The Macdonald Block Complex is a set of office buildings in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that houses 12 cabinet ministers, 15 Ontario government ministries (as of 2016) and the largest concentration of Ontario public servants. [1] Its address is 900 Bay Street, and is located just east of Queen's Park.
The complex consists of four towers:
The massive construction site for the Macdonald Block was the filming location for Buster Keaton's last film, "The Reporter", an industrial safety short that was released under the title The Scribe .
In July 2016, the Government of Ontario announced an eight-year reconstruction project of the entire complex. [1]
Other government buildings nearby include:
Sir Oliver Mowat was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and Ontario Liberal Party leader. He served for nearly 24 years as the third premier of Ontario. He was the eighth lieutenant governor of Ontario and one of the Fathers of Confederation. He is best known for defending successfully the constitutional rights of the provinces in the face of the centralizing tendency of the national government as represented by his longtime Conservative adversary, John A. Macdonald. This longevity and power was due to his maneuvering to build a political base around Liberals, Catholics, trade unions, and anti-French-Canadian sentiment.
Deer Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is centered on the intersection of Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue and its boundaries are the Vale of Avoca section of Rosedale ravine in the east, Farnham Avenue and Jackes Avenue in the south, Avenue Road and Oriole Parkway in the west, the Beltline Trail in the north on the west side of Yonge Street, and Glen Elm Avenue in the north on the east side of Yonge Street. For the purposes of social policy analysis and research, the Toronto government’s Social Development & Administration division includes Deer Park within the City of Toronto's official "Rosedale-Moore Park" and "Yonge-St.Clair" neighbourhood profiles. The neighbourhood is in Ward 22, represented by Councillor Josh Matlow at Toronto City Council.
Sir William Howard Hearst, was the seventh premier of Ontario from 1914 to 1919.
The Whitney Block is a Government of Ontario office building located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located across the street from the Ontario Legislative Building, and contains the offices of the premier of Ontario and most cabinet ministers. The street address of Whitney Block is 99 Wellesley Street West, though the principal facade faces west towards Queen's Park Crescent and the Ontario Legislature. The building is linked to the legislature by a tunnel under the street, by a bridge to the Macdonald Block, and through there via another tunnel to the subway. The Modern Gothic-Art Deco structure was built in 1926 by architect F. R. Heakes and the tower was added in 1932. Whitney Block is faced with Queenston limestone. The facade is ornamented by repeated sequences of quatrefoils, and figures designed by Charles Adamson, which represent abstract ideals like justice, tolerance, wisdom and power, as well as more ordinary pursuits such a mining, forestry, labour, law, education and farming. The floors are made of marble mined in Bancroft.
Government House was the official residence of the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada and Ontario, Canada. Four buildings were used for this purpose, none of which exist today, making Ontario one of four provinces not to have an official vice-regal residence.
Purdy's Wharf is an office complex in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Built over the water at the edge of Halifax Harbour and resting on pilings, it consists of two office towers, and a smaller office structure called Purdy's Landing. The complex is located along the Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk.
College Park is a shopping mall, residential and office complex on the southwest corner of Yonge and College streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The Mowat Block is an office building in Toronto, Ontario, home to Ontario's provincial Ministry of Education, Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (MAESD), and Infrastructure. It is part of a massive 24 storey government complex east of Queen's Park at College Street and University Avenue. It is one of the buildings of the large complex called Ontario Government Buildings next to the Ontario Legislative Building.
The Frost Building is a curved 7 and 6 storey office building complex on the south east side of Queen's Park Crescent in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Government of Ontario owns the building and is part of the large Queen's Park campus. The Frost Building is home to the Ontario Ministry of Finance and Treasury Board Secretariat. It is divided into a North block, located on 95 Grosvenor St, and a South block, located on 7 Queen's Park Crescent. A five-storey glass walkway connects the two blocks from the 2nd and 6th floors.
The Ontario Legislative Building is a structure in central Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It houses the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and the viceregal suite of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and offices for members of the provincial parliament (MPPs). The building is surrounded by Queen's Park, sitting on that part south of Wellesley Street, which is the former site of King's College, which was leased from the university by the municipal government of Toronto in 1859, for a "peppercorn" payment of CAD$1 per annum on a 999-year term. The southern portion of the site was later handed over to the provincial government.
Toronto Police Headquarters is the headquarters of the Toronto Police Service, located at 40 College Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the first purpose-built police headquarters in Toronto since the formation of the city's original police force in 1835.
The Second Parliament of Ontario was in session from March 21, 1871, until December 23, 1874, just prior to the 1875 general election.
Shore Tilbe Perkins+Will, formerly Shore Tilbe Irwin & Partners (STIP), is a Canadian architecture firm based in Toronto, Ontario. Since its founding as Shore and Moffat in 1945, and later as Shore Tilbe Irwin & Partners, the firm has completed numerous buildings, complexes and master plans across Canada, as well as at locations in the United States and Bermuda. From early educational and residential projects, the firm rose to prominence in the early 1950s, winning Governor General's Medals in Architecture and commissions from the government of Ontario for departmental buildings, and it went on to design prominent landmarks such as Purdy's Wharf in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the redesign of Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto. The firm's scope today mostly encompasses community centres, libraries, pharmaceutical laboratories, offices and university teaching buildings, although the firm has also completed religious spaces, corporate interiors and public plazas.
Stephen Van Egmond Irwin RAIC, RIBA, OAA, BArch, MArch was a Canadian architect and "partner emeritus" of Shore Tilbe Irwin + Partners in Toronto, Ontario.
The Albany Club in Toronto, Ontario, was founded in 1882 and is one of Canada's oldest private social clubs. Named after Queen Victoria's youngest son, the Duke of Albany, the club has been situated at its present location of 91 King Street East since 1898.
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 south of Front Street is known as "Lower Jarvis Street" while the segment from Bloor Street to Mount Pleasant Road is known as "Ted Rogers Way".
The John Irwin House is a historic structure located in Toronto, one of the oldest surviving residential buildings in its neighbourhood. The house is listed on the City of Toronto government's registry of historic properties. The city describes the house as being an example of Second Empire style. The house is located at 21 Grenville Street. That part of the city, east of Queen's Park, was opened for residential development in 1860, and the house was recorded on city records as being owned by John Irwin in 1873.
Massey Tower is a condo complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, spanning the block below Shuter Street, between Yonge and Victoria streets. The complex's northeast corner added much-needed backstage space to historic Massey Hall. To the south of the complex lies the historic Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres. The Yonge Street facade uses the 1905 Canadian Bank of Commerce headquarters at 197 Yonge Street, vacant since 1987. The complex's tower rises 60 storeys and stands 208.3 metres (683 ft) in height.