Toronto Police Headquarters (french: Quartier Général de la Police de Toronto) is the headquarters of the Toronto Police Service, located at 40 College Street in

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 ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. It is the first purpose-built police headquarters in Toronto since the formation of the city's original police force in 1835.

History

The current headquarters is on the former site of the downtown Toronto YMCA building at

Bay Street Bay Street is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Canada's financial services industry since succeeding Montreal's St. James Stree ...

and Grenville Street. The Central YMCA Building was built in 1913 and vacated in 1984 for the new YMCA building on Grosvenor Street.

Architecture

Completed in 1988 by Toronto firms Shore Tilbe Henschel Irwin & Peters and Mathers & Haldenby, the twelve floor, 50m tall building is an example of

Postmodern architecture Postmodern architecture is a style or movement which emerged in the 1960s as a reaction against the austerity, formality, and lack of variety of modern architecture, particularly in the international style advocated by Philip Johnson and Henry- ...

. It was built to replace the older and smaller office on

Jarvis Street Jarvis Street is a north-south thoroughfare in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, passing through some of the oldest developed areas in the city. Its alignment extends from Queens Quay East in the south to Bloor Street in the north. The segment s ...

. The building is composed of a series of glass block and pink granite cubes, which step back as they rise along College and Grenville streets. An octagonal twelve-storey tower meets the southeast corner of Bay and Grenville streets. Natural light pours into the central area of the building through a ten-storey high atrium. A domed roof crowns the elevator lobby atop the terraced structure. Street officer nicknames for the structure can vary, depending on the individual officer's opinion of headquarters as an institution: "the Pink Palace" and "the Pink Whorehouse" are two examples. A fully stocked bar has been located on the 4th floor since 1988. It is operated by the Toronto Police Senior Officers' Association, and access to the bar is limited to senior officers – those ranked inspector or above.

Previous Police Headquarters (1835–1988)

* 590 Jarvis Street was a headquarters for the then Metropolitan Toronto Police from 1967 to 1988, then used by the City of Toronto until it was sold and torn down for residential development. The 6-storey building was built originally for the Foresters, until the group moved to Don Mills. * Old Imperial Oil Building (92 King Street East, built 1917) became Police Headquarters in 1960 after

Imperial Oil Imperial Oil Limited (French: ''Compagnie Pétrolière Impériale Ltée'') is a Canadian petroleum company. It is Canada's second-biggest integrated oil company. It is majority owned by American oil company ExxonMobil with around 69.6 percent ...

moved to the Imperial Oil Building in 1957. Police remained here until 1967.
Search page The building has since been demolished and is now King Plaza condo (c. 1991); a doorway pediment was recovered and is now located at

Guild Park and Gardens Guild Park and Gardens is a public park in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park was formerly the site of an artist colony and is notable for its collection of relics saved from the demolition of buildings primarily in do ...

. * 149 College Street was headquarters for the then Toronto Police Department from 1932 (Metro Toronto Police from 1957) to 1960. Toronto Police Department headquarters from 1835 to 1932: * Old City Hall (Toronto) 1902-1932 - force was located in offices within City Hall building * 8 Court Street 1876-1902 - co-shared as police station; demolished and now site of Court House Park since 1997 *

St. Lawrence Market St. Lawrence Market is a major public market in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located along Front Street East and Jarvis Street in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood of downtown Toronto. The public market is made up of two sites adjacent to one an ...

1835-1876 - Constables based out of South Market building c. 1850 with earlier buildings torn down or burned down

References

External links

{{coord, 43.661348, N, 79.385458, W, region:CA-ON_type:landmark, display=title Municipal buildings in Toronto Postmodern architecture in Canada Toronto Police Service Police headquarters in Canada 1988 establishments in Ontario Government buildings completed in 1988