Lambert's Folly
When a new head office for TD Bank was first discussed in 1962, downtown Toronto was a very different place than it is today. Not present on many international Top 10 lists, Toronto was still considered a second tier financial centre.
The world was entering an age where it was believed that almost anything was possible. It was the beginning of a new, modern age. A young U.S. President was talking about a man on the moon, television still had an innocent, almost magical quality to it and people began to describe and measure their lives in terms of lifestyle, fulfilment and mobility. With a confident swagger and an aggressive enthusiasm for the future, cities like New York and Chicago were rebuilding their downtowns with big, modern buildings.
It was a time that demanded change, but 1962 Toronto wasn't a place that readily embraced the notion nor the inevitable risks. It was a conservative city, more comfortable watching the future unfold from a safe distance. Downtown Toronto, with its collection of aging, small and old technology buildings, reflected a comfort with the past and a growing disconnect with the future.
Fortunately, Allen Lambert, Chairman of TD Bank, was not a comfortable observer. As a banker, he understood risk better than most, but he also understood the needs of modern business and the immediate needs of his bank in particular.
In partnership with Fairview Corporation (now Cadillac Fairview), he first considered a single modern tower at the corner of King and Bay Streets. But an opportunity to assemble an even bigger site presented itself and the partnership agreed, bigger would be better. They made a decision to be bold and take a chance. The near full block project now required an architect. Nothing of this size had ever been built in Canada, so it was decided that an international search was required. After numerous potentials and one unpleasant firing, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was retained. It became the perfect partnership.
His initial design for the site was a bold, two tower design plus Banking Pavilion. Only one major design change was demanded by the partnership. The complex needed an underground retail mall. After passionate debate, Mies came around, agreeing to revise his original design. Eventually, the original black tower design was expanded to five Towers, with the addition of 95 Wellington Street in 1995 bringing the complex to a total of six Towers.
At the time, the development, financing and construction of Toronto-Dominion Centre took enormous courage. With TD Bank taking only seven floors of the first Tower, it meant that over one million square feet of space would need to be leased to other tenants in the initial phase. It was a major gamble that other business leaders of the day jokingly referred to as "Lambert’s Folly" Allen Lambert and his unique partnership with Fairview Corporation literally changed the direction and future of a city. Toronto-Dominion Centre not only elevated the standards of design throughout Canada, it also influenced every project that followed. Projects that today dominate Toronto’s financial core. Today, with six towers, 4 million square feet of space and over 20,000 tenants, Toronto-Dominion Centre remains Canada’s largest and most dynamic business community.