Toronto City Hall
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The building is on the site of Toronto's first Chinatown. The population of the large area was displaced, mostly to the northwest of the site. Much of the Chinese population residing in the district had to be removed before construction of the new City Hall could begin.
Toronto had been looking to build a more modern city hall for several years. In 1951 the idea first began to be worked on, and a partnership of three of Toronto's largest architectural firms was selected to do the design. The result was an extremely conservative structure that was rejected by the population. Mayor Nathan Phillips thus decided in 1958 to have an international contest to choose the new design. This caused some controversy as some felt the work should be done by a Canadian. A panel was drawn up of some of the world's greatest architecture experts. Over 500 designs were submitted with Revell's design being championed by his fellow Finn Eero Saarinen. When it was unveiled it caused great controversy but construction began in 1961 with the building being completed four years later.
The building is on a large site on the north side of Queen Street West between Bay Street and Osgoode Hall. While the building's base is rectangular, its two towers are curved in cross-section and rise to differing heights. Between the towers is the saucer-like council chamber, and the overall arrangement is somewhat like two hands cradling the chamber. The outer concrete surfaces of the towers have been ribbed, to prevent collapse of the fabric as a result of the expansion of the exterior surfaces, and the tearing apart of the fabric as a result of differences in air pressure on the two sides of each wing-like tower during the high winds characteristic of the Great Lakes.
In front of the main structure is Nathan Phillips Square, a public space containing a fountain/skating rink; a memorial to Hiroshima; and Three-Way Piece No. 2 (The Archer), an abstract bronze sculpture by Henry Moore. The square is surrounded by an elevated walkway, with connections to City Hall, the square below, and the Sheraton hotel across Queen Street.
The north, west, and east elevations are startlingly drab in contrast with the south elevation (shown); each presents a view of unrelieved concrete.
To the east of the square is the former City Hall (universally called Old City Hall), which is now a courthouse.
The distinctive city hall forms part of the logo and the flag of the City.
In the 1980 film The Kidnapping of the President starring William Shatner and Hal Holbrook the city hall and Nathan Phillips Square provided the location for a protracted hostage scene.
The city hall was seen in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Contagion," as one of the possible destinations of an alien portal.
In the film Resident Evil: Apocalypse, the building portrayed the headquarters for the Umbrella Corporation.