 feet) wide and 27 metres (90 feet) deep and could accommodate some fourteen hundred worshippers (Illus. 7). Its main tower on the southwest corner was about 40 metres (130 feet) high (about thirteen storeys), while the tower to the north side was 20 metres (65 feet) high, exactly half the height of the main tower. The roof of the church was octagonal in shape, and was topped by a similarly shaped ornate monitor (Illus. 8) to allow for ventilation.

Entrance to the church was gained through the towers. The pulpit and choir were on the east side of the auditorium. A gallery, supported on columns which extended up the groined dome, ran round the remaining three sides of the church. The design culminated in a second dome of ornamental stained glass. Emphasis was placed on light and comfort, and (to judge by a photograph of the interior) sight-lines were of equal importance (Illus. 9).

The Bond Street church McCaw & Lennox built no longer exists. It suffered a fate similar to that of its predecessor: late in the evening of 19 September 1981 a fire erupted, and the church, which had for a number of decades been the Evangel Temple, was so badly damaged that it had to be demolished. The land on which it stood was for many years a parking lot.

ERSKINE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

McCaw & Lennox’s second important 1878 commission was Erskine Presbyterian Church on Elm Street (Illus. 10).⁹ Similar in size and shape to the Bond Street church, Erskine Presbyterian was articulated in brick as opposed to stone. The design was infinitely more elegant. To emphasize the importance of the building, its gables were finished with stone caps. The main structure was divided into a vestibule that extended the whole width of the front and an auditorium of about 18 metres (60 feet) in depth. No drawings or photographs of the interior are known to exist; all that remains is a description. The auditorium was designed along the lines of an amphitheatre, with the floor sloping towards a platform and pulpit at the north end. The organ was behind the pulpit, and a gallery supported on iron columns filled in the other three sides. The ceiling above the nave was decorated with moulded ribs and bosses. When the building was partially destroyed by fire in early 1884, it was restored “according to the original plans of the architect, Mr. E.J. Lennox.”¹⁰ If McCaw objected to Lennox’s taking sole credit for the design, the author found no historical record of his complaint.

HOTEL HANLAN

Late in 1879, McCaw & Lennox were commissioned by the world-famous oarsman Edward “Ned” Hanlan to build a hotel on Toronto Island.¹¹ Hanlan wanted to create a luxurious resort hotel not unlike those being built in the United States. The firm’s advertisement read as follows:

TO CONTRACTORS

Tenders to be received for the building of a first-class hotel on the Island, Toronto Bay for

EDWARD HANLAN, ESQ.

Plans and specifications, &c. can be seen at our offices. Builders will be required to give substantiated references and security if required. The lowest or any tender not necessarily accepted. Plans, &c, can be seen on and after the 22nd inst.

McCaw & Lennox,

Architects, 9 & 10 Imperial Building, Toronto.

A sketch of the Hotel Hanlan (Illus. 11) made soon after it was built shows an elegant structure, symmetrical in plan and articulated in American “stick style.”¹² Narrow columns (stickwork-like) held up an almost fragile-looking two-tiered veranda which spanned and encircled the building. False timbers decorated the dormers, and towers, punctuating the three bays, were covered by gently concave sloped roofs. All in all, a handsome structure with its roots firmly planted in nineteenth-century America. A photograph taken some years later indicates that the Hotel Hanlan, once the preserve of the wealthy, was attempting to appeal to a broader market: note roof advertising (Illus. 12).

Throughout 1880—81 the firm continued to be busy. Their commissions ranged from unpretentious residences¹³ to grand villas¹⁴ and a summer “cottage” in Parkdale;¹⁵ from a large brick commercial building “to be erected on Queen-street West”¹⁶ to a much smaller one at the southwest corner of Breadalbane and Yonge Street.¹⁷ The Yonge Street building still exists; its Second Empire—style roof is much more dynamic than the one McCaw & Lennox designed for Occident Hall four years earlier.

During the spring of 1881 Ned Hanlan decided to improve his resort, and called on McCaw & Lennox to build a “Bowling Alley, Billiard Room, and Hall” on Toronto Island. The call for tender for that commission is the last known documentation of the McCaw & Lennox partnership. At some point between June and November of 1881, the partnership dissolved. By November of 1881, Lennox advertised alone in the “Tenders Wanted” column of the Globe for contractors to submit bids to erect a “Brick Villa Residence on the Allan property, Shuter-street” (Illus. 13).¹⁸ The advertisement lists E.J.’s address as Nos. 8 & 9, the Manning Block, at the southeast corner of King and Yonge streets. Lennox had moved out of the offices in the Imperial Building on Adelaide Street East; the partnership was at an end, and McCaw’s name disappeared from the Toronto directory.

Lennox did not have to wait long for important assignments. The architectural profession was in a state of rapid expansion, and the number of firms kept right on growing, as did the population of Toronto and its inventory of buildings.

