1 Spadina Crescent
Encyclopedia
1 Spadina Crescent is an academic building of the University of Toronto
in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
, situated in the centre of a roundabout
of Spadina Avenue
, north of College Street
. Its location provides a picturesque vista looking north up Spadina Avenue; it is an axial view terminus
for Spadina Avenue. Built in 1875, the Gothic Revival building is mainly occupied by the fine arts department of the Faculty of Arts and Science
. The building is also home to the Ontario division of the Eye Bank of Canada and an alternative student weekly newspaper, The Newspaper
.
The building was originally the home of Knox College
, a theological college of the Presbyterian Church in Canada
. Knox College became affiliated with the University of Toronto in 1887, and in 1914 moved to its current location on the west side of King's College Circle. During the First World War, the building became barracks, and shortly afterward the Spadina Military Hospital. For a period in 1918, Amelia Earhart
worked as a nurses aide at the hospital. It remained a veterans hospital until 1943 when it was acquired by the University of Toronto's Connaught Medical Research Laboratories, which became one of Canada's main centers for the development and manufacture of pharmaceuticals. The building was in disrepair at this point and needed substantial renovations. It was also around this time that the basement was excavated. It became an academic building again in 1972 with the sale and relocation of the laboratories.
It was the site of a professor's murder in 2001 that remains unsolved. Until 2007, the building's location inside a roundabout made it inaccessible by foot without jaywalking
; the issue was resolved with the installation of stop-lights on the east side of the circle.
On 10 September 2009, a woman fell to her death from the third floor roof while allegedly on a "ghost hunt" in the building.
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, situated in the centre of a roundabout
Roundabout
A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...
of Spadina Avenue
Spadina Avenue
Spadina Avenue is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods....
, north of College Street
College Street (Toronto)
College Street is a principal arterial thoroughfare in downtown Toronto, connecting former streetcar suburbs in the west with the city centre. The street is home to an ethnically diverse population in the western residential reaches, and institutions like the Ontario Legislature and the University...
. Its location provides a picturesque vista looking north up Spadina Avenue; it is an axial view terminus
Terminating vista
In urban design, a terminating vista is a building or monument that stands at the end or in the middle of a road, so that when one is looking up the street the view ends with the site....
for Spadina Avenue. Built in 1875, the Gothic Revival building is mainly occupied by the fine arts department of the Faculty of Arts and Science
University of Toronto Faculty of Arts and Science
The Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto is one of Canada's largest and most prestigious arts and science teaching and research institutions. With almost 22,000 undergraduate and 3,000 graduate students, Arts and Science represents over half the student population on the...
. The building is also home to the Ontario division of the Eye Bank of Canada and an alternative student weekly newspaper, The Newspaper
The Newspaper
The Newspaper, published by non-profit corporation Planet Publications Inc., is the largest independent student-run campus newspaper in Canada with circulation on the University of Toronto campus. It began publishing in 1978 and was briefly operated as The Independent Weekly...
.
History
The parcel of land now known as Spadina Crescent first appeared on maps of Toronto as early as 1835, originally named “Mansfield's Old Gardens” and then Crescent Garden. There was the intention for the city to turn it into a park after Dr. Baldwin's death, however the conditions for this were never met and his grandchildren sold the land in 1873 to the hon. J. McMurrich of the Presbyterian Church for $10,000.The building was originally the home of Knox College
Knox College, University of Toronto
Knox College is a postgraduate theological college of the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1844 as part of a schism movement in the Church of Scotland following the Disruption...
, a theological college of the Presbyterian Church in Canada
Presbyterian Church in Canada
The Presbyterian Church in Canada is the name of a Protestant Christian church, of presbyterian and reformed theology and polity, serving in Canada under this name since 1875, although the United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939...
. Knox College became affiliated with the University of Toronto in 1887, and in 1914 moved to its current location on the west side of King's College Circle. During the First World War, the building became barracks, and shortly afterward the Spadina Military Hospital. For a period in 1918, Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
worked as a nurses aide at the hospital. It remained a veterans hospital until 1943 when it was acquired by the University of Toronto's Connaught Medical Research Laboratories, which became one of Canada's main centers for the development and manufacture of pharmaceuticals. The building was in disrepair at this point and needed substantial renovations. It was also around this time that the basement was excavated. It became an academic building again in 1972 with the sale and relocation of the laboratories.
It was the site of a professor's murder in 2001 that remains unsolved. Until 2007, the building's location inside a roundabout made it inaccessible by foot without jaywalking
Jaywalking
Jaywalking is an informal term commonly used in North America to refer to illegal or reckless pedestrian crossing of a roadway. Examples include a pedestrian crossing between intersections without yielding to drivers and starting to cross a crosswalk at a signalized intersection without waiting...
; the issue was resolved with the installation of stop-lights on the east side of the circle.
On 10 September 2009, a woman fell to her death from the third floor roof while allegedly on a "ghost hunt" in the building.