The Flatiron Building

My friend, Marcia and I attended Doors Open last weekend, and first on the list was the Flatiron Building at Front and Wellington.

There was a chap there from Heritage Toronto who regaled us of the history while we waited for the tour to begin.

In 1891, George Gooderham, the then sole proprietor of the Gooderham and Worts Distillery commissioned David Roberts Jr., the son of the architect who designed and built his nearby distillery to design a grand office building. George's personal office was located on the fifth floor directly beneath the green Cupola...that you see in the picture here.

The picture, below shows the Otis Elevator in the foyer.
It was the first manually operated elevator in the city.





There once was a safe on every floor and traces of a tunnel in the basement, confirm that Mr Gooderham moved his money across the street using an undergraound passageway.

A lot of the money came from selling his Canadian spirits to American businessmen (aka gangsters).
Apparently, it was not unusual to find George dealing with the likes of Al Capone in his office atop the Flatiron building.




Outside, the fire escapes were added on for safety reasons, since there is only one set of stairs for the five stories and two exits.




Here, we see the mural on the back of the building, painted by Derek Besant.
It uses the trompe-l'oeil effect (literally, “trick the eye”), that creates an optical illusion, which convinces the viewer of its realism.

The mural is a mirror image of the windows and facade of the F.G. Perkins Block across Front Street at #41.