A B rief H i s t or y of t he
Gooderham Building
A Brief History of the Gooderham Building Also known as “Toronto’s Flat Iron” due to its characteristic shape, the Gooderham Building is one of Canada’s most iconic and historic structures. Situated at the intersection of Front and Wellington Street in the heart of downtown Toronto, this building was a base for the esteemed Gooderham family.
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Standing four-and-a-half stories tall, with arched windows and a copper roof, it was designated a historic site in 1975 and has been continually preserved and restored ever since.
Dating back to the 19th Century, the Gooderham Building also housed the family distillery. The Gooderhams were a very prosperous family, investing shrewdly in a variety of different interests outside the distillery, including retail, woolen mills, banking, and transportation. The building was commissioned by William Gooderham, and designed by the prominent Toronto architect David Roberts Jr. The perfect fusion of French Gothic and Romanesque Revival architecture, the Gooderham Building was completed in 1892. Standing four-and-ahalf stories tall, with arched windows and a copper roof, it was designated a historic site in 1975 and has been continually preserved and restored ever since. In 1980, the elaborate Flatiron Mural was painted on the building using a trompe l’oeil effect, creating the illusion that its edges are fluttering away. Created by the Canadian artist Derick Besant, the mural is an artistic representation of the Perkins Building situated across the street.
Kaley Tyne Johnson You can learn about some other iconic buildings in Canada by visiting the blog of Kaley Tyne Johnson.