Notes:
One of the earliest warehouses in the area, the Southam Press Building is architecturally
significant as a well-designed example of the early tall commercial building type, displaying the
typical Classical organization and application of Classical and Gothic-inspired detailing.
Anchoring the southeast corner of Adelaide Street West and Duncan Street, the building
contributes contextually to the character of the King-Spadina neighbourhood as it developed as
an industrial area in the early 20th century.
The heritage attributes of the building are found on the exterior walls and roof with attention
focused on the west and north facades. Rising five stories above a basement, the structure is
organized into a Classical base, shaft and cornice. The building is constructed of concrete, clad
with red brick, and decorated with stone, wood and terra cotta. The flat roof has a wood cornice
and, at the south end, a semi-elliptical parapet. The west facade is divided into four wide bays
by compound brick piers. In the right (south) bay, the main entrance has an elaborate stone
surround with semi-engaged columns, an entablature with triglyphs, and a triangular pediment
with modillion blocks. The remaining bays mix large flat-headed window openings with
continuous stone lintels and sills and paired flat-headed window openings with quoined
surrounds. A pattern of terra cotta triangles is introduced above the fifth floor. The north
elevation is arranged in eleven bays with projecting corners. At the left (east) end, a secondary
entrance with a round-arched stone surround, a transom and radiating voussoirs is placed beneath
a round-arched window with brick voussoirs and multiple keystones. The outer bays contain
segmental-arched window openings with similar decorative treatment and corbelled brick reveals
above the fifth-floor openings. Brick buttresses with gablets divide the centre bays and organize
pairs of flat-headed window openings with continuous stone lintels and sills. On the south wall,
remnants of a painted sign identifying "Southam Press" are visible on the brickwork. The east
elevation contains pairs and trios of segmental-headed openings.
