Tuesday, June 6, 2017

234 Bay Street Old Stock Exchange Building now Design Exchange Building



Also The 77 Wellington St. entrance is accessible.

In 1983 the Toronto Stock Exchange had abandoned its historic home of the last 46 years at 234 Bay Street. Olympia and York (O&Y) purchased the building which was designated a heritage property.

In return for the air rights to build an office tower on the site, O&Y agreed to retain and restore the building.
 
O&Y commissioned a study to consider the idea of using the trading floor as a public facility. The study indicated that Toronto designers would support a cultural design centre. In January 1986, a group of designers organized an event to lobby Toronto City Hall in support of the initiative. City officials recognized a body of ten citizens as “The Group for the Creation of a Design Centre in Toronto”, which was incorporated on February 6, 1987 and came to be known as the Design Exchange.

At the prompting of the citizens' group, city staff funded a study which determined that a design centre in the old Toronto Stock Exchange “was both possible and desirable.”


When was the Toronto Stock Exchange formed?
 
The Toronto Stock Exchange was formed in 1852. It merged with the Standard Stock and Mining Exchange in 1934. The official opening of its moderne-style building at 234 Bay Street took place on March 17, 1937. The Stock Exchange moved in 1983 to the corner of King and York Streets. The Bay Street building was incorporated intact into a highrise development and is now the Design Exchange, a museum of design.

Tenancy to 1983

Aboriginal Peoples
The region was populated by Indians of the Huron and Petun tribes until around 1600, when they withdrew to land south of Georgian Bay. The first European to stand on the shores of Lake Ontario in the vicinity of what is now Toronto was French explorer Etienne Brule in 1615. The Toronto region had been populated for at least ten thousand years before the arrival of Brule.
European Arrivals
In 1750 The French built Fort Toronto on the east bank of the Humber River; it was soon felt to be inadequate in comparison with British forts like Fort Oswego, so a larger French fort called Fort Rouille was built three miles east of the Humber, on the grounds of the present day Canadian National Exhibition.

In 1787 Lord Dorchester negotiated the Toronto Purchase, which transferred the title to a fourteen mile stretch of land along Lake Ontario from present day Scarborough to Etobicoke, and nearly 30 miles inland, from the Mississauga Indians to the British.

On July 30, 1793 John Graves Simcoe arrived at Toronto with his wife, Elizabeth, their servants, and members of the Queen's Rangers. A village and blockade was constructed between present day Queen and Bloor Streets, north of the area in question. At the first town meeting in July 1797, 241 inhabitants were enumerated. The initial population at York consisted of British officials and their families, soldiers, and a small assortment of labourers, storekeepers and craftsmen. By 1812, York had a population of a little over 700.

The area of Bay Street between Wellington and King was farmland.

Post 1812 Settlement

Toronto City Directories list the following tenants and year of residence:
1856
#39 Bay Street (later #82) Francis Stanly
#41 (#84) Francis Boyd, John Boyd (Barrister and Attorney), William Boyd (Attorney)
#43 (#86) Hugh Boomer


1861
#82 Chief Justice Sir JB Robinson
#84 Captain Francis Boyd, William Boyd (Solicitor)
#86 David S Keith (Plumber and gas fitter)


1870
#82 Joseph Simpson (Manufacturer of Knitted Goods)
#84 GL Maddison (Insurance)
#86 N Strang (Second Hand Broker)


1880
#82 Mrs M Whittemore (Widow of EF Whittemore)
#84 Harry Holman (Tailor)
#86 Robert York (Boarding House)


The Great Toronto Fire of 1904 devastated the area which was largely commercial warehouse property. 

According to the atlas of 1910, the properties at 82-86 Bay Street (which would become the Toronto Stock Exchange) were two full lots which backed onto Mincing Street (formerly Mincing Lane) and one half property facing Bay Street (#86)

Searching back issues of the Toronto Star beginning 1894, there is no mention of 234 Bay Street until 1928. At that time it was occupied by WR Houston & Co, Oils of Western Canada. 84 Bay Street is listed in a help wanted add for an office girl to report to AS Houston in 1920.

