Mining Building at the University of Toronto
Celebrating 100 Years in 2005
The Mining Building is one of the original buildings of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, at the time called the School of Practical Science. As the original School was administered by the Province of Ontario, it was left to the province to design and build the Mining Building, which initially was to be called the “Minerology and Geology Building”. As one of the foremost new science buildings at the University, much thought and planning went into its design. Completed in 1905, the Mining Building was designed by Chief Architect of the Public Works Department Mr. Francis Riley Heakes and Mr. Frank Darling. Mr. Heakes also designed the Whitney Block of the Provincial Buildings (which once contained a bowling alley and a section set aside for live domestic animals), as well as many other university and school buildings across Ontario, and at least one “insane asylum”. He was also the architect of the former Chorley Park, Rosedale home of the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. Mr. Darling designed the University of Toronto’s McMurrich Building, Convocation Hall, Simcoe Hall and the Sandford Fleming building, among others.
The first Mining Engineering Department at the University of Toronto was established in 1878, and has been located in the Mining Building since its completion in 1905. Today, the Mining Building hosts not only what is now called Mineral Engineering, but also the Lassonde Institute for Engineering Geoscience, and the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering. It is also home to one of the original lecture theaters at the university. Notably, the building is also home to the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame, that recognizes and honours legendary mine finders and builders who contributed to the growth and development of this great Canadian industry.
The School of Practical Science was established by Legislative Act of March 29, 1873, and stated that practical instruction was to be given in “mining, engineering, and the mechanical and manufacturing arts”. Classes began in October 1878, and there were three founding “departments” which granted three-year diplomas: Engineering (embracing Civil, Mining, and Mechanical); Assaying and Mining Geology; Analytical and Applied Chemistry. In 1889, an optional fourth year was offered, leading to the degree of Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc.). Mining Engineering developed independent status as a “department” and the course produced its own first graduates in 1896. The School of Practical Science was affiliated with the Faculty of Applied Science by 1889, but was not fully integrated into that Faculty until the period of 1900-06. From 1909 onward only the four-year degree was available.
The initial plan was to accommodate the growing interest in advanced education in mining, and to build a new science building to accommodate the Departments of Minerology, Geology, Metallurgy and Applied Chemistry, called the “Minerology and Geology” building (in the end, it was called the “Chemistry and Mining Building”). The estimated to cost was to be upwards of $200K, and both the location and design were the subjects of extensive discussion and debate. The building came to represent much more than a science building; it was to play a role as a Toronto landmark.
In the University of Toronto Monthly at the time, James Stanley Mills, President of what was to become the Ontario Agricultural College (now the University of Guelph) is reported to have said that:
"Our young country, with its vast and varied mineral resources, has been calling loudly, and is now calling, for able, well equipped, and thoroughly reliable geologists, mineralogists, and mining engineers, -- not men who have taken a few lectures on geology and mineralogy, but men who have read and studied widely and have had the broadest and most thorough practical training the laboratory, the field, and the mine. … On the farms and elsewhere in this Province are to be found in abundance the raw materials for the production of such engineers as we need, -- any number of young men, with the requisite brains and physical strength, as good as can be found anywhere in the world… in a country with oil, salt, natural gas, gold, silver, iron, copper, lead, nickel, sulphur, … and what not? beneath its feet." (University of Toronto Monthly, Vol. 2, November 1901, pp. 33-34)
"In the days when the earlier portion of the present building was erected, College Street was on the outskirts of the city, and almost any kind of building could be erected in the University grounds without public notice. But now the situation is changed. The growth of the city towards the north and north-west is rapidly making College Street the main thoroughfare between east and west. The majority of the fine residences are situated immediately to the north, converting the surroundings of the Park into a West End, while the small Colleges are commending to line the street itself. The selection of a site in the Park for the Parliament Building, moreover, shows where the legislators expected the future centre of the city to be, and their erection in their locality has contributed much towards this movement." (University of Toronto Monthly, Vol. 2, November 1901, p. 35)
Before even an initial design was developed, a delegation traveled in search of the perfect building model, and visited other schools of metallurgy and mineralogy in Europe, Canada and the US. Locations visited included Cornel, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Philadelphia, and Columbia University. The group included Premier Ross, the Hon. Mr. Harcourt, Minister of Education and Hon. F.R. Latchford, Minister of Public Works, Chief Architect F.R. Heakes and Dean Galbraith. It was noted that “the deputation found that Western Schools had laid stress upon efficiency, and in consequence a number of the best Western building were not striking architecturally. In the East greater attention had been paid to the architecture, and what they would endeavor to do here would be to combine the excellences of both systems. Besides the deputation, other members of the committee above named had visited schools of metallurgy and mineralogy in Europe and on this continent, and had some valuable suggestions.” (Mail and Empire, September 28, 1901).
The Mining building was to be made of stone and pressed brick, 4 stories high. Originally there were to be two wings extending north from the west and east side of the building, enclosing a quadrangle which was to be used as a milling room. Tenders, when received, indicated that the initial building plans were too extravagant – the wings were cut and the design reassessed.
On March 7, 1902, the Minister of Education, the Hon. Richard Harcourt, told the Mail and Empire that President Loudon, of Toronto University, “was greatly impressed while in France and Germany with the marked attention paid to mineralogy and metallurgy, especially the latter, and to cognate subjects, while England, strange to say, is comparatively speaking indifferent in the matter. Considering the resources of this province in the matter of minerals, it is to be hoped that nothing which can be done in order to secure their development will be neglected.”
On March 18, 1902 the Globe reported that on March 17, “work was commended yesterday in staking out the lot on which the new University Science building will be erected on College Street.”
The final cost of the building was $384,736. The building was re-assessed for insurance purposes in 1939, and valued at $630,000. In 1948, it was valued at $1,260,000; 1951 at $1,575,000.
Today, the Mineral Engineering Program demonstrates the same spirit and enthusiasm for mining that has enabled it to thrive since 1878.
All documented sources are courtesy of the University of Toronto Archives.