A LARGE BRICK WOOLLEN FACTORY AND THE BLOOR STREET BAPTIST CHURCH

By February of 1882 Lennox had been commissioned to erect “a large brick woollen factory” on Front Street East.¹⁹ It may well be the Standard Woollen Mills building, 223—237 Front Street East, which is now part of the Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre.²⁰ And by October he was advertising for bids on the building of a church.²¹

The Bloor Street Baptist Church, 1882 (Illus. 14), an unassuming structure of red brick with stone trim, was located at the southeast corner of Bloor and North (now Bay) streets. It was altogether an exercise in restraint. Its most commanding feature was a handsome square tower with a relatively short four-sided spire and “on one side of it, a circular turret with mock winding-staircase-windows and short spiral roof.”²² The tower was “counterbalanced” by large buttresses and a wing. Leading to the tower and providing access to the church was an entrance covered by open-timbered roof, projecting gables, and wrought-iron gates.

From an 1885 description of the interior, its auditorium appears to have been comparable to that of the Bond Street Congregational Church. “Opposite the entrances is the platform, with the baptistry — entirely constructed of marble — behind, and above, a handsome choir and organ gallery, supported by carved columns. A gallery for the general accommodation of worshippers runs round the other three sides of the building. The ceiling is plastered, with groined ribs, dome-shaped in the centre and ornamented with carved capitals, bosses, etc.”²³

THE BILTON AND CLARKE RESIDENCES

By the end of 1882 Lennox was designing semi-detached residences for Mrs. Bilton on Gerrard Street, 1882—83 (Illus. 15).²⁴ These are excellent examples of Canadian Queen Anne Revival style. They comprise intricate brickwork, elaborate half-timbering, and two large gables. The semi-detached houses were followed by a residence for an H.E. Clarke at 603 Jarvis Street,²⁵ 1882–83 (Illus. 16).²⁶

THE MASSEY MANUFACTURING COMPANY OFFICE BUILDING

In March 1883 a reporter from the Globe wrote a story about the building-trade prospects for the coming season.²⁷ The writer had interviewed a number of prominent architects who, “having suffered through a strike and lost opportunities the previous season, believed it wise not to give out information about their prospects.” The writer pointed out that W. Storm, one of Toronto’s more successful architects, supported these sentiments because information pertaining to trade prospects “might strengthen the hands of those who were contemplating demanding increased wages.” Only seven architects spoke frankly about their upcoming assignments. Lennox was at the top of the list with seventeen projects, followed by Langley, Langley, & Burke with eight. The remaining five firms accounted for thirty other prospective assignments. Two significant pieces of information about Lennox can be derived from the report. The first is that he had a very busy practice. The second is that he was not afraid of the threat of increasing wage demands and/or labour reprisal.

Two of Lennox’s commissions highlighted in the article were offices for the Massey Manufacturing Company as well as a residence and coach-house on Jarvis Street for Charles H. Massey. Lennox started the office structure in 1883, and by 1885 the building was completed (Illus. 17).²⁸ A foursquare, red-brick building, very much in keeping with Queen Anne Revival style. It boasted bay windows, dormers, and a wonderful belvedere. Charles died in 1884 and did not live to see it completed. Nor did he live to see the completion of his house at 519 Jarvis Street.

The gabled, red-brick Queen Anne Revival—style house on Jarvis Street stayed in the family (it was bought by Charles’s brother, H.A. Massey, for his son, Chester Daniel Massey)²⁹ and is still standing. It has suffered from inept and unsympathetic additions, but Lennox’s signature use of intricate brickwork and terracotta is still evident on the west elevation. A curved, leaded-glass stair-hall window, original to the house and exceptional in its execution, remains undamaged (Illus. 18). As with most of Lennox’s residential designs, the main staircase starts at the south, rises to a landing, and is lit by an intricate window placed to receive light from the north.

LAILEY RESIDENCE AND 664–682 YONGE STREET

Lennox was also working on 280 Bloor Street West for William Lailey (Illus. 19).³⁰ His interpretation of the Queen Anne style was changing, and the structure was not as appealing as the Massey residence. The combination of a number of elements combined to create a less than coherent design. Corbelling like that featured in the turret of the Bloor Street Baptist Church bell tower was used here as a support for a window on the west side of the house. A polygonal tower with shingles, terracotta panelling, and sharply pointed roof completed the east side of the façade. Above the oriels and breaking the roof line was a balcony, resting on prominent brackets, the whole being surmounted by a weighty projecting gable. Another of his 1883 designs, the Scottish Ontario & Manitoba Land Company, at 664–682 Yonge Street,³¹ shows that Lennox had not abandoned the Second Empire style (Illus. 20 and 21). This row of stores is much more forceful in appearance than any of its immediate neighbours.

