E. J. Lennox

Who was E. J. Lennox?

Edward James Lennox was a Toronto-based architect who designed several of the city's most notable landmarks in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries including Old City Hall and Casa Loma. He designed over 70 buildings in the city of Toronto.

The son of Irish immigrants, he studied at the Mechanics' Institute where he finished first in his class. Upon graduation in 1874 he apprenticed for architect William Irving for five years. He then formed a partnership with fellow architect William Frederick McCaw, before forming his own firm in 1881.

He quickly became one of the most successful architects in Toronto. He rose to the top of the profession when he won the contract for Toronto City Hall in 1886. His caricature can be seen carved in stone on the facade of the Old City Hall—he's the one with the handlebar moustache. Many of his buildings were designed in the Richardson Romanesque style, and he was one of the most important figures in bringing that style to Toronto. His creative prowess in the Romanesque Revival style was especially important in The Annex neighbourhood, where Lennox designed the Lewis Lukes House at 37 Madison Avenue in the mid-1880s, pioneering the Annex House. This style of house is indigenous to Toronto and blends elements of Romanesque with that of Queen Anne style architecture.