WILLIAM G. STORM

William George Storm has had a profound and lasting influence on architecture in Toronto.  Storm’s buildings, designed both with Frederick Cumberland and on his own, stand as triumphs of design in an age when Toronto sought to develop its place as a city among the great cities of the world.  Architecture that represents a cross section of architectural styles and building types were constructed to plans conceived of by William Storm during his remarkable career.  St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church looms over the corner of King and Simcoe Streets as though it were a great anchor keeping the sleek and flimsy looking skyscrapers from blowing away into Lake Ontario.  Victoria College is an architectural masterpiece which delights and intrigues with each subsequent visit.  The William E. Dunn Building on Spadina speaks to Storm’s ability to design for practicality and industry.  One can juxtapose his design of the Sackville Street School that he did with simple practicality and humble materials with his renovation of Osgoode Hall, a grandiose Classical Revival building that spared no expense or detail.  In reviewing William Storm’s body of work, it becomes readily apparent that he was an architect who possessed an incredible range of design ability.   

            Born in 1826 in Burton-upon-Stather, Lincolnshire, England, William George Storm grew up the son of a builder, mechanic, and contractor in Great Britain with his family moving to Toronto / York around 1830 (Richardson 3).  About the age of 18, Storm finished his building apprenticeship with his father and began his architectural apprenticeship with the seasoned architect William Thomas until about 1849. (Richardson 3)  It was at this point in Storm’s life that he joined the offices of Frederick Cumberland, where he was to enjoy and participate in fourteen years of perhaps the most respected and prolific partnerships in Toronto’s architectural history. (Richarson 3)  The partnership of Cumberland and Storm dissolved in 1863 when Cumberland withdrew from architecture into his managing director position of the Northern Railway. (Richardson 3)    However Storm maintained his own practice with equal success. (Richardson 3)  Storm was regarded as ‘the son of a mechanic’ by his peers, despite the fact he was Cumberland’s principle draughtsman, partner, and an extraordinarily talented artist in his own right. (Richardson 5)  It seems as though Storm was a talented underdog whose ability matched, if not surpassed his peers. 

In one’s estimation, it was once Storm branched out on his own that he made an individual mark upon the city.  Not only was Storm an impressive artist and accomplished builder, he also helped stimulate the paradigm shift in educating architects in Canada.  The profession of architecture in mid-19th century Toronto was very much an apprenticeship model. (O’Brien)  Storm was also an educator of the profession of architecture and held in high esteem by his peers, insofar as he:

“…was active in the Architectural Guild of Toronto, the predecessor in 1887 of the Ontario Association of Architects, and also in the Toronto Mechanic’s Institute, where he taught evening courses.   When the OAA was incorporated in 1890, he was elected its first president and might have continued to play an important role in the development of the architectural profession had he not died a short time after finishing his presidential term.”  (Richardson 4)

Based on the buildings that can be observed today, Storm must have been quite comfortable creating a variety of building types, namely: churches, schools, commercial blocks, residences, public buildings, educational facilities, and even scientific laboratories.  The types of building Storm created were as varied as the styles he was capable of designing in.  The following examples of William Storm’s work in Toronto will illustrate the architect’s influence on a burgeoning city, as well as offer insight into Storm’s mastery of his craft. 

            St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church (Fig. 1a) at 73 Simcoe St. at King St. borders Toronto’s modern entertainment and financial district.  The Church as it has come to look today was built in 1876, though the founding of the church dates back to 1830, when it was first located at Church St. and Adelaide St. (“St. Andrews Church”)  St. Andrew’s possesses an impressive presence amongst the sleek modern condos and skyscrapers that surround it. 

It was designed by Storm in the Romanesque Revival style, with characteristic massing, including three towers, the larger of which is adorned with turrets on each corner. (Fig. 1b) St. Andrew’s was constructed from sandstone from Georgetown, Ontario and granite from the Bay of Fundy and Aberdeen, Scotland, while the Ohio stone was imported. (“St. Andrews Church”)  Another remarkable characteristic of St. Andrew’s are the decorative cornice (Fig. 1c) that has each individual block carved with a different symbolic image, such as the Masonic square and compass, a rope, a ladder, a mountain range, and a monkey’s face, to name a few.

