Etobicoke Civic Centre

Etobicoke Civic Centre
Map
General information
Address399 The West Mall
Toronto, Ontario
M9C 2Y2
Coordinates43°38′38″N 79°33′56″W / 43.64389°N 79.56556°W / 43.64389; -79.56556
Construction started1956
Completed1958
InauguratedSeptember 23, 1958
OwnerCity of Toronto
Technical details
Floor count1
Design and construction
Architecture firmShore and Moffat (Robert Reid Moffat and Leonard Shore)

The Etobicoke Civic Centre in the Eatonville neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, once housed the municipal government of the former City of Etobicoke.

The building was built in 1958 by the firm Shore and Moffat[1] to replace the single storey brick Township of Etobicoke Municipal Hall at 4946 Dundas Street (now Fox and a Fiddle pub). The building exterior is clad in Queenston limestone and framed by glass and aluminum.[1] The original building also features a clock tower with a non-numeric clock face.

A limestone cenotaph (War Memorial - Etobicoke Municipal Centre) was constructed in 1968 in memory of those who gave their lives in World War I (1914 - 1918), World War II (1939 - 1945), and the Korean War (1950 - 1953).[2] The original plan was to convert the clock tower as a cenotaph. The war dates are located on a metal plaque and above it a large metal cross. Adjacent to the Cenotaph, a provincial plaque commemorating Corporal Frederick George Topham, V.C., an Etobicoke war Hero was erected in 1980.[3] The Board of Education (1 City Centre Court) and Ontario Hydro (South Block) built structures next to the Civic Centre, the former was acquired by Etobicoke for civic use in 1969. In 1973 an addition was added to the original by the same architectural firm.[1]

Etobicoke was amalgamated into the City of Toronto in 1998, and the building no longer serves as a city hall and retained for use for City of Toronto use.

Located on The West Mall in central Etobicoke, the building is used as a meeting place for the Etobicoke community council,[4] a committee of councillors representing wards in the area that makes recommendations on local matters to the full city council.[5] The building also houses a number of local municipal departments and services. A farmers' market operates from spring to fall yearly. An ornamental pool and square was removed during renovations, so the current civic centre lacks any formal public space; it is surrounded by other buildings and parking lots with some trees and patches of lawns. The historic 'Applewood' Shaver House across the street is used for weddings.

  1. ^ a b c "Toronto Staff Report" (PDF). toronto.ca. September 9, 2004.
  2. ^ "Etobicoke cenotaph: Memorial 35021-001 Toronto (Etobicoke), ON". National Inventory of Canadian Military Memorials. Veterans Affairs Canada. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Topham memorial: Memorial 35021-002 Toronto (Etobicoke), ON". National Inventory of Canadian Military Memorials. Veterans Affairs Canada. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference app.toronto.ca was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference toronto.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).