574 
UrbanToronto has partnered with Heritage Toronto to capture a moment in Toronto's past. On a weekly basis, we will both be highlighting a historic photo of the city's people, places and events, and will be telling the stories behind them. Many thanks to both Gary Switzer of MOD Developements and Eric Veillette of silenttoronto.com for putting together the photos and research.
This week's photo:
Having first appeared on Toronto maps in 1838, Spadina Crescent was still relatively new when Knox College was built in 1875 at 1 Spadina Crescent, slightly north of College St. The moss-covered structure, of Gothic Revival style similar to St-Andrew's Church, was designed by architects Smith & Gemmel, whose many contributions to Toronto's street-scapes also include the Church of the Redeemer at Avenue and Bloor. According to Eric Arthur's Toronto: No Mean City, wrought-iron fences and balconies were quite popular in Toronto when the building was constructed, but the intricately woven gate you see above does not appear in photos until 1903; prior to that, 1 Spadina Crescent was surrounded by a wooden fence – and a rather unremarkable one in comparison to its industrial age counterpart. Although the fence and its gate are long-gone, the building has held a long and varied history. Knox College, the University of Toronto's Presbyterian school, remained in this location until 1906, when its board of directors decided to move to its current location on U of T campus. For the remainder of the decade, rumours persisted that a major department store would open on its site, but urban planners pushed for a park. In 1906, the Evening News reported that “no more perfect park site can be found in the city” and that the large residential areas in its proximity were bereft of “a single breathing spot.” During the First World War, it was a military hospital, accommodating nearly 250 wounded soldiers, and in 1931, was favoured as a site to build a giant sports arena, which instead occurred on Carlton street and saved the Spadina Crescent building from the wrecking ball. In 1943, it was sold to Connaught Laboratories for the production of penicillin and research in its labs later led to the discovery of the polio virus. The building, which received a restoration grant in 2005, is once again part of the University of Toronto and serves the Departments of Anthropology, Art and Ophthalmology.
Sources:
Toronto, The Place of Meeting, Frederick H. Armstrong, 1983 Toronto to 1918, J.M.S. Careless, 1984
Toronto: No Mean City, Eric Arthur, 1964
