Notice of intention to designate

5 Eireann Quay

Take notice that Toronto City Council intends to designate the lands and buildings known municipally as 5 Eireann Quay under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

Reasons for Designation

Description
The property at 5 Eireann Quay (formerly known as 5 Bathurst Street) is worthy of designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for is cultural heritage value, and meets the criteria for municipal designation prescribed by the Province of Ontario under the three categories of design, associative and contextual value. Located on Eireann Quay at the south end of Bathurst Street where it overlooks Lake Ontario, the Canada Malting Complex contains a collection of industrial buildings, the majority of which were completed between 1929 and 1944. The two grain elevators (south and north silos) with the headhouses and the marine leg are included in the Reasons for Designation. The property was listed on the inaugural City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties in 1973. The site is owned by the City of Toronto and currently stands vacant.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value

Associative Value
The Canada Malting Company is significant as one of the first independent malt houses in Canada that became the largest producer of malt in the country. The company was founded in the mid 1800s to manufacture malt from steeped, germinated and dried barley for the brewing and distilling industry. By the early 20th century, Canada Malting had expanded its operations in response to the new technologies, expanded distribution systems, and improved quality control associated with malt production. With its acquisition of other companies and the repeal of prohibition in Ontario, Canada Malting constructed a new facility on Bathurst Quay (now known as Eireann Quay) in Toronto where it had access to Great Lakes shipping. 14 buildings and structures were in place between 1929 and 1944, including equipment that doubled the facility's output by the end of World War II. The Canada Malting Complex expanded its site and inventory during the 1940s and 1950s, with malt production continuing until 1987.

The Canada Malting Complex is historically linked to the ongoing development of Toronto's waterfront in the 20th century. Following the establishment of the Toronto Harbour Commissioners (THC) in 1911, the agency unveiled its Waterfront Plan (1912) that divided the shoreline into three sections for industrial, commercial and recreational purposes. Under this master plan, the central waterfront was extended southward on reclaimed land with new dock walls designed to facilitate industry and shipping. In 1928, the Canada Malting Company leased THC property on Bathurst Quay near the entrance to the Western Channel as the setting for its Canadian headquarters.

The value of the Canada Malting Complex is also related to its contribution to the revival of the grain trade in Toronto and Canada in the 1920s. Toronto had first participated in grain shipping in the 19th century when it transported crops to American cities on the Great Lakes. After the city's first wooden grain elevators were destroyed by fire, the industry relocated to Montreal and Port Arthur (Thunder Bay). Following a thirty-year absence, grain shipping and production was revived in Toronto in the late 1920s when the Toronto Elevator Company (later Maple Leaf Mills) and Canada Malting opened new facilities on Toronto's waterfront. With these developments, the city took part in an integrated grain handling system on the Great Lakes, where grain was shipped by rail from Western Canada to Thunder Bay and transported by lake vessels to Toronto and Montreal. Canada Malting was a key component of the grain trade for over half a century and its industrial complex on Toronto's waterfront remains a prominent reminder of this history.

The initial development of the site in 1929 is associated with the Montreal office of the John Metcalf Company, which designed and built the south silos. As a specialist in the development of grain elevating and storage facilities in North America beginning in the late 1800s, the Chicago-based company designed the prototype for explosion resistant grain elevators that was introduced in 1924 and subsequently applied to the south silos at Canada Malting.

Design Value
The Canada Malting Complex is significant in that it displays two rare surviving examples of grain elevators, a building type developed in North America. The 1929 and 1944 silos represent the evolution from the first wooden structures designed for the processing of grain in Buffalo, New York in the 1840s. As the result of improved materials and advanced technology, reinforced concrete silos were designed to resist the explosions and fires associated with the grain trade. The monumental scale, functional design and unadorned forms of the structures speak to the technological processes that took place inside them. The Canada Malting Company's south silos were indicative of the first generation of solid concrete grain elevators whose cylindrical configurations were expressed on the exterior of the structures. The 1944 grain elevator (or north silos), designed by T. Pringle and Son Limited of Montreal with architect E. C. Miller, represented the next generation of the building type, where the storage bins were concealed by straight exterior walls that offered additional capacity in the corners and crevices between the circular bins. The design of grain elevators like those at the Canada Malting Complex influenced the Modern movement in architecture, which was acknowledged in the writings and projects of Le Corbusier and other Modern architects.

The core components of the Canada Malting Complex consist of the two grain elevators (silos) with headhouses (for machinery) and a mechanical device called a marine leg for the rapid unloading of grain shipments. The structures are placed on timber piles that support concrete foundation pads on reinforced concrete cylinders. The south silos rise 100 feet (30.48 metres) and incorporate 15 circular bins in three rows that are visible on the exterior, as well as additional square and irregularly shaped bins. The south silos are adjoined by the 1929 headhouse where the barley was cleaned, graded and weighed before it was either stored or transferred to another part of the facility for processing.

Adjoining the south headhouse, the north silos stand 125 feet (38.1 metres) high and incorporate 14 circular bins arranged in two rows, along with more than thirty square and irregularly shaped bins. By using flat exterior walls to conceal the configuration of the bins, the north silos had more than twice the capacity of the south silos and represented further advancement in building technology from the older to the newer elevators. The north silos also incorporate the headhouse with a grain distribution room, and housed equipment for the marine leg.

Contextual Value
With the distinctive shapes and height of the two sets of silos, coupled with the prominent location of the structures on the end of Eireann Quay, the Canada Malting Complex is a familiar landmark on Toronto's waterfront. Anchoring the west end of the central waterfront, the large-scale complex retains its industrial appearance. It stands out amongst the neighboring residential buildings and recreational facilities, including the recently opened Ireland Park. The complex is highly visible from Lake Ontario and the Toronto Islands, and is viewed from many vantage points along the shoreline. With the demolition of Maple Leaf Mills and the partial removal of Victory Soya Mills, the Canada Malting Complex contains rare surviving grain elevators that stand as iconic images on the city's waterfront.

Heritage Attributes
The heritage attributes of the Canada Malting Complex related to its design and contextual value as a rare surviving industrial complex on Toronto's waterfront are:

• The scale, form and massing of the silos and headhouses (1929 and 1944) and marine leg
• The materials, with reinforced concrete construction
• The lack of decoration that is typical of industrial architecture
• On the south silos, the configuration with the cylindrical bins exposed on the exterior
• On the north silos, the configuration with solid walls and, on the east side, the lettering "Canada Malting Co. Limited"
• The placement of the structures on Eireann Quay overlooking Lake Ontario
• The unobstructed views of the silos from the east where the structures abut the east end of the quay

Notice of an objection to the proposed designation may be served on the City Clerk, Attention: Rosalind Dyers, Administrator, Toronto and East York Community Council, Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, 2nd floor, Toronto, ON M5H 2N2, within thirty days of the 1st day of February, 2010, which is March 2nd, 2010. The notice must set out the reason(s) for the objection, and all relevant facts.

Dated at Toronto this 1st day of February, 2010.

Ulli S. Watkiss
City Clerk