Address: 1431 Bathurst Street
Architect:
Eden Smith & Sons
Opened:
1916, April 15
Wychwood Branch opened on April 15, 1916, and was the first and
the model of three identical libraries (High Park and Beaches were
the other two) that the Toronto Public Library constructed with
a $50,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Eden
Smith’s design, an adaptation of the Tudor Gothic style, was
“an almost entire departure from the traditional library building.”
The architect described his plan in 1915: “The Reading room
and Library, 70 feet long by 30 feet wide, raised about 7 feet above
the ground level, is really a large hall with an open timbered roof,
the walls above 19 feet high to the springing of the roof. The ceiling
29 feet at its apex. The stairs from the [street] entrance lead
into this hall from under a gallery screen. At the other end of
the room is a large stone fireplace. Bookshelves line the walls
on each side to a height of about eight feet. Above the shelving
all round the room transomed and mullioned windows provide plenty
of light.”
Major alterations
1978 Renovation and addition by Phillip H. Carter, Architect.
1995 Retrofit by Robin Tharin Architects. Closed 18 November - March
25, 1996.
Heritage status
1976 Listed on Inventory of Heritage Properties, adopted by Toronto
City Council, August 18.
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