Context and Description
St. Michael’s Cathedral is located at 200 Church Street in Toronto, Ontario. The building is oriented on an off-east-west axis aligned perpendicular to church street with its main entrance on its west side located off Bond Street. In adherence with the tradition of medieval churches the cathedral's high altar is in the east end of the building, facing Jerusalem. The general composition of the building resembles that of a 13th or 14th century Gothic cathedral; however, the design is simplified and does not contain elements such as flying buttresses, transepts, or ribbed vaults. Also, because there are no transepts the cathedral itself does not assume the typical cruciform shape of most medieval Gothic cathedrals. Conversely the secondary altars, or side-chapels, divide the cathedral in two down its length providing a slight outcrop visible from the exterior. The building can be further subdivided down its length by the nine bays framed by the buttresses on the exterior of the building.
The cathedral's tower supports a large iron spire located over its west entrance. At its tallest point the tower reaches 260 ft or approximately 26 stories above the ground surpassing the height of many of the surrounding buildings. The scale of the cathedral is quite large within the context of its immediate surroundings; however, when examined in context with the surrounding office towers the size of the cathedral shrinks considerably. From the exterior the building maintains a distinctly Gothic appearance characterized by its pointed arches, buttressed walls, stone moulding and sharp iron accents. The building is set-back considerably from the street and features a tall iron fence around its perimeter which further contributes to the buildings sharp appearance. The fence allows the building to maintain a semi-private front yard featuring a stone-paved roundabout on its west side and a garden along its south side. Access from the east side of the building is limited due to the connection with the cathedral's rectory.
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