Flatiron 1

Once the head office of the Goodenham and Worts Distillery, Toronto's Flatiron building is one of the most photographed in the city. The rear facade is dec...
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Once the head office of the Goodenham and Worts Distillery, Toronto's Flatiron building is one of the most photographed in the city. The rear facade is decorated with a trompe l'oeil painting.

In 1891, the Goodenham family wanted local residents to recognize their success and the success of their distillery business, so they commissioned the family architect, David Roberts, to build them a grander office space. At a cost of $18,000, an unusual Gothic Romanesque structure was built at the intersection of Front, Wellington, and Church Streets on a triangular piece of land.

The five-story red brick building was one of the grandest of its time, with twelve-foot high ceilings, brass fittings, and the very first manually-operated Otis elevator in the city of Toronto. A walk-in vault was constructed to hold the Goodenham riches and a tunnel was dug so that those in charge could travel from the building to the bank across the street (which Goodenham purchased) without having to walk outside with large bags of cash.

What many do not realize is that Toronto's Flatiron actually preceded New York's famous Flatiron Building by more than ten years, though the one in NYC gets much more publicity than Toronto's version.
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