McLaughlin Motor Car Showroom

The McLaughlin Motor Car Showroom was built in 1925 and operated continuously as a car dealership until March 2007 when it was last occupied by Addison on Bay dealership (Cadillac) at 832 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario.[1][2]

McLaughlin Motor Car Showroom
May 2017
Location within Toronto
General information
StatusReconstructed
Typecar dealership
Address832 Bay St., Toronto, Ontario
Coordinates43.6616°N 79.3863°W / 43.6616; -79.3863
Opening1925
Renovated2007 (rebuilt into Burano)
Technical details
Floor counttwo
Design and construction
ArchitectHutton & Souter

History

The R.S. McLaughlin Building, built in the Gothic Revival style, was one of the first automobile dealerships in Toronto. It was constructed by General Motors Corporation of Canada, and was completed in May, 1925, seven years after General Motors had completed a merger with Oshawa's McLaughlin Motor Car Company.[3]

The building remained continuously occupied by car dealerships for eighty-two years.[2] In 1955, it was opened as a Cadillac dealership by Harry Addison, and was known as Addison on Bay. It later became Canada's largest Cadillac dealership,[4] and by the 1980s was operated by former Member of Parliament John Hollings Addison.[5][3] Despite its long history, the dealership was closed as part of a reorganization and consolidation of the car dealership industry in Canada.[6]

By 1989, it was listed on Toronto's Inventory of Heritage Properties, and designated a Heritage Property by City Council in 1999 under the Ontario Heritage Act (part IV).[7][2] The latter designation required any property owner to apply to the City of Toronto prior to making changes or demolishing its historic elements. Substantial restoration took place in 1999, including modification for rooftop parking.[8]

In 2000, Ontario Realty Corporation sold the site to Addison Properties Ltd. for what some claim was one-third of its value.[1]

The building was removed to make way for the Burano high-rise condominium, with plans to retain the facade and other historic elements of the original structure and incorporate them into the Burano's lower three floors.[9] Because of the soft soil at the site, and to facilitate excavation, the historic facade was dismantled and stored off-site during construction of the seven-floor underground garage. After the garage and foundation appropriate for the fifty floors above ground were completed, the facade was reconstructed, incorporating the important heritage components.[8]

The historic building is marked with a plaque, placed in 2013 by Heritage Toronto.[10]

See also

References
  1. Wong, Tony (2 March 2007). "Cadillac of dealers closing". Toronto Star. Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  2. Knoeck, Kyle (21 August 2006). "City of Toronto Staff Report" (PDF). Toronto.ca. Toronto and East York Community Council. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  3. Mike Filey (1 September 2000). Toronto Sketches 6: The Way We Were. Dundurn. pp. 173–. ISBN 978-1-4597-1303-1.
  4. Mike Filey (1 June 1999). Mount Pleasant Cemetery: An Illustrated Guide: Second Edition, Revised and Expanded. Dundurn. pp. 33–. ISBN 978-1-4597-1310-9.
  5. Paul Litt (21 October 2011). Elusive Destiny: The Political Vocation of John Napier Turner. UBC Press. pp. 317–. ISBN 978-0-7748-2267-1.
  6. Turnbull, Barbara (15 June 2009). "Un-pave car dealer's lots to put up paradise". The Star. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  7. Leonhardt, Barbara; McDonald, Mary L. (2 April 2008). "832 Bay Street (McLaughlin Motor Car Showroom) – Approval of Alterations to a Heritage Building, and Authority to Enter into a Heritage Easement Agreement" (PDF). City of Toronto Planning Division. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  8. E.R.A. Architects Inc. (14 March 2008). "Heritage Impact Statement (Conservation Strategy), Supplementary Report, The Burano" (PDF). City of Toronto. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  9. "Burano Condominiums". news.library.ryerson.ca. Ryerson University Library & Archives. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  10. "McLaughlin Motor Car Showroom Historical Plaque". torontoplaques.com. Alan L Brown. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
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