The Koffler Student Centre is the main

student centre A student center (or student centre) is a type of building found on university and some high school campuses. In the United States, such a building may also be called a student union, student commons, or union. The term "student union" refers mos ...

at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, located at 214

College Street College Street may refer to: *College Street (Kolkata) *College Street (Toronto) * College Street (Sydney) *College Street (York) College Green is an open space in the city centre of York, England. History The green lies within the historic pr ...

. The centre houses a number of different student services, including the main campus bookstore, career centre, and health clinic. The ornate building is located at the northwest corner of St. George and College Street streets in a building that was formerly the home of the

Toronto Reference Library The Toronto Reference Library is a public reference library in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The library is located on the corner of Yonge Street and Asquith Avenue, within the Yorkville neighbourhood of downtown Toronto. The Toronto Reference Library ...

History

The building was opened in 1909 as the Toronto Public Library's Central Reference Library, Ontario's largest Carnegie library. It remained the home of the reference library until 1977, when it relocated to its current home at Bloor and Yonge. The building was then acquired by the

, converted into the student services centre, and renamed after university supporter Murray Koffler of

Shoppers Drug Mart Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. (named Pharmaprix in Quebec) is a Canadian retail pharmacy chain based in Toronto, Ontario. It has more than 1,300 stores in nine provinces and two territories. The company was founded by pharmacist Murray Koffler in 1962 ...

Architecture

Designed by Alfred H. Chapman, the Beaux Arts building features a grand entrance fronting College Street by St. George Street, with stairs rising to the former library's

piano nobile The ''piano nobile'' (Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ''bel étage'') is the principal floor of a palazzo. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the hou ...

. A second, less prominent ground level entrance, located towards the western part of the College Street façade, balances the composition. This main façade fronting College Street is characterized by a sequence of lower paired windows set in a smooth grey stone wall. Its contrasting yellow brick upper section features six two-storey windows set between Corinthian columns. The original library's reading and reference room overlooked College Street through the large front windows. An addition by

Chapman and Oxley Chapman and Oxley was a Toronto-based architectural firm that was responsible for designing a number of prominent buildings in the city during the 1920s and 1930s. Even with the departure of Chapman, the firm's last projects appeared to be in the l ...

in association with Wickson and Gregg was completed along St. George Street in 1930, the theatre was renovated in 1961 by Irving Grossman, and 1985 marked the renovation and restoration of the building headed by Howard D. Chapman (son of Alfred H. Chapman) and Howard V. Walker. The building was listed a heritage structure in Toronto's inventory of heritage properties in 1973.

References

External links

Toronto Public Library page about the building
{{coord, 43.659056, N, 79.396895, W, region:CA-ON_type:landmark, display=title University of Toronto buildings Beaux-Arts architecture in Canada City of Toronto Heritage Properties Chapman and Oxley buildings