Yorkville Library, Toronto

May 10, 2025 In Libraries

A few steps away from the Toronto Reference Library, the geographical and metaphorical heart of the Toronto Public Library system, lies one of the network’s smallest branch libraries. Overshadowed by tall condominium towers, this elegant Neoclassical structure is the oldest library building in Toronto.

Exterior of a small Neoclassical library. It is a symmetrical, single-story brick building. The entrance door is framed by a pediment supported by four columns on top of a flight of stairs. In front of the library, a modern sign reads "tpl: Toronto Public Library". There is snow on the ground and the sky is overcast. Behind the library is a brick fire station flanked by a clock tower flying a Canadian flag. The ensemble is surrounded by tall glass towers.
Toronto’s oldest library building, the Yorkville Branch, with the historic fire station #312 to its left.

In 1883, its first year of operation, the Toronto Public Library Board determined to open its first branch in Yorkville, a formerly independent municipality that had been annexed by Toronto that year. As unimaginable as it may seem today, this was then the city’s northernmost reach, and thus the location was named “Northern Branch”. It first occupied rooms vacated by the former Yorkville police department in the now demolished St. Paul’s Hall.

Exterior of a small Neoclassical library. It is a symmetrical, single-story brick building. The entrance door is framed by a pediment supported by four columns on top of a flight of stairs. The words "Public Library, erected 1906" are engraved on the pediment. A fan window above the door bears the words "Yorkville branch, 22 Yorkville Avenue". In front of the library, a modern sign reads "tpl: Toronto Public Library". There is snow on the ground and the sky is overcast.
The elegant Beaux-Arts Yorkville Branch was designed by City architect Robert McCallum and opened in 1907.

In 1903, Toronto was the recipient of a Carnegie grant that funded the construction of four library building, among which a new location for the former Northern Branch. City architect Robert McCallum was tasked with the design of the new library. He delivered a modest but stately Beaux-Arts building, a single-story symmetrical build of local yellow brick and Ohio sandstone. As the city had by then expanded further, the name was changed to Yorkville branch when it opened on June 13, 1907.

Toronto’s oldest library received heritage status in 1973. It has undergone two rounds of discreet renovations, first in 1978 by Barton Myers Associates and in 2010 by G. Bruce Stratton Architects.

The images shown here date from December 2022.

References

798093 Yorkville Library TPL 1 apa 50 creator asc title 12556 https://thomasguignard.photo/wp-content/plugins/zotpress/
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Library%20-%20Yorkville%26lt%3B%5C%2Fa%26gt%3B%26lt%3B%5C%2Fi%26gt%3B.%20%28n.d.%29.%20Toronto%20Public%20Library.%20Retrieved%20May%2010%2C%202025.%20%26lt%3B%5C%2Fdiv%26gt%3B%5Cn%26lt%3B%5C%2Fdiv%26gt%3B%22%2C%22data%22%3A%7B%22itemType%22%3A%22webpage%22%2C%22title%22%3A%22Carnegie%20Library%20-%20Yorkville%22%2C%22creators%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22abstractNote%22%3A%22The%20History%20of%20the%20Yorkville%20branch%22%2C%22date%22%3A%22%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.torontopubliclibrary.ca%5C%2Fabout-the-library%5C%2Flibrary-history%5C%2Fcarnegie-yorkville.jsp%22%2C%22language%22%3A%22en%22%2C%22collections%22%3A%5B%22TEQEITRD%22%5D%2C%22dateModified%22%3A%222025-05-10T20%3A16%3A33Z%22%7D%7D%5D%7D
Beckman, M., Black, J. B., & Langmead, S. (1984). The best gift: a record of the Carnegie libraries in Ontario. Dundurn Press.
Macrae, E. (2020, September 2). A History of the Toronto Public Library in Four Buildings. Active History.
Carnegie Library - Yorkville. (n.d.). Toronto Public Library. Retrieved May 10, 2025.



Content note

Library detail pages are primarily a place for me to collect information I gather on the libraries I visit, and are frequently updated. None of this should be considered authoritative, I am not an architect, nor a historian. If you notice something incorrect, please let me know!



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