THE MANNING ARCADE

By 1884 Alexander Manning, a Toronto real estate baron, had become one of Lennox’s clients. For a number of years, Lennox had been one of Manning’s tenants. In 1881, after having set up his practice, he had moved his offices to the Manning Block; now he became Manning’s architect, and the first structure designed by Lennox for his new client was suitably called the “Manning Arcade”³² (Illus. 22). Without question, it was inspired by another property owned by Manning, the Grand Opera House, 1879 (architect unknown; Illus. 23). The Arcade entrance was heavily ornamented, with caryatids holding up a pediment that announced the name of the building and an Atlas-like figure carrying an ornate balcony on his shoulders. Above the entrance, a deep recess was filled by a two-tiered oriel. The building sported all manner of decoration. Though an exercise in ostentation, it was regarded as a handsome and imposing structure in its time. Mayor of Toronto in 1885 and an important ratepayer,³³ Manning was to prove an important client and friend to Lennox, especially with regard to the competition for and the building of Toronto’s municipal and county buildings.

VICTORIA HALL

From the ornate to the subtle: Lennox’s next known building was the Victoria Hall on Queen Street East, for the Orange Association (Illus. 24).³⁴ When Eric Arthur, in his 1964 edition of Toronto: No Mean City, wrote, “We are only beginning to appreciate Lennox as an architect,”³⁵ it was this building that prompted the observation. Arthur admired the hall for its “charm” and its wonderful brickwork. In this work, Lennox managed to tie the elements together in a very neat package. The building was thought of as a piece of sculpture, with brickwork creating light and shade. Elegance and distinction were created by the crisp design of arcading and drop pilaster-strips.

THE BEATTY BUILDING

An office building constructed for William Henry Beatty circa 1885—86 was completely unlike the Victoria Hall.³⁶ Lennox looked to Europe for inspiration in creating the design for this rather small building at 3 King Street West (Illus. 25). He had many folio volumes on architecture, modern and old, publications from both sides of the Atlantic, to draw on for this exercise. It resembles the Manning Arcade in its excess if not in specific detail. Nearly every surface of the facade was embellished. If nothing else it was a conspicuous testimonial to the wealth of its owner, Beatty, whose bust surveyed the street from the apex of the building.

Three levels of pilasters defined the horizontal limits of the façade; each level was treated differently. The first set of pilasters was stylized and geometric. The second set was rusticated, fluted and topped by Ionic capitals. The third set was flat, but shouldered caryatids which in turn carried a heavy attic storey. Beatty’s building was very much in keeping with contemporary European commercial buildings. By the time the Beatty Building was finished, Lennox was already at work competing for one of his most important commissions, and one of his most admired buildings, Toronto’s “Old City Hall.”

Illus. 5: Advertisement in the ‘Tenders Wanted” column, the Globe, 15 May 1876, for the Masonic building, Occident Hall.

Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library

Illus. 6: Occident Hall, 175 Bathurst Street, southeast corner of Queen and Bathurst streets, 1876, McCaw & Lennox.

City of Toronto Archives

Illus. 7: Bond Street Congregational Church, northeast corner of Bond and Dundas streets, 1878, McCaw & Lennox (demolished).

Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library

Illus. 8: Bond Street Congregational Church. Monitor.

Toronto Historical Board

Illus. 9: Bond Street Congregational Church. Interior.

City of Toronto Archives

Illus. 10: Erskine Presbyterian Church, Simcoe Street, 1878, McCaw & Lennox (demolished).

City of Toronto Archives

Illus. 11: Sketch of Hotel Hanlan, 1879, McCaw & Lennox (demolished), from C.P. Mulvany’s Toronto Past and Present until 1882.

Illus. 12: Hotel Hanlan, Toronto Island, 1879, as it looked in the 1890s.

City of Toronto Archives

Illus. 13: The first known record — advertisement in the “Tenders Wanted” column of the Globe, 12 November 1881 – showing that the firm of McCaw & Lennox had dissolved and E.J. Lennox was practising on his own.

Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library

Illus. 14: Bloor Street Baptist Church, southeast corner of Bloor and North (now Bay) streets, 1882 (demolished).

City of Toronto Archives

Illus. 15: Semi-detached residences for Mrs. Bilton, Gerrard Street East, 1882–83 (demolished).

City of Toronto Archives

Illus. 16: The residence of H.E. Clarke, Esq., 603 Jarvis Street, 1882–83 (demolished).

Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library

Illus. 17: The Massey Manufacturing Company, 701 King Street West, 1883.

City of Toronto Archives

Illus. 18: Residence of Chester Massey, 519 Jarvis Street, 1883. Interior detail.

Marilyn Litvak

Illus. 19: Residence of William Lailey, Esq., 280 Bloor Street West, 1883 (demolished).

City of Toronto Archives

Illus. 20: The Scottish Ontario & Manitoba Land Company, 664–682 Yonge Street, 1883.

John O’Brien

Illus. 21: Scottish Ontario & Manitoba Land Company, 1883. Detail.

John O’Brien

Illus. 22: The Manning Arcade, 22–28 King Street, 1883 (demolished).

City of Toronto Archives

Illus. 23: The Grand Opera House, south side of Adelaide Street between Yonge and Bay streets, 1872–74, architect unknown (demolished).

Archives of Ontario

Illus. 24: Victoria Hall, Queen Street East, 1885 (demolished).

City of Toronto Archives

Illus. 25: The Beatty Building, 3 King Street West, 1886 (demolished).

City of Toronto Archives