Welcome to the Daniels Building at the University of Toronto (UofT)!
The beautiful Daniels Building is the home to the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at UofT. The Gothic Revival building was originally built in 1875 and was designed by architect James Avon Smith.
The building first became the home of Knox College, a theological college of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Knox College became affiliated with UofT in 1887, and in 1914, it moved to its current location on St. George Street.
During World War I, the building became the Spadina Military Hospital. It remained a veterans’ hospital until 1943 when it was acquired by UofT’s Connaught Medical Research Laboratories. The building was in disrepair at this point and required substantial renovations.
In the 1960s, it was proposed that this building be demolished (who’s brilliant idea was this?!) to make way for the Spadina Expressway, which was never built. However, the building once again became an academic building in 1972 with the sale and relocation of the Laboratories. For some time, the building was home of the UofT student weekly newspaper.
In 2015, UofT began substantial renovations on the building to restore it to its former glory, but also to update and expand in a modern way. The expansion was completed in 2017 and included a new contemporary glass, concrete, and steel addition to the north side. The extensive project received several awards for architectural excellence and was published in magazines around the world.
The building is open to the public, but please be mindful of students and staff when viewing the building. Stealth is critical for this area as there are many students out and about. Students commute to and from their classes between 0 - 10 minutes before and after the hour (e.g. 10:50 am - 11:10). Every hour there is a 40-minute window where there aren't so many muggles walking around. The geocache is located on the east side of the building to provide more stealth. Make sure to check out the south side of the building to view the beautiful Gothic Revival style architecture!
~~ Congratulations to CanadaKate and Team_BG for FTF!~~