It is likely the renumbering occurred between those two mentions. 84 Bay Street was the location of McDonald Bullock & Co, investment bankers, in 1917. Mention of the building as "The Toronto Stock Exchange Building" occurs in 1916, prior to merging with Standard Mining Exchange.

The Standard Exchange was located on Richmond Street West at the time of the merger. Perhaps the combined exchange operated from the Richmond Street location during construction of the Bay Street facility. In 1903, 84 Bay was the location of the Davis and Henderson Lithographers.. By May 1910 the CH Westwood Manufacturing Company was doing business there making men's garters.

86 Bay Street was the location of Royal Securities Corporation Limited in 1914.

82 Bay Street was home to the Clavir Hat Company during the years 1918, 1919, and 1920.

Completion of the current building for the Toronto Stock Exchange was completed in 1937 and the TSE moved in in April of that year.

Because the TSE was not at this location it is unlikely that persons associated with the Exchange prior to that date would return post-death. Three is one notable exception. Lyndhurst Ogden, born 12 March 1847 at Isle of Man, came to Toronto in 1876 and was the secretery for the Standard Stock Exchange (TSE) for 33 years, retiring just before his death on 26 April 1915. He was also secretery of The Toronto Club. It is likely that he would continue to hold deep attachments to the TSE wherever it's location.

A full list of principles for the TSE from 1937-1983 is in development. So far, only one name has surfaced Arthur J Trebilcock was the executive manager of the TSE from 1936 to 1956. In 1956 he became its first paid president, and held the post in 1957 as well. He was also the first person to serve as president who was not a stock trader.

He was still living in March of 1969 when his wife died, but no obituary is found via standard sources. Ontario death records are held private for the previous 72 years so while it is likely that Mr Trebilcock has passed on, the date remains elusive.

Building Specifics
The current Design Exchange became home to the Toronto Stock Exchange in 1937 with the first day of trading at the location on March 20, 1937. The building was designed by Samuel Maw in consultation with George and Moorehouse. Artist Charles Comfort did the murals. The original trading floor was constructed from natural maple with black trim and treated to aid acoustics.

This was the first building in Toronto to have air conditioning.

A series of pneumatic tubes ran from the traders to the basement where they were delivered the changes to the person operating the ticker.

Architecture

Year: 1937
Style: Art Deco (1918-1940)
Original Architect: George & Moorhouse

At the crossroads of multiple disciplines, from furniture and architecture to graphics and fashion, the education programs, talks, workshops and youth education initiatives.

These are all curated to reflect the popular zeitgeist and contemporary culture while demonstrating the relevance and importance of design to everyday life. In the heart of the financial district – the original home of the Toronto Stock Exchange – offers a modern Art Deco interior and architecture that conveys elegance and achievement.

A 1994 renovation by KPMB Architects thoughtfully updated the interior and kept the original murals by artist Charles F. Comfort and accents of warm wood and cool marble.


Toronto Stock Exchange (often abbreviated as TSX) is one of the world's largest stock exchanges. It is the ninth largest exchange in the world by market capitalization. Based in Toronto, it is owned by and operated as a subsidiary of the TMX Group for the trading of senior equities. A broad range of businesses from Canada and abroad are represented on the exchange. In addition to conventional securities, the exchange lists various exchange-traded funds, split share corporations, income trusts and investment funds. More mining and oil and gas companies are listed on Toronto Stock Exchange than any other stock exchange.


TMX Group Limited

Type

Public
Traded as TSX: X
Industry Financial services
Founded May 1, 2008
Headquarters Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Key people
Charles Winograd, Chairman
Lou Eccleston, CEO
Products Stock exchange, futures exchange, market data
Revenue $717.3 million (2014) 
Operating income
$278.6 million (2014) 
Net income
$100.5 million (2014) 
Total assets $10,160.3 billion (2014) 
Total equity $2,945.9 billion (2014)
Number of employees
1,400 (2014) 
Divisions Toronto Stock Exchange
TSX Venture Exchange
Montreal Exchange
Website www.tmx.com
 The facility stood empty from 1983 until renovations began in 1988. The Design Exchange moved in in 1994.

















 This is a 3D printing sculpture


Links
http://www.torontoghosts.org/index.php/the-city-of-toronto/public-buildings/122-the-former-toronto-stock-exchange-current-design-exchange-?showall=1

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