The Scarborough Civic Centre is a

civic centre A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...

located in the

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

district of

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 was designed by architect

Raymond Moriyama Raymond Moriyama LL. D. (born October 11, 1929) is a Canadian architect.Ra ...

during the development of

Scarborough City Centre Scarborough City Centre is a commercial district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was the central business district for the former city of Scarborough, which amalgamated with Toronto in 1998. Scarborough City Centre remains one of the central bu ...

and initially opened 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 borough of Scarborough by then mayor Albert Campbell and

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

in 1973. The building served as the municipal office and office for the Scarborough Board of Education. Following the

amalgamation of Toronto The amalgamation of Toronto was the creation of the city limits of Toronto, Ontario, Canada after amalgamating, annexing, and merging with surrounding municipalities since the 18th century. The most recent occurrence of amalgamation was in 1998 ...

, Scarborough lost its city status and the civic centre became a secondary hub for the

City of Toronto government The municipal government of Toronto ( incorporated as the City of Toronto) is the local government responsible for administering the city of Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a rec ...

. It is also home to the Scarborough Community Council and offices of the

Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...

. The civic centre is adjacent to

Albert Campbell Square Albert Campbell Square is a public square in Scarborough City Centre in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is named after Albert Campbell, the first mayor of the Borough of Scarborough and former Chairman of the Municipality of Metropol ...

. It is south of

Scarborough Centre station Scarborough Centre is a rapid transit station and bus terminal in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving Line 3 Scarborough of the Toronto subway system and multiple bus routes of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is located north of Ellesme ...

and the

Scarborough Town Centre Scarborough Town Centre (STC) is a shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Central to the Scarborough City Centre in the former city of Scarborough, it is adjacent to Scarborough Centre station, the Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal and the C ...

shopping mall.

Structure and surroundings

The building is unique for the juxtaposition of two triangular shaped, multiple split level towers, which surround an open central area in the interior. Outside the Civic Centre on the north side is

, named after Albert Campbell, Scarborough's first mayor, with a waterfall and reflecting pool, used as a skating rink in winter. Sculptures are found on the southwest side of the building. ''The Hand of God'', dedicated to Albert Campbell, depicts a man held up by a hand and is mounted on a mast; it is located south across Borough Drive.

Gord Smith (sculptor) Gord Smith (born October 8, 1937, Montreal) is a Canadian artist who sculpts geometric forms in metal and wood. Smith originally learned to weld with a torch his older brother used to rebuild old cars. He is considered one of Canada's leading s ...

's Icarus portrays bronze folds assembled together to represent a pair of outstretched wings. Frank Faubert Forest, a wooded area south of the Civic Centre is named for

's last mayor,

Frank Faubert Frank J. Faubert (April 25, 1931 – June 20, 1999) was a Canadian provincial and municipal politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal from 1987 to 1990, and was the final Mayor of Scarborough ...

. Inside the main hall is a rising series of polished metal unfolding tetrahedrons resembling birds rising toward the ceiling from the main-floor-level pond, designed by Toronto artist James Sutherland in 1972. In 2015, 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 ...

opened the Scarborough Civic Centre branch, its 100th library branch. The Toronto Public Library Scarborough Civic Centre branch was designed by Toronto-based architecture firm

LGA Architectural Partners LGA Architectural Partners (LGA) is an architectural firm based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that specializes in creating sustainable, contextually-sensitive and socially-minded architecture. Their diverse portfolio "represents a wide range of b ...

with Philip H. Carter as planning consultant.

Notes

External links

Scarborough Civic Centre
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Scarborough, Toronto Event venues established in 1973 City and town halls in Ontario Modernist architecture in Canada Municipal buildings in Toronto Raymond Moriyama buildings Former seats of local government 1973 establishments in Ontario

Structure and surroundings

See also

Notes

External links