Toronto Police Headquarters () is the headquarters of the

Toronto Police Service The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police se ...

, located at 40 College Street in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, 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 Downtown Toronto is the main city centre of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Street to the nor ...

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, Toronto, Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Economy of Canada, Canada's financial services indust ...

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 (architecture), international style adv ...

. 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 ...

. 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, the Executive Officers Lounge has been located on the 4th floor since 1988. Since 1989, it has been licensed by the

Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) is a Crown agency that reports to the Ministry of the Attorney General in the Government of Ontario The Government of Ontario () is the body responsible for the administration of the Pr ...

. 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. In October 2022, the superintendent in charge of the

's disciplinary tribunal pleaded guilty to driving with a

blood alcohol content Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes. BAC is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume of blood. In US and many i ...

above the legal limit in January of that year after leaving the lounge. In June 2023, the Toronto Police Service announced that the bar's license would not be renewed and that it would be closed.

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 A forester is a person who practises forest management and forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including Restoration ecology, ecological restoration and management of Pr ...

, until the group moved to

Don Mills Don Mills is a mixed-use neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was developed in the 1950s and 1960s to be a self-supporting "new town" and was at the time located outside Toronto proper in the suburb of North York. Consisting of residenti ...

. * Old Imperial Oil Building (92 King Street East, built 1917) became Police Headquarters in 1960 after

Imperial Oil Imperial Oil Limited () is a Canadian petroleum company. It is Canada's second-largest integrated oil company. It is majority-owned by American oil company ExxonMobil, with a 69.6% ownership stake in the company. It is a producer of crude oil, ...

moved to the

Imperial Oil Building The Imperial Oil Building, now known as Imperial Plaza, is a skyscraper located at 111 St. Clair Avenue West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 21-storey building was completed in 1957 as the headquarters of Imperial Oil, Canada's largest oil com ...

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) The Old City Hall is a Romanesque-style civic building and former court house in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was the home of the Toronto City Council from 1899 to 1966 and a provincial court house until 2023, and remains one of the city's most ...

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 market (place), public market in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located along Front Street (Toronto), Front Street East and Jarvis Street in the St. Lawrence, Toronto, St. Lawrence neighbourhood of downtown Toront ...

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