ADDRESS: 49 Wellington Street East
NEIGHBOURHOOD: Church-Yonge Corridor
AGENT: Cushman and Wakefield
PRICE: $64 gross rent per square foot
THE PLACE: Stained glass windows, sumptuous hardwood floors, ominous vaults and the city’s first manually operated Otis elevator: the nearby bank towers seem so vanilla next to this historic red-brick building. Every space is rich with architectural detail, but each floor is somewhat unique: the first level, for example, offers fireplaces in nearly every office, while the fifth floor has gorgeous exposed rafters and a stunning view of St. Lawrence Market.
THE STORY: George Gooderham put up the wedge-shaped, David Roberts Jr.–designed building in 1892 to house the headquarters of his booming distillery business, Gooderham and Worts. The Flatiron cost $18,000 to construct, making it the most expensive office building in Toronto at the time, and was finished in 1892, a full 10 years before that other, more famous Flatiron building in New York City. Theirs might be showier, but hey, we got there first.
THE IDEAL TENANT: Lawyers and accountants have both come knocking, but the late Victorian architecture is really more suitable for someone who wears a top hat and carries a cane to work. So basically, Scrooge McDuck or Rich Uncle Pennybags.
THE DETAILS:
• 16,000 square feet
• 120 years of history
• $64 per square foot
• 12-foot ceilings
• 5 floors
• 1 original Otis elevator
• 1 elevator operator/concierge named Henry
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- A Toronto icon
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- Beautiful old stairs
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- Banister
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- Old safes dot the building; many have been converted into closet space
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- It would be fun to play cops and robbers in this building
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- Or hide and seek
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- Some of the original hardware is unreal…
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- …like this old letter slot
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- Fancy chandelier
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- The cage for the original Otis elevator is on the right
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- The office looks like a setting from a Dickens novel
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- That desk looks like a caterpillar
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- One of the fireplaces
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- The detail around the opening is spectacular
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- Corner office, looking toward St. Lawrence Market
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- Bob Cratchit could sit in here
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- Another view of St. Lawrence Market
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- A hallway lined with offices
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- More offices
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- Reception area
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- Exposed rafters on the top floor
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- Inside the turret
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- Stained glass window
You forgot Mr. Peanut, he also “wears a top hat and carries a cane to work.”
January 30, 2012 at 1:39 pm | by JoeFor me, this building is simply exquisite.
January 30, 2012 at 5:55 pm | by Lisa intheCityNic…should be $200 per sq ft to deter people from moving there and cant appreciate a fine piece of building. Wish Toronto Life would have used the opportunity to have some worthwhile comments on the historical significant of the building and interior versus the usual tired comments.
January 31, 2012 at 11:44 am | by Wodreally love this building ♥
February 2, 2012 at 6:58 am | by downtown dwelleri didn’t know income is a factor in appreciating architecture.. :S
February 2, 2012 at 3:07 pm | by catSome other pics – http://commercialofficeleasing.com/listings/49-wellington-street-east-flatiron-building
February 11, 2012 at 5:39 pm | by Chris Fyvie