Eden Smith

Eden Smith
Born	1858 Birmingham, England
Died	10 October 1949 Toronto, Ontario
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation	Architect
Buildings	Grace Church on the Hill; St. Thomas Anglican Church; Upper Canada College; Thornton Hall Private School

Eden Smith (1858 - 10 October 1949) was born in Birmingham, England but achieved fame as a Toronto, Ontario architect belonging to the Arts and Crafts movement. He was a founding member of The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto (in 1908) and first president of the Architectural Eighteen Club (in 1900).

Smith was a prolific Toronto architect who designed a variety of buildings, although he is best remembered for his domestic architecture. He arrived in Toronto in 1888 with his wife Annie, and began Eden Smith architectural practice in 1892.

His early buildings include St. Simon, near Bloor St. E. and St. John the Evangelist, Portland St., otherwise known as the Garrison Church, which was demolished in November, 1963, Grace Church on the Hill and St. Thomas's Anglican Church (Toronto), where he was a parishioner. He designed the preparatory school of Upper Canada College and the Forest Hill residence of Frederick Wilhelm Kischel (later the site of Thornton Hall Private School). Smith built St. Hilda's College (1899), on the grounds of Trinity College, (now University of Trinity College) originally located in what is now Trinity Bellwoods Park; and Devonshire Place (1907) Devonshire House Residences, both on the grounds of the University of Toronto.

During the First World War, he built three Carnegie libraries for the Toronto Public Library: the Wychwood branch, the High Park branch, and the Beaches branch. In 1913, he designed the Riverdale Courts, later the Bain Co-op, an early low-income housing project near Withrow Park in Riverdale. He is also credited with the Studio Building (Toronto), which was the non-profit home/studio of many of the Group of Seven (artists).

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