Victoria College (Fig. 2a) was the last building William Storm designed before his death in 1892.  (Richardson 3)  The college itself is located at 73 Queen’s Park Crescent East, just northeast of Queen’s park, making it one of the few University of Toronto buildings that are not directly on the St. George campus. 

Construction began on the ‘Old Vic’ in 1891 and was completed in 1892. (“Victoria University Library”)  The college is in the style of Richardsonian Romanesque.  Though unlike St. Andrew’s Church which has sparse openings, Victoria College has a multitude of windows, though similar in their asymmetrical massing, use of rough faced stone, and round-arched windows.  The massing of the building is very striking; the ‘front’ curved portico gives way to an oriole window that then gives way to a peaked tower that dominates the entranceway and reaches to the sky.  The asymmetrically positioned short circular towers, conical roofs, rough stone mixed with polished carvings, are all representative of traits of the Richardsonian style.  The large squarish block that makes up the main body of the mass is intersected with an apse decorated in alternating dark and light stone, giving it an almost playful feel.  The carvings of Ivan Reznikoff that balance the art within the architecture are especially poignant given the fact that he was murdered by his partner on the site of Victoria College’s construction.  (“Section Six – 19C Architecture” 21) Founded by Methodists in Coburg in the 1830’s and aided by Egerton Ryerson, Victoria College (formerly Upper Canada Academy) moved to Toronto as a result of Hart Massey’s Last Will and Testament.  As a dying gesture he promised nearly a quarter-of-a-million dollars if the school relocated to Toronto. (“Victoria University Bookstore”)  The College today houses a modern day bookstore and serves as a home for the University of Toronto’s humanities studies, with a focus on Renaissance History. (“Victoria University Bookstore”)

            Another example of Storm’s innovative techniques can be found at University College (Fig. 3a) at #1 King’s College Road off the St. George campus. 

Originally the college was began as The Provincial College, when in 1853 Ontario required an institution of higher learning that was disassociated with religious groups. (“University College, University of Toronto”)  The building now houses programs that include, but not exclusive to, Aboriginal Studies, Canadian Studies, Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, Drama, Peace and Conflict Studies, and Sexual Diversity Studies. (“University College, University of Toronto”)  University College as seen today (Fig. 3c – 3f) has been restored to its original condition by architect D. B. Dick following a fire in 1890 that destroyed most of it. (Alexander)

The observatory dome gives the structure an especially Roman feel that is reminiscent of the domed roofs, or cupolas, of some basilicas still standing in Italy.  The prominent tower served as a functional observatory, but it is also a characteristic of the Italian Villa style.

            The Chapel of the Church of St. James-the-Less (Fig. 5a), located on Parliament St. south of the Danforth, is an exceptional example of High Victorian Gothic style architecture in Toronto.  Its high reaching spire, multi coloured slate roof and masonry, and gothic arched windows are indicative of the High Victorian Gothic style. 

Built in 1859 to plans by Cumberland and Storm, the chapel sits atop a natural elevation and overlooks the cemetery grounds laid out in 1842 by architect John G. Howard. (“The Cathedral Church of St. James”)  The cemetery is one of the oldest in operation in Canada, and has buried within it some of Toronto’s most well known residents, such as Jarvis, Gooderham, and Ridout.  (“St. James’ Cemetery”)  The chapel’s massing is asymmetrical and sits atop masonry that is rather stout (Fig 5b), as the majority of the building is dominated by its extremely high-pitched, multi-coloured slate roof.  The structure contains Georgetown stone with local ‘white’ brick, while the ornamental carvings are Ohio stone.  (http://www.stjamescathedral.on.ca/cemetery.asp)  The chapel spire reaches towards heaven, adorned with a weather vane finial designed by Storm.  (Simmins 142) 

