Beard Building

The Beard Building is regarded as Toronto's first skyscraper, and was completed in 1894. Designed by E.J. Lennox, It was planned to be a nine-storey, iron-framed structure, but it only reached seven storeys when completed and was a more traditional wood/brick combination. The Beard Building was a bank at street level, a commercial and office tower, and a hotel. The building was named after George Beard, the original landowner of the site at Jarvis St. and King St. East. It was demolished in the mid 1930s, but surrounding structures, including St. Lawrence Hall, in the intersection survive to this day. The current site is occupied by a low rise condo development.