File:Old City Hall, Toronto, Ontario (29708925810).jpg

The Old City Hall is a Romanesque civic building and court house in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was the home of the Toronto City Council from 1899 to 1966 and remains one of the city's most prominent structures. The building is located at the corner of Queen and Bay Streets, across Bay Street from Nathan Phillips Square and the present City Hall in Downtown Toronto. The heritage landmark has a distinctive clock tower which heads the length of Bay Street from Front Street to Queen Street as a terminating vista.

Old City Hall was designated a National Historic Site in 1984.

Toronto's Old City Hall was one of the largest buildings in Toronto and the largest civic building in North America upon completion in 1899. It was the burgeoning city's third city hall. It housed Toronto's municipal government and courts for York County and Toronto, taking over from the Adelaide Street Court House. York County offices were also located in Old City Hall from 1900 to 1953. With the establishment of Metropolitan Toronto, the county seat moved to Newmarket, Ontario (and to the Old Newmarket Town Hall and Courthouse).

At the foot of the steps on Queen Street is the Cenotaph, erected in 1925 to honour Torontonians who died in World War I fighting for Canada, and later also in honour of Torontonians who died in the Second World War, the Korean War, and Canadian peacekeeping operations during Remembrance Day ceremonies every November 11.

Four gargoyles were part of the Clock Tower during the 1899 construction, but were removed due to the effects of the weather on the sandstone carvings in 1938. In 2002, bronze casts of the gargoyles were reinstalled. The replicas are not duplicates as the original designs were lost. The gargoyles are similar to those on the Peace Tower in Ottawa. Two grotesques and antique lampposts at the base of the grand staircase inside were removed in 1947 and sold. They were reclaimed by the City and reinstalled in the 1980s.

Old City Hall can be described as an enormous square quad with a courtyard in the middle. Situated at the front elevation, its clock tower was placed off centre to provide a terminating vista for Bay Street. In spite of this seeming asymmetry, the balance of the design is still existent throughout. Ultimately, even though the clock tower was off centre, balance was achieved through the repetition of the subtle details of measure and pattern. For example, to the right side of the main entrance a narrow circular tower rises 21.4 meters from grade. It is cut precisely in half by the roof line; it extends above the roof line by 10.7 meters and is also 10.7 meters from the roof line to the base of the main tower. Further on, the east and west pavilions, although quite different in their designs, are very similar in shape. The double-storied oriel of the east tower is exaggerated to counter the weight of the double tower of the west pavilion. The subtle balance is able to stand out at the main entrance of the building and prevent it from being overshadowed by the clock tower. The exterior rock-face wall was built in a series of courses, in variable sizes separated by carved bands. Grouped columns are repeatedly used to accent the windows.

Old City Hall was designed by architect E.J. Lennox in a variation of Romanesque Revival architecture known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Developed by Henry Hobson Richardson, this variation highlights bulk and massiveness as well as different sculptural features. The Romanesque style originated in Europe during the 11th and 12th centuries and had characteristics such as square towers, asymmetrical massing, stone carvings, round arches, and heavy stonework. During the mid-1800s, this style was revitalized in Western architecture. H.H. Richardson contributed dormers, circular towers with conical roofs, and the use of different-coloured stone for the revival style that bears his name. Carvings of humans and animals were also part of the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Lennox was interested in and was influenced by Richardson's work and travelled to the United States while he was planning his design for Toronto's third city hall in the late 19th century.

These influences can be seen at Old City Hall with many of its many arches and towers. Also, the use of different-coloured stone contributes towards the Romanesque style of design. The exterior and interiors of Old City Hall are crafted with great detail. On the clock tower, four stone gargoyles were placed near the top of the tower. Near the building's entrance, there are several grotesque faces carved in stone. Lennox included his own likeness next to the other carved faces which, tradition has it, represent city councillors. Lennox's own face is identified as one of the caricatures by his handlebar moustache.

The entire building has ornamentation derived from ancient Roman art. There are structural decorations used by the different colours of stone. The stone carvers did not complete work until a year after opening day, as there were many decorative pieces. The stonework on the entrance was restored in 1999.

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