The alternating motifs of faces, animals, religious symbols, etc., carved into the stone cornice are reminiscent of designs by Storm on St. Andrew’s Church.  Geoffrey Simmins describes the effect of Cumberland and Storm’s design best when he points out that the building is “richly ornamented from its base to the crest of its roof with wrought-iron work, elaborately carved wood, and richly hued stained glass…Trefoil windows were set in deep reveals beneath heavy stone hoods with carved bosses.” (146)  The main purpose of the chapel was for services related to the funerals held at the cemetery.  St. James-the-Less chapel “opened in 1861 (and) by the following year it was being used not only as a cemetery chapel but for divine service on Sunday’s…How long the building was used for Sunday service is unclear.  Apparently it fell into disuse early in (the twentieth) century.”  (Simmins 146)  The chapel is still used today as a place for mourners to celebrate loved ones who have passed and the cemetery is still receiving those who wished to be buried there. (“The Cathedral Church of St. James”)      

            The cornerstone of the Ontario Justice System, Osgoode Hall (Fig. 6a – 6b), contains the highest courts in the province, however it also represents the Ontario Justice System architecturally.  Insofar as the Palladian Classical Revival structure at 130 Queen Street West (NE corner at University Avenue) stands as a monument which demands respect and inspires awe from outsiders looking in. 

It is the home of the Law Society of Upper Canada, and The Hall has undergone many architectural renovations since its inception as a “small brick box”. (Simmins 161)  Storm was heavily involved with Cumberland in rebuilding the centre block originally designed in 1844 by Henry Bowler Lane. (Simmins 277)  Construction began in 1856 and finished in 1860, and their renovations “…added a centre section that included additional spaces for the superior courts, room for a motions court, new rooms for the judges and court officials, and a library.”  (Simmins 161-2)  Osgoode Hall, named for the first Chief Justice of Upper Canada, is still used today for Ontario’s Provincial Superior Courts. 

The gates surrounding the grounds (Fig. 6c) designed by Storm are at once both imposing and delightful.  The small entranceway, with its twenty-inch wide switchback gate seem to discourage visitors, though it is rumored that the gates were designed in such a way to keep wandering cows from entering the grounds and ruining them.  

Dendy and Kilbourn write that Cumberland (and Storm) was guided “by the garden front of the Palace of Versailles.” (77)  Given such lofty references it must have been no surprise that when Cumberland and Storm “proposed replacing the Baldwin Wing with a new centre block …(it) ultimately cost five times the original government grant.” (Dendy and Kilbourn 72)  It is truly a magnificent building to look at, and even more so when one explores its public spaces.  Despite its cost overruns, it opened on February 1860 to “high praise”, (Dendy and Kilbourn 72) and, according to a February 7th, 1860 article in The Globe, The Law Society of Upper Canada was “now magnificently lodged; no other city upon the continent has such splendid provisions been made for it accommodation.” (Dendy and Kilbourn 72)

            From the sublime to the demure, the Little Trinity Rectory (Fig. 7a) at 417 King Street East highlights Storm’s versatility.  Storm and his partner Cumberland designed the rectory to be built in 1853 on the grounds of the Little Trinity Church and to serve as a home for the parish’s rector. 

Patricia McHugh writes of the rectory that it is “ (a) Georgian box lightly dusted with gothic details…an idyllic setpiece.”(39), although this description is in conflict with the Heritage Property Profile By-law No. 620-2002 which describes it as being “Regency (with) Gothic Revival stylistic features.” (“City of Toronto: By-law No. 620-2002”)  One would tend to agree with McHugh on the matter, as the building lacks certain hallmark Regency characteristics, such as a stuccoed exterior, a veranda structure with awning, and a projecting bay or bow.  The building leans towards the Georgian style Classical Revival insofar as it has chimneys contained within its walls, plain bond brick, classical quoin details (white brick on red), and more of a ‘temple’ look.  Certain Gothic Revival details help blur the line between styles, such as the polychromatic brick work, near the pointed arch at the entranceway (almost a Tudor style arch), and small trillium-esque transom light perched high above the entrance way.  Usage of the Little Trinity Rectory since its inception as a rectory has been varied.  The City of Toronto By-law 620-2002 describes its usage history as being

“…occupied continuously by a succession of church rectors until 1927.  The building was used as office space before its conversion into a social service hospice in the mid-20th century.  During this time, the rectory became the Little Trinity Housekeeping Center, the Trinity Social Centre, and the Beverly Lodge Rehabilitation Centre for Men.” (“City of Toronto: By-law No. 620-2002”)

The building as it stands now houses administrative offices, archives, and a Sunday School.  At first glance, it seems restored to near original condition on the exterior, and remains a remarkable example of Old Toronto’s / York’s architectural significance.

