The Old Toronto Star Building was an

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

office tower 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 anch ...

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 C ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The building was located at 80 King Street West and was the headquarters of the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' newspaper from 1929 until 1970. The building was demolished in 1972 to make way for the construction of

First Canadian Place First Canadian Place (originally First Bank Building) is a skyscraper in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario, at the northwest corner of King and Bay streets, and serves as the global operational headquarters of the Bank of Montreal. At ...

. The skyscraper is the second tallest voluntarily demolished building in Canada behind the tall

Empire Landmark Hotel The Empire Landmark Hotel, often referred to by its original name, the Sheraton Landmark, was the tallest hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was located on one of Vancouver's busiest thoroughfares at 1400 Robson Street, in the West End of ...

that was demolished in 2019.

Overview

The building was designed by the firm of Chapman and Oxley and opened in 1929. It was 22 storeys and tall. The front facade around the main entrance was clad in granite, the entrance itself having a bronze screen. The first three floors of the building were clad in granite; the upper floors in limestone. On the third floor, the facade was wrapped in elaborate stonework in geometric and floral motifs, which also adorned the interior and the limestone piers at the crest of the building. The first six floors were built in reinforced concrete, while the tower was built with a structural steel frame. Toronto Star pyramid

The first six stories held the offices of the ''Star'', and the rest was rental office space. The 21st floor housed the newspaper's radio studios. The ground floor facing King Street housed a few retail stores and a Stoodleigh's Restaurant at the east end. The basement had a restaurant and barbershop. Some stonework from the building can be found 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 d ...

, along with other portions of facades of lost buildings of

In popular culture

'' Superman'' co-creator

Joe Shuster Joseph Shuster (; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992), professionally known simply as Joe Shuster, was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 (c ...

, a Toronto native and former ''Star'' newsboy, used the building as a model for the ''

Daily Planet The ''Daily Planet'' is a fictional newspaper appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman. The newspaper was first mentioned in ''Action Comics'' #23 (April 1940). The ''Daily Planet'' build ...

'' Building.

References

* ; Notes

External links

* * {{SkyscraperPage, 9392, Toronto Daily Star Building 1929 establishments in Ontario 1972 disestablishments in Ontario Art Deco architecture in Canada Buildings and structures demolished in 1972 Former skyscrapers Chapman and Oxley buildings Demolished buildings and structures in Toronto Newspaper headquarters in Canada Office buildings completed in 1929 Toronto Star

Overview

In popular culture

See also

References

External links