The North York Civic Centre is a

municipal government A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

building 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 opened in 1979 as the

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

of the former city of

North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...

. It is located in

North York City Centre North York City Centre is a central business district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the administrative district of North York. It is located along Yonge Street, between just south of Sheppard Avenue northward to Finch Avenue with its focus aroun ...

. Designed by Adamson Associates Architects, the building is located on

Yonge Street Yonge Street (; pronounced "young") is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Once the southernmost leg of provincial Hi ...

north of

Sheppard Avenue Sheppard Avenue is an east–west principal arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The street has two distinct branches near its eastern end, with the original route being a collector road leading to Pickering via a turnoff, and the main ro ...

, and features

Mel Lastman Square Mel Lastman Square is a public square at North York Civic Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is named for then North York mayor (and later Toronto mayor) Mel Lastman. It was officially opened on June 16, 1989 by Norman Jewison and Mel Lastma ...

along the Yonge Street frontage. The construction of the building was intended to act as a catalyst for the development of the "North York City Centre", a downtown area for the formerly suburban North York. The building received The Governor General's Medal for Architecture in 1982. With municipal amalgamation, North York is now part of the City of

, and the building no longer serves as a city hall. Today, the building is home to the

North York Community Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The cu ...

and a number of local municipal departments and services. Opposite the Civic Centre is the

North York Central Library North York Central Library is a Toronto Public Library branch located in North York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the two libraries in Toronto considered to be "Research and Reference Libraries", the other being the Toronto Reference Lib ...

branch of the

Toronto Public Library Toronto Public Library (TPL) (french: Bibliothèque publique de Toronto) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2008 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other pu ...

. The Civic Centre is served by the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and largest ...

North York Centre North York City Centre is a central business district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the administrative district of North York. It is located along Yonge Street, between just south of Sheppard Avenue northward to Finch Avenue with its focus aro ...

subway station (opened in 1987).

Previous Municipal Offices

* Temporary home for council meetings at Brown (Willowdale) School and Golden Lion Hotel 1922 * 1st North York Township Office 5145 Yonge Street (at Empress Avenue) 1923–1956; 2 storey American colonial building was built by Murray Brown with additions added in the 1940s; re-purposed as courthouse and other civic uses, partially demolished in 1989 (partial facade rebuilt in

Empress Walk Empress Walk is a large Canadian condominium and retail complex at the intersection of Yonge Street and Empress Avenue in the North York Centre area of North York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was developed by Canadian-developers Menkes Developmen ...

* North York Township/Borough Office 5000 Yonge Street Burnett Avenue 1956–1975; 3 storey building was built by Sproatt & Rolph and awarded the Massey Medal for Architecture in 1958; site sold in 1975 and later as site of

North York Performing Arts Centre The Meridian Arts Centre is a performing arts venue in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened on October 16, 1993, as the North York Performing Arts Centre and was designed by Canadian architect Eberhard Zeidler for musica ...

References

{{Public institutions and infrastructure in Toronto Buildings and structures completed in 1979 Municipal buildings in Toronto City and town halls in Ontario Former seats of local government North York 1979 establishments in Ontario

Previous Municipal Offices

See also

References