Balmoral Fire Hall National Historic Site of Canada
Toronto, Ontario
General view
(© Parks Canada Agency/Agence Parcs Canada, 1992.)
Address :
20 Balmoral Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1990-11-16
Dates:
-
1911 to 1911
(Construction)
Event, Person, Organization:
-
Robert McCallum
(Architect)
Other Name(s):
-
Balmoral Fire Hall
(Designation Name)
-
Toronto Fire Station 311
(Other Name)
Research Report Number:
Queen Anne Revival - 1990-SUB
Description of Historic Place
Located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, the Balmoral Fire Hall is a small red brick Queen Anne Revival building. The designation refers to the building on its lot.
Heritage Value
The Balmoral Avenue Fire Hall was designated a national historic site of Canada because it is a particularly good example of the Queen Anne Revival Style, as expressed in institutional architecture.
The Balmoral Fire Hall is the quintessential Queen Anne Revival institutional building: a clever use of eclectic historical revival details to articulate a building with a modern function. Built in 1911, the building designed by the architect Robert McCallum is an imaginative evocation of early Renaissance Flemish urban design, featuring polychromatic materials, a sculptural treatment of surfaces, which enliven a small building with charm and economy.
Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, November 1990.
Character-Defining Elements
Aspects of this site which contribute to its heritage character include: those elements which speak to the Queen Anne Revival style as it was executed for institutional purposes, namely: the basically rectangular massing enlivened by varying rooflines, stepped gables, and a tower; a polychromatic colour scheme achieved through the combination of red brick with pale stone trim; the grouping of windows of various shapes including round-headed windows with prominent voussoirs; and the exterior expression of the contemporary function as evident in the large vehicle doors, hose tower, and open interior space for vehicles and equipment.