Edward James Lennox (September 12, 1854 – April 15, 1933) was a

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

-based architect who designed several of the city's most notable landmarks in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including

Old City Hall Old City Hall may refer to: Asia In Hong Kong * Old City Hall (Hong Kong) Europe In Croatia *Old City Hall (Zagreb) In Denmark * Old City Hall (1479–1728), in Copenhagen * Old City Hall (1728–1795), in Copenhagen * Old City Hall (Aalborg) ...

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 William Frederick McCaw (1850–1923) was an Irish born Canadian-American architect who worked in Toronto early in his career, then in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S., and then other areas in the U.S. He worked in a long succession of partnershi ...

, 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 Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian 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

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

References

* Lennox, Edward James. ''The Canadian Encyclopedia.'' * Litvak, Marilyn M. ''Edward James Lennox: Builder of Toronto''

External

*
E. J. Lennox fonds
Archives of Ontario {{DEFAULTSORT:Lennox, E. J. 1844 births 1933 deaths People from Old Toronto Pre-Confederation Ontario people 19th-century Canadian architects 20th-century Canadian architects Canadian people of Irish descent Burials at St. James Cemetery, Toronto