FirstFireHall@NorthYork

Julie Huang

On Thanksgiving Day, I went back to school to work. I could spot that pockets of vibrant reds and yellows were slowly beginning to show, but greens still currently remained dominant.

After work I decided to have a coffee. And surprisingly, fabulous golden trees caught my eye along the Yonge street. In a moment, I thought I was wandering in the fairyland.

What impressed me most was the treasure I found by chance—North York Fire Hall 1 at 5095 Yonge Street at Empress Avenue built in 1942. This Colonial Revival building was demolished to make way for retail-condo complex (Empress Walk) in 1989 and the tower was moved to Princess Park in the rear on the west side of Doris Avenue. A City of Toronto plaque a short distance away tells us about it.

Here's what it says:This brick fire hose tower represents a partial reconstruction of North York's first fire hall, which once stood proudly on the east side of Yonge Street near Empress Avenue. It was named in honour of Ivan M. Nelson, who led North York's fire-fighting force after 1935.

The original two-bay fire hall was designed by Murray Brown and constructed in 1942. An English trained architect of noteworthy talent, Brown also designed North York's first municipal building in 1923, whose elegant frontspiece and stylized east entrance now stand inside the east vestibule of the Empress Walk development beside this public park.

At the time the fire hall was built, the newly-established force consisted of five full-time fire-fighters, two pumper trucks and several volunteers. As North York developed and its population grew, the fire-fighting force expanded and the fire hall was enlarged with an additional bay on its left-side circa 1952, presumably by Brown.

Architecturally, the fire-hall was fashioned in the Colonial Revival style incorporating clean lines, contemporary materials and an overall massing influenced by Modern design. Its tower features a gabled roof with cornice returns, pilasters framing a half-circle louvered vent, time clocks, red brick quoins and frieze-like bands of smooth-cut Indiana limestone. Functionally, the design of the structure was influenced by 19th century fire halls, incorporating garage bays, a compact massing and a tower used to hang wet fire hoses.

The fire hall was carefully dismantled in 1989. The hose tower was conserved and reintroduced into the public park as an important element interpreting North York's early municipal heritage.

Location

This plaque just inside the Empress Walk east entrance adds to the information:

The Brick & Stonework from the Hose Drying Tower was carefully salvaged in 1989 during the demolition of "Ivan M. Nelson Fire Station" and reconstructed on property donated by Menkes Developments for a public park. The two-engine-bay structure which was built in 1942 (a third engine bay was added in 1952) and located on the east side of Yonge Street south of Empress Avenue was North York's First Fire Hall.

This historical element has been conserved and reconstructed in order to preserve the early heritage of the Municipality of North York for future generations.

On the way back to the subway station, I turned around and all of sudden the bell at the top rings of Invesco Tower in front of Mel Lastman Squre played a cheery tune. I could’t help watching it again. I love this building's glass and how it blends into the sky. However, an interesting idea popped out of my mind: did the designers of Invesco Tower get the inspiration from North York Fire Hall 1? How come they resembled each other? I was so curious that I had to do some research to solve the puzzle. But there’s very little about the building found on the Internet other than this: Invesco Tower, also known as Trimark Tower or Petro Canada Tower designed by architects —Moriyama & Teshima was completed in 1987. Hopefully the experts who read my writings could help me figure out.

Aren’t they similar!?

With the mystery I got into my car and drove in fog—