The Toronto House of Industry at Elm and Elizabeth Streets was designed by Suffolk-born architect William Thomas in 1848 at the height of England’s Victorian workhouse culture. Fearing the colonial administration would soon import these hostile and inhumane Dickensian factories to Toronto, a group of local ministers and reformers preempted this by establishing a more compassionate alternative. Rather than exploitation, Toronto’s House of Industry was based on the principle of empathy.

Once surrounded by the city’s largest and most populous slum, St. John's Ward or simply "The Ward," in 2021 the House of Industry sits in pleasing contrast to glassy skyscrapers and modern cars. The building is an example of the Tudor-Gothic Revival style with its four-centred arch entrance and hood moulded rectangular windows.

(Research and text by Alessandro Tersigni.)

• Architect - Joseph Sheard  <-- More buildings by this architect.
• Architect - Edward James Lennox  <-- More buildings by this architect.
• Architect - William Thomas  <-- More buildings by this architect.