Imperial Oil Building

111 St. Clair Avenue West

Owner: Camrost Felcorp
Architects: ERA Architects

Designed by the architecture firm of Mathers and Haldenby, the Imperial Oil Headquarters, now known as the Imperial Plaza, was one of the first major office buildings on St. Clair Avenue. Built in 1957, it emerged during a time when businesses in Toronto were expanding northwards. Noted for its numerous technological innovations, including an advanced heating and cooling system, this Cold-War era structure was built as a potential alternative hospital and bomb shelter in the event of a nuclear attack.

The Modernist style tower is clad in pink granite and Indiana limestone, and rises 19-storeys. In the lobby, artist R. York Wilson designed and installed two monumental murals entitled The Story of Oil, which are among the largest murals completed in Canada. Because the building is situated on an escarpment, its 20^th floor observation level was at one time the highest point in Toronto and was also the largest welded steel-framed structure in the world when it was built.