Video Tour:

Downtown Toronto, A thriving Metropolis that is littered with high rise buildings. Has one of the strangest abandoned buildings that I have ever come across! The 16 story tall Whitney Block Tower.

The Whitney Block was built in 1926 to house office for a rapidly growing provincial government. And in 1932 the tower was added by architect Francis Heakes. Who passed away before the tower was completed at the age of 74. Heakes was chief architect of the province’s public works department. His other commissions include the Government House, which was torn down in 1961, and the Mimico Asylum.

The tower was seen as both a marvel and an oddity, with its art deco architecture. Art Deco architecture was popular from 1915 to 1940.

it was the tallest building in the province of Ontario at the time and included a bowling alley and strangely it had pens for domestic and farm animals. This was because the provincial veterinary service was on the 6th floor of the tower. How did animals get the the 6th floor? on a hand cranked elevator.

Each side of the building has two male figures set in pairs: Farming and Forestry, Law and Education, Labour and Mining and finally Finance and Health and The four carvings on the upper floor are all female and represent Justice, Tolerance, Wisdom and Power

But as the decades passed by, regulations changed and by the 1960s the building could not keep up with the fire and safety codes.

The tower was built with no ventilation system (the only way that workers could cool off during the summer was to open windows) and only one staircase.

After being open for 35 years the tower was deemed a fire hazard in 1968 and has been sitting abandoned since.

Since 1968 the government has invested in keeping the exterior of the building in good shape, including replacing windows and repairs to the façade. And the lower floors of the tower are now used as government offices again but the rest of the tower remains empty to this day. With no access unless you have a government ID.

The tower sits as a reminder of the past and mistakes that had been made along the way. Hopefully a talented architect will be able to solve the more than 50 year old problems the building has had and new live will be brought back into it.