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Toronto Power Generating Station National Historic Site of Canada

Niagara Parkway, Niagara Falls, Ontario, L2G, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1983/11/18

General view of the Electrical Development Company Generating Station and Powerhouse, showing the two long Ionic colonnades, 2005.; Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, 2005.
General view
Side view of the Electrical Development Company Generating Station and Powerhouse, showing the large, flat-roofed, symmetrical massing, 2005.; Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, 2005.
Side view
Façade of the Electrical Development Company Generating Station and Powerhouse, showing the projecting central block with a heavy Ionic portico, 2005.; Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, 2005.
Façade

Other Name(s)

Centrale électrique de la Toronto Power
Centrale de l'Electrical Development Company
Electrical Development Company Generating Station and Powerhouse
Toronto Power Generating Station
Toronto Power Generating Station National Historic Site of Canada

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1903/01/01 to 1913/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2009/03/30

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

The Toronto Power Generating Station National Historic Site of Canada is located on the banks of the Niagara River just above Niagara Falls. The Power House is a rectangular building measuring 132 metres by 30 metres with an imposing classical façade. Its symmetrical plan consists of a central block with a heavy Ionic portico flanked by two long Ionic colonnades. The Power House contains the generators and stands above the other principal engineering components of the installation that include a submerged dam, penstocks, and the wheel pit housing the turbines, and the tailrace tunnel. Official recognition refers to the building and structures on the legal lot at the time of designation (1983).

Heritage Value

The Toronto Power Generating Station was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1983 because:
- this generating station was the first wholly Canadian-owned hydro-electric facility at Niagara Falls;
- the powerhouse is an early and unusual application of Beaux-Arts design to an industrial site in Canada.

The Toronto Power Generating Station, associated with development of hydro-electric power in Canada, was a significant large-scale engineering achievement in its time and was important in the development of business, industry and technology in Ontario and Canada. The Generating Station and Power House was built for the Electrical Development Company of Ontario to supply hydro-electric power to Toronto. The installation was begun in 1903 with the Power House designed in the formal Beaux-Arts style by architect E.J. Lennox to complement the majestic setting. The Toronto Power Generating Station was opened in 1906, and was purchased by Ontario Hydro in 1922. It operated until 1974.

Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, November 1992.

Character-Defining Elements

The key elements that contribute to the heritage character of this site include:
- the prominent location on the bank of the Niagara River above the Niagara Falls;
- the river-front setting with the building as a component of a scenic, landscaped public parkland;
- the large, flat-roofed, symmetrical massing;
- the steel-frame construction clad in brick and Indiana limestone;
- the classical Beaux-Arts style main west façade that includes a projecting central block with a heavy Ionic portico flanked by two long Ionic colonnades;
- the austere east, rear elevation facing the river that is faced with plain terracotta brick and simply decorated with a row of shallow strip pilasters;
- the regularly placed windows, and the large bow window across the north elevation;
- the Power House’s interior configuration, features and finishes, including the central entrance, the grand foyer finished with marble walls and floor tiles, the enriched cornices, and the elaborated architraves;
- the configuration, features and finishes of the work room, public waiting room and board room, and also the glazed industrial brick of the generator room;
- the principal engineering components of the installation that include a submerged dam, penstocks, the wheel pit housing the turbines, the tailrace tunnel and the power house with generators.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Federal

Recognition Authority

Government of Canada

Recognition Statute

Historic Sites and Monuments Act

Recognition Type

National Historic Site of Canada

Recognition Date

1983/11/18

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Developing Economies
Technology and Engineering
Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Architecture and Design

Function - Category and Type

Current

Industry
Power Generation Facility

Historic

Architect / Designer

Edward James Lennox

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

National Historic Sites Directorate, Documentation Centre, 5th Floor, Room 89, 25 Eddy Street, Gatineau, Quebec

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

427

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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