I'm pleased to be one of the bloggers for the new Heritage Toronto web site and I hope you'll enjoy my entries about Toronto's architecture.

As an architectural historian, instructor, and walking tour leader I am often asked to name my favourite building in Toronto. My favourite old building is Toronto's Third City Hall, better known as Old City Hall, which opened in 1899.

Toronto-born architect Edward James (better known as E. J.) Lennox won the competition held to find the best design for a new city hall. It was 1886 and 32-year-old Lennox had been in architectural practice for 10 years.

Lennox's City Hall is a perfect example of the Richardsonian Romanesque style - a variation of Romanesque architecture developed by America's preeminent 19th-century architect, Henry Hobson (H. H.) Richardson. The Romanesque style originated in 11th- and 12th-century Europe and featured heavy stonework, round arches, square towers, asymmetrical massing, and intricate stone carving. This style was revived in Western architecture during the mid-1800s.