            Not far from the Little Trinity Rectory is the Inglenook Community High School (Fig. 8a) at 19 Sackville Street (situated near the corner of Eastern Avenue and Trinity Streets).  This structure was designed by William Storm alone and erected as the Sackville Street Public School in 1887. 

The building is of an extraordinarily simple design and Patricia McHugh poignantly states that the Sackville Street Public School’s characteristics include “(u)nadorned yellow brick, tall light-giving windows, girls on one side, boys on the other – what could be simpler?”(39)  The architectural style of the building can be classified as Georgian with Gothic Revival elements.  The large gothic window on the Eastern Avenue side of the street gives the second storey of the building a decidedly Gothic flavouring, though the symmetrically placed windows nine bays across, monochromatic brickwork, and inset chimneys are in step with a Georgian building.  It does seem as though the windows have been replaced at some point, whereby the multi-pane sash windows have given way to one-over-one single-pane sash windows.  Though it remains an unremarkable building in the genealogy of buildings designed by Storm, one gains a particular insight into the practicality he was capable of when it came to commercial and institutional structures.  Currently the school houses an ‘alternative’ co-ed school for grades 11-12. (“Schools:  Inglenook Community High School”)  This seems a far cry from the nineteenth century school system that must have been rigid enough in discipline and standards that required a ‘Girls’ (Fig 8b) entrance and a separate ‘Boys’ entrance still visible on the building today.

William Storm also designed a number of commercial buildings for various clients.  The William E. Dunn Building (Fig. 9a – 9b) at 350-358 Spadina Avenue (St. Andrew and Spadina Avenue) is one example of this.  It was erected to plans by Storm in 1890 for William Dunn for use as a strip of storefronts and commercial warehouses.  It is a rather unremarkable commercial block that blends into the surrounding commercial block in modern day Chinatown.  A website dedicated to the Lost Rivers of Toronto (a reference to the many creeks and rivers that were built over when the city built up its infrastructure) pays homage to the building, as it is near the Russell Creek Crossing.  Of the building’s usage, the author offers these historical facts:  “This building has held a number of businesses.  One Stitsky’s Imports was here for over thirty years.  Rotman’s Men’s Shops was at 350 for more than fifty years.” (“Spadina Avenue and Chinatown West”) 

Keeping in mind that the William E. Dunn building was constructed at a time before the Chinese diasporas formed in Toronto, the building must have served as a commercial epicenter for those blue collar workers who bought and sold in retail and wholesale.  The building is now couched in the heart of Toronto’s Chinatown, and houses three Chinese restaurants, and two jewelry stores (Ming-Chau Jewelry and Watches and the Diamond and Gold Co.). 

Patricia McHugh also helps reveal part of the mystery surrounding the building’s original use.  The owner of the building is listed mysteriously as “Professor”, and that the buildings “first tenants were a druggist, bootmaker, provisioner, photographer, and grocer.” (McHugh 193)  The building is now occupied (at street level at least) by a domestic linens store that takes up two units (Homelinen), a Shwarma Restaurant that takes up the middle storefront unit (by that name), and a textiles outlet that takes up the remaining two units (designated ‘Designers Showroom).  The building is in the vein of the Commercial Italianate style and is constructed using red brick as its main exterior walls and darker bond brick as a decorative element above the windows.  The cornice is bracketed in groupings of two on the west portion of the building, though they seem to have been removed on the eastern portion.  388-394 Queen Street East has not been well maintained insofar as dark grime covers most of the exposed brick and what is not covered in grime is poorly painted in a mish-mash of tastes that is indicative of older buildings along the Queen Street West commercial strip.  This in fact makes it difficult to tell what the original intention of Storm’s may have been with regard to the overall aesthetic of the building.  The central portion of the building, with its low gable and decorative pediment seems the best maintained or preserved section, as well as the dragon-scale slate roof seems well intact (though the far east portion of the slate seems to have been painted).       

