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
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: 20 Balmoral Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
The Balmoral Fire Hall is a fine example of the Queen Anne Revival style in Canadian public architecture. Erected in 1911 to the designs of City Architect Robert McCallum, the building embodies the style’s eclectic and picturesque qualities with its exuberant architectural details. These include stepped gables and decorative effects of contrasting brick and stone, which are elements borrowed from the Flemish Renaissance. The wide garage doors, the tower for drying fire hoses and the large interior space for storing vehicles and equipment reflect the modern function and utility of this charming fire hall.
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.