Imperial Oil Building (Toronto)
| Imperial Plaza | |
|---|---|
View of the building in 2007
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| Former names | Imperial Oil Building |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Modernist |
| Address | 111 St. Clair Avenue West |
| Town or city | Toronto |
| Country | Canada |
| Coordinates | 43°41′11″N 79°23′58″W / 43.686448°N 79.399502°WCoordinates: 43°41′11″N 79°23′58″W / 43.686448°N 79.399502°W |
| Completed | 1957 |
| Client | Imperial Oil |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 21 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Alvan Mathers |
| Architecture firm | Mathers and Haldenby |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect | Onespace Unlimited Inc. |
The Imperial Oil Building, now known as Imperial Plaza, is a skyscraper located at 111 St. Clair Avenue West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 21-storey building was completed in 1957 as the headquarters of Imperial Oil, Canada's largest oil company. The building's design had previously been rejected for a proposed new Toronto City Hall. After several decades of use as the head office of Imperial Oil, the building was sold in 2010 and converted into a condominium apartment building.
The building sits atop a high escarpment with a commanding view to the south, and before the construction of the downtown banking towers in the late 1960s, the top floor observation deck was, at almost 800 feet (244 metres) above sea level, the highest point in Toronto; on a clear day visitors could see the rising spray from Niagara Falls, across Lake Ontario.
The interior layout in its office days was based on the 'core' concept, with most offices having windows and with the various service elements (elevators and meeting rooms) clustered in the center. With its thick walls, relatively small windows, a built-in cafeteria, a location separated from major targets, and large offices that could be converted to wards, the IOB was designed to be used, in the event of nuclear attack, as an alternative hospital.
The ground floor lobby features a famous mural, "The Story of Oil", executed by York Wilson in 1957. Three years in the planning and construction, the two panels of the diptych are each 25 feet by 32 feet; the left-hand side of the mural depicts the nature of oil from its prehistoric origins, while the right-hand panel portrays the modern benefits of its exploitation. The mural is made of vinyl acetate and is mounted to the wall in such a way that vibrations in the building will not be transmitted to the artwork, possibly causing it to crack. In addition, a ventilation system behind the same wall prevents moisture collecting on the material. Crawley Films of Ottawa was engaged to document the artwork's realization.
A three-part mural by Oscar Cahén was completed in 1956, for the building's staff lounge and dining facility on the eighth floor. These were abstract compositions in bold, bright colours, one with a sun motif. Painted on canvas, two sections were de-installed in 1979 and are now owned by the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa, Ontario. As of 2014, they await conservation and a permanent home. The third section was lost.
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