20 Lower Spadina Avenue, Toronto

20 Lower Spadina Avenue is a 2-to-3 storey office building located at the southwest corner of Lower Spadina Avenue and Lakeshore Boulevard West in Toronto. 20 Lower Spadina Avenue was completed in July/August 1919 and originally served as the offices of the Dominion Shipbuilding Company Limited. The building has significant associative and historical value through originally being home to the offices of the Dominion Shipbuilding Company Limited. 20 Lower Spadina Avenue marked the “chief entry” point to the Dominion Shipbuilding Company Limited shipyards. The Dominion Shipbuilding Company Limited – also known as the Dominion Shipbuilding and Repair Company — was formed in 1917 by Christoffer Hannevig (1884-1950). Christoffer Hannevig was a Norwegian financier who purchased the Thor Iron Works in Toronto with capital investment of $2 million contributed by several investors, including J. P. Morgan & Company of New York City. The Dominion Shipbuilding Company Limited occupied the former site of the Thor Iron Works, which was situated on approximately 15 acres along the waterfront between Bathurst Street and Spadina Avenue that was leased from the Toronto Harbour Commission. The Dominion Shipbuilding Company Limited was a short-lived, although important post-World War I venture. The company went into bankruptcy, insolvency, and liquidation in July 1920.

20 Lower Spadina Avenue is one of a declining number of buildings in downtown Toronto which have direct historic association with Toronto’s maritime industries and port-related activities. The building was situated directly on the waterfront until land infill projects in the late 1970s and early 1980s resulted in the building now being located approximately 80 meters north of the waterfront. 

(Research by Adam Wynne)