The Graphic Arts Building is located at 73 Richmond Street West, a short distance west of Yonge Street. Started in 1911 and completed in 1913, for over a century is has survived, and is now nestled among the high-rise towers of the financial district, to the east of Fisherman’s Wharf Restaurant. The amazing Graphic Art Building would not appear out of place amid the temples of Rome or Athens. Its classical facades contains Ionic columns and the cornice has classical designs. The four-storey building has a limestone base, the same stone employed in the cornice. Its architect was Francis S. Baker, of Baker Francis.

The Graphic Arts Building today at the corner of Richmond Street West and Sheppard Street

For many years, the building was the headquarters of Saturday Night magazine, originally founded in the 1873 by cartoonist, J. W. Bengough. At one time he had been employed by the Globe newspaper, which in later years became The Globe and Mail. Saturday Night was a satirical weekly publication that became known as the voice of Liberalism in Canada. Bernard Keble Sandman was its editor in 1932, and remained in this position until 1952. An historic plaque on the building commemorates his tenure as editor.

The beautiful and well-preserved lobby of the Graphic Arts Building

The magazine featured such writers as E. Pauline Johnson, Archibald Lampman, Stephen Leacock, John McCrae, and Robertson Davies. Margaret Atwood received her first national exposure through stories published in the magazine. Robertson Davies began his literary career at Saturday Night, and was its editor during the 1940s. Later, Robert Fulford was an editor. Such artists as C. W. Jefferys, Tom Thomson and other members of the Group of Seven worked at Saturday Night.

One of the political cartoons of J. W. Bengough

Saturday Night eventually relocated from the prestigious building on Richmond Street. It ceased publishing in 2005, and today the building is a mid-rise condominium, with 65 loft units. It was converted to lofts around 2002 by The Sheppard Group.

Now a 5-storey loft conversion, the Graphic Arts Building are ideally situated in the downtown core, right in the heart of the Financial District, near the Fashion District and bustling Yonge Street. Also within walking distance to Chinatown and Kensington Market, this building offers a choice of 65 lofts – all zoned for work and live. The lofts are airy with ceiling heights of 11-1/2 to 13-1/2 feet. Penthouse lofts offer terraces. Unfortunately, there are no amenities and no parking available.

Sunset, Algonquin Park by Tom Thomson

Many take advantage of the live-work zoning and there are a lot of businesses operating out of the building. Probably more than people just living there. This might be due to the fact that many of the lofts are quite small, just bachelor units. And they don’t come up for sale very often. Not a few are the late night crash pad / pied-a-terres of busy financial workers.

Inside you will find mainly drywall and not a ton of character, they are basically condos with high ceilings. The exterior window trim that you can see from the inside is amazing, and pretty much the only clue to the historic nature of the building.

Richmond Street looking west from Yonge Street in 1927

You will note that the west side is just as ornate as the north side, which is unusual. Most buildings have only one “front”. But in the early 20th century, Sheppard Street was planned to be a major thoroughfare, so the builder ensured that his creation would present an elegant face to both streets. Unfortunately, those plans did not come to fruition and today it is only a one-block remnant running between Richmond Street and Adelaide to the south.

Cover of an old edition of Saturday Night

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Contact Laurin Jeffrey for more information – 416-388-1960

Laurin Jeffrey is a Toronto real estate agent with Century 21 Regal Realty.
He did not write every article, some are reproduced here for people who
are interested in Toronto real estate. He does not work for any builders.
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