Dennis Hanagan –
City staff will study the feasibility of turning Old City Hall into a museum about Toronto’s history and people, City Council decided in February.
There’s also hope Toronto’s philanthropists will help fund it.
Old City Hall’s two tenants, Provincial Court and Provincial Offences Court, are leaving by the end of April, leaving the Queen Street West building vacant. Old City Hall was designated a national historic site in 1984.
Ward 13 (Toronto Centre) Councillor Chris Moise liked the idea of turning the 126-year-old building into a Toronto museum. “All of Toronto should see the beauty that it is. I think the Old City Hall would be a great place to have a museum,” Moise told council.
He said it would be a good place to showcase artworks that Toronto’s six previous municipalities put into storage after amalgamation in 1998. “They’re all stored away in various vaults and different places across the city; some actually are in the vault at St. Lawrence Market,” Moise said.
He acknowledged concerns about paying for Old City Hall’s upkeep but he portrayed the Romanesque-style building as an investment. “When you own property, you have to maintain it. This old building – you have to invest in it to get something out of it.”
A 2019 report from the city’s corporate real estate department said a full restoration and upgrades for the building would cost about $225 million in 2020 dollars. At present the city has $19 million dedicated to keep the building in good repair for the next four years.
Moise said that as a museum and event venue, Old City Hall would bring people downtown, where they would spend money on shops and restaurants.
Moise also advocated relocating City Hall’s ground-floor public library to Old City Hall. He said it has about 5,000 square feet, whereas the average size of libraries today is 20,000 square feet. “Libraries evolve and change over time,” he said.
Ward 12 (Toronto-St. Paul’s) Councillor Josh Matlow argued for the museum and gave councillors a quick lecture about Toronto’s heritage. “Toronto has already had a shameful history at losing some of (its) great masterpieces in architecture,” he said.
Matlow and Ward 17 (Don Valley North) Councillor Shelley Carroll, the city’s budget chief and the mayor’s economic development and culture champion, both raised the idea of asking the city’s philanthropic community to help create a Toronto museum at Old City Hall.
“In a city of 3.2 million there are certainly people affluent enough and visionary experts with enough of the wherewithal they could be helping us realize an amazing vision there,” Carroll said. “We have to do the groundwork and be willing to say to the philanthropic community it’s time to recognize you’re part of the big city.”
Two councillors demurred over expenses. Ward 2 (Etobicoke Centre) Councillor Stephen Holyday said it’s likely to be the most expensive space in the city’s portfolio.
“By the time you factor in all the costs to look after that building and the built-in inefficiency … it will be really, really expensive,” Holyday said. “It behooves us as a council if it’s going to be the most expensive space then it be filled with the most productive use.”
He suggested a university or college would make a good occupant.
Ward 7 (Humber River-Black Creek) Councillor Anthony Perruzza called Old City Hall a beautiful building but added that its upkeep turn it into an albatross.
“We all know that the price tag for refurbishing and rehabilitating Old City Hall is going to come in at a gazillion dollars,” Perruzza said. “We need to figure out a way to make the building viable … until we can find some useful purpose (for it),” he said.
As well as examining the Toronto museum idea, city staff will prepare a report for no later than spring, 2026, outlining potential uses for Old City Hall, creating a foundation to receive philanthropic donations and possibly partnering with the Canada Infrastructure Bank for funding.
