7.5K 
The term Art Deco usually conjures up images of streamlined cars driving through Chicago and Detroit, or chrome details on Chrysler Building or Rockefeller Centre in New York. It does not, however, evoke thoughts of Toronto, a city usually appreciated for it’s Victorian or Modernist architecture. Tim Morawetz feels otherwise. In his book Art Deco Architecture in Toronto, he shares his love of Art Deco and reminds us of Toronto’s rich Art Deco tradition. Review by Jeff Jerome
Tim Morawetz Toronto: Glue Inc., 2009 153pp. $39.95 (CAD) ISBN: 978-0-9812413-0-2
Toronto is not often thought of as an Art Deco City. The term Art Deco usually conjures up images of streamlined cars driving through Chicago and Detroit, or chrome details on Chrysler Building or Rockefeller Centre in New York. It does not, however, evoke thoughts of Toronto, a city usually appreciated for it’s Victorian or Modernist architecture. Tim Morawetz feels otherwise. In his book Art Deco Architecture in Toronto, he shares his love of Art Deco and reminds us of Toronto’s rich Art Deco tradition. Morowetz’s lifelong passion for Art Deco began when he discovered the style as an architecture student in Ottawa. Since then, he has spent much of the past 30 years dedicated to documenting, sharing and fighting to preserve these beautiful buildings. His work culminates in this impressive catalogue of over 70 of Toronto’s finest Deco buildings, each well researched and supported with carefully selected contemporary and archival photos. Complete with 2 maps to help readers locate the buildings in the city, Morawetz, encourages us to imagine the Toronto of the Interwar period, from the Roaring Twenties through the Great Depression. The introductory chapters (including an essay by Paul G. Russell) ground us in the time period and offer a primer on Art Deco design. The Art Deco style is a decorative style that first appeared around 1910, but did not fully emerge on the world stage until the Paris International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Art in 1925. It was initially characterized by a strong verticality, exaggerating the new skyscrapers being constructed, and decorative details expressing an excitement for new technology and industrialization, reflecting the optimism and exuberance of the Twenties. With the onset of the Great Depression, other stylistic variants were developed more appropriate to the more limited economic backing, but still came to represent the promise of a better future. With so many choice selections from around Toronto, it is no surprise that this book opens our eyes to a number of exceptional Deco buildings, many of which have been hidden in Toronto’s urban landscape. Beyond the hidden gems, it is the added attention that Morawetz gives to a number of popular and already well appreciated buildings that reinforces the impact of Art Deco in Toronto. Eaton’s College Street (now College Park), for example, is well known in the city, however, it is rarely recognized as perhaps one of the most ambitious projects in Toronto’s history. Had construction not halted due to the onset of the Great Depression, it would have included a 7 story podium over the full 10 acre site, with a stepped-back office tower at the centre. At 4.2 million square feet, it would have been one of the largest complexes in the world. The archival photos include an early rendering of the proposed building and numerous examples of the splendor of the interior allowing us a glimpse beneath the years of renovations it has suffered. Similarly, the Eglinton Cinema and the Toronto Stock Exchange are other buildings whose careful selection of archival photos don’t fail to impress. Having already lost a number of these buildings, the publication of this book is especially pertinent and timely. Morawetz’s enthusiasm and passion for Toronto’s Art Deco buildings is contagious and will hopefully encourage us to give greater consideration to the future of the buildings that still remain. The Queen’s Quay Terminal Warehouse, the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Top Top Tailors Warehouse, and most recently Maple Leaf Gardens are all buildings that have been considered worthy of preservation (in some form), Morawetz reminds us that there are many more.
Rendering of proposed Eaton’s College Street Project. Page 46, Top. RAIC Journal, Vol. 5, 1928, p.431. Source: TPL (TRL)
Toronto Stock Exchange Trading Floor. Page 23, Top Right. RAIC Journal, Vol. 13-14, 1937, p.66. Source: TPL (TRL)
Terminal Warehouse. Page 35. (by the author)
Glen-Grove Entry. Page 98. (by the author)
Eglinton Cinema. Page 120, Top (a) Exterior - Eglinton Theatre, Toronto [1947] (Archives of Ontario RG 56-11-0-288-4)
Eglinton Cinema. Page 120, Bottom(b) Interior - Eglonton Theatre, Toronto [1947] (Archives of Ontario RG 56-11-0-288-4)
