The 5 storey Dominion Public Building was built between 1926 to 1935 for the government of Canada at southeast corner of Front and Bay streets.
The Beaux-Arts building was built by architects Thomas W. Fuller and James H. Craig and originally served as Toronto's federal customs clearing house. It remains a federal property, currently housing a number of administrative and support functions for Canada Revenue Agency.
The building north facade is curved to match the flow of Front Street east of Bay Street. To the south is the Union Station Bus Terminal, formerly the site of the CP Express and Freight Building (replaced the old Grand Trunk Freight Shed after 1904).
Prior to 1920s, the site was occupied by a series wholesale warehouses along Front from Bay to just west of Yonge. These buildings were destroyed by the Great Toronto Fire of 1904. To the east the City's 7th Customs House (built in 1876 on the site of the 6th Customs House) and the annex Customs Examination Warehouse occupied the east side facing Yonge Street.
By 1919 the old Customs House was demolished and the stretch along Front laid vacant.
Read more about Dominion Public Building: Other Dominion Public Buildings
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