            The last commercial building to be examined here is a delightful three unit commercial block called the Second Cockburn Block (Fig. 11a) at 500-504 Queen Street West.  It was built to specifications laid out by William Storm in 1884 and contains some details that are more in line with what one would expect from an architect of Storm’s ability.  Some beautiful features include a sun and floral motif at the apex of each dormer (Fig. 11b), iron crusting atop the large Mansard roof, and the decorative iron finials that adorn each peak of the three dormer windows. 

The building has been described as …”(a) rousing Victorian trio decked out in enormous mansard, bursts of decorated dormers, and heroic cresting.” (McHugh 194)  The commercial Victorian building is currently being used for Epicure Café and Grill, The Friendly Thai Restaurant, and an unmarked storefront.  At one time the West Branch of the Ontario Bank did business in number 500.  (McHugh 194)  Additional points of interest include the second storey gothic arches that lean towards Tudor style arches, the red brick façade, dragon-scale slate roof, and extraordinary well crafted wood details above the dormer and flanking the mansard roof.

            Some of the most famous buildings designed by Storm have since been demolished to make way for some modern convenience or another.  One of these was the Great Western Train Station (Fig. 12a) at Yonge Street and The Esplanade.  This massive Italianate building was Toronto’s first “great train station…constructed on the site of the present day Hummingbird Centre.” (Bell)  

The train station served its city well, increasing trade with the United States (especially New York), whereby Toronto gained an advantage due to its geographical position, which translated into cheaper transit charges for its imports and exports. (Dendy and Kilbourn 40)  In the beginning of the 20th century, he Great Western Train Station was converted into a wholesale fruit market, and then eventually torn down and turned into landfill when the city expanded into the lake. (Bell) 

            Another beautiful building that has since been torn down is the Thomas Gibbs Ridout House, a.k.a Sherbourne Villa (Fig. 13a) that stood at 439 Sherbourne Street.  This building was erected in 1856-9 according to plans drawn by architects Cumberland and Storm.  It seems as though it was an all-white brick Italian Villa style residence, though few photos exist to examine its characteristics.  If we are to rely on accounts of the home, Geoffrey Simmins describes a palatial home that “…has a vaguely Italianate feel, created by pairs and triplets of round headed windows, a hipped roof, and stone window surrounds, and combined formality and informality of a long veranda.” (192)

Thomas Gibb Ridout was Frederick Cumberland’s brother-in-law, and the cashier of the Bank of Canada, a prominent position in Toronto. (“The Maw Tiles of Sherbourne Villa”)  One of the extraordinary features of the home was the polychromatic tiles used in grand patterns and covered much of the ground floor (Fig. 13b), much as University College and Osgoode Hall floors have.  (“The Maw Tiles of Sherbourne Villa”)  Sherbourne Villa was eventually demolished in 1962-3.

            William G. Storm has changed Toronto with his contributions to architecture, as a draughtsman working for Frederick Cumberland, with Cumberland as his partner, or on his own.  As an educator at The Mechanics’ Institute (a building he and Cumberland designed – the precursor institution to the Toronto Public Library), he aided in moving forward a program of study that trained would-be architects using his vast experience and knowledge.  In his words:

“Is our profession such a mean acquirement that no special education is necessary?  Can a young man ‘pick it up’ as he would expect to do an insurance agency – a land jobber’s or real estate broker’s business?  Emphatically no!” (Tausky and DiStefano 66)

 As the first president of the Ontario Association of Architects, Storm began the push towards ensuring that the architectural profession in Ontario require it members to have formal training and be held responsible for their buildings.  Storm, true to his name, swept through Toronto with a creative force, and left behind a legacy of architectural splendor. (A. Morassutti '01)              

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