Thursday, May 30, 2013

Reuse On King St West

This fine building, an example of the Classical Revival style, was constructed in 1901 as the offices and factory of the Toronto Lithographing Company and then was used by various other companies through the years such as Salada Tea. This stretch of King St west of Spadina Ave was a centre of manufacturing and industry in the city but as these companies closed in the late 1900s many of the buildings became used as artist studios and for a time it looked as if they might disappear.  But luckily gentrification has taken place and nearly all of them have been beautifully restored and are now historically designated and full of clubs, restaurants and offices.

13 comments:

EG CameraGirl said...

I love these old buildings. This part of Toronto has character!

Laura. M said...

Great rehab have made. These old buildings are stronger than those of today. Good use has now :))
A kiss.

Karen said...

Great heritage buildings!

Anonymous said...

What a grand looking building, you did well to fit it all in your picture!

TexWisGirl said...

it really is beautiful!

Sharon said...

I'm glad this one has found a new life. It would be a real shame to lose this beauty.

Deb said...

Handsome building, love the detail above the windows.

Oakland Daily Photo said...

Old buildings convey an important sense of place. Hooray to those who renovate and reuse them.

William Kendall said...

That's a building I can like. Good to see it's put to use.

Randy said...

It looks like an old bank. Nice architecture.

Jack said...

This one is a honey, RedPat. I have a thing for classic buildings that have been appropriately repurposed.

Unknown said...

What a great building! Are those brick walls?

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Looks like it's being used beautifully here Pat. They really couldn't abandon a building like this.