UofT Walking Tour

Learning Objective: Architectural Styles

The University of Toronto St. George Campus has a collection of historical buildings with various classic architectural styles. Here is a walking tour routes with introductions to the buildings and their architectural styles.

The walking tour starts and ends Queen's Park Subway Station. The long-loop tour is about 3.5km, which has 7 stops: 

1. Hart House

2. Victoria University

3. Philosopher's Walk (North entrance, Alexandra Gate)

4. Trinity College

5. Soldier's Tower

6. University College

7. Convocation Hall

Visitors may skip #2 and #3 to make a short-loop, which is about 2.2 km in distance. If you choose the short loop, you will still see the south gate of the Philosopher Walk, and the Victoria University has a similar Architectural style to the University College. 

Hart House is located in the East end of St. Michael College. directly facing Queen's Park. This Gothic Revival Building was built in 1935.  Gothic Revival styles share lots of similar features with the Gothic style (12th - 16th centuries): pointed arches and ribbed vaults (to support the ceiling). Gothic buildings in France and Germany are famous for their sky-high, razor-sharp roofs. Gothic Revival (18th - 20th centuries) buildings use different construction materials, stone to bricks, lead and copper to cast iron and steal. Both Gothic and Gothic Revival have flying buttresses, but they are for different purposes. For Gothic Buildings, flying buttresses is a engneering requirement, for Gothic Revival buildings, they are purely decorative. We can find lots of churches in Gothic style, Gothic Revival is more often seen as civic and civil buildings, such as parliament, town halls, and court. 

Victoria University was established in 1832. The main building in St. George Campus is in Richardsonian Romanesque style, and other buidings in Late Gothic Revival style. Romanesque (10th - 12 th centuries) buildings have semicircular arches, which is different to Gothic pointed arches.  Think wall like a fort is another feature. Late Gothic Revival style has relatvicely flat arches, usually used for college buildings, so it is also called Collegiate Gothic.

Philosopher's Walk is a historic, 375-metre scenic footpath, serving as a tranquil urban oasis in the heart of downtown Toronto. Running north-south between Bloor Street West and Hoskin Avenue, this picturesque trail follows the natural, undulating contours of a buried 19th-century ravine. The Northern Entrance (Alexandra Gates) was built in 1901 to commemorate a British royal visit, these grand stone pillars feature ornate wrought ironwork and serpent-headed lamps. They were moved to this location in the early 1960s to make way for subway construction. On the two poles of the Alexandra Gate, there are "E" and "A". Do you know what do they stand for?

Dr. Normal Bethuen's grandfather was one of the five founders of  Trinity College. It was a medical school for Anglican students. Trinity College is a Late Gothic Revival building. The photo above shows the atrium of the building.

The Soldier's Tower is the secoind tallest war memorial tower in Canada.  The tallest is the Peach Tower in Ottawa. The Soldiers' Tower is a 143-foot Late Gothic Revival memorial designed by Sproatt & Rolph and built between 1919 and 1924, and features a 51-bell carillon. This iconic structure, which commemorates university members lost in both World Wars, includes a Memorial Screen and is known for its live musical recitals.

University College, founded in 1853 as the founding non-denominational constituent college of the University of Toronto, is widely considered the crowning architectural masterpiece of the St. George campus. Constructed between 1856 and 1859, the building was designed by the prominent architectural duo Frederic Cumberland and William Storm. Designated a National Historic Site of Canada, it stands as one of the oldest, most striking examples of monumental public collegiate architecture in the country. While many classic North American university landmarks lean heavily into Gothic themes, University College is celebrated for its highly unusual and theatrical use of Norman Romanesque Revival architecture mixed with Victorian Eclecticism. 

Unlike the heavy medieval Romanesque of University College next door, Convocation Hall was built in the grand Beaux-Arts (Classical Revival) style. This architectural movement, which peaked at the turn of the 20th century, favored strict mathematical symmetry, monumental scale, and dramatic classical detailing. It was chosen to project an image of institutional stability, global prestige, and enlightenment. 

Transit:

TTC Queen's Park Station. Starts from the East exit (to Hart House) and ends at the West entrance (from Convocation Hall).

Nearby attraction: Queen's Park