Notes:
The property was identified as having cultural heritage value in the inventory included in North York's Modernist Architecture, first published in 1997 with a revised edition in 2009.
The property is located on the east side of Leslie Street opposite Wilket Creek Park between Eglinton Avenue East and Overland Drive and contains the former office headquarters and plant for Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. designed by Gordon S. Adamson and constructed in 1962. The Canadian Architect declared the building one of twelve significant projects for 1963-4 and the RAIC Journal also reviewed the building in July 1963 signalling its design importance. The building was extended in 2002-2005 with designs by Sterling, Finlayson, Sweeney & Co. Ltd. successfully reinterpreting the 1960s late modern design language. Wrigley celebrated 100 years in Canada with a time capsule embedded in the front lobby of the building and then closed down its operations in 2015.
Statement of Cultural Heritage Value
The former Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. building has design value as an example of the characteristic Don Mills clean industrial facility designed in a Late Modern Style and located in a landscaped setting accessed by a curvilinear street which represent the principles set out by the lead planner, Macklin Hancock which was a notable example of Post-War suburban planning based on Garden City principles. The features of the Late Modern style, prevalent in the 1960s, are present in the rectangular massing of the structure with its deep reveals with recessed fenestration, the depth of the overhanging roof, the switch away from the white lightness of the International Style with the varied brown brick cladding, the use of bronze Anaconda "Muntz Metal" on the roof fascia and bronze door and window frames. As well Late Modern characteristics are found in the greater sense of weight in the massing and an increased complexity in the composition of doors and windows. Window openings are no longer ribbon windows or curtain walls but have a much more organic variety. The horizontal band of glazing just beneath the roof confirms that the walls in Modern fashion are non-load bearing. The use of a concrete at the base with pebbles and the various landscape components including the rough-hewn stairs are all part of the Late Modern increased interest in texture and nature. The later 2002-2005 additions to the offices at the west end of the property are complementary and integral to the original Late Modern style, contributing to the overall design value of the complex.
The complex is valued for it high degree of craftsmanship and artistic merit which is evident in the composition of the massing and apertures as well as the selection of Inclusion on the City's Heritage Register – Don Mills Crossing Properties Page 56 of 101
materials which provide a high degree of variety. The property's artistic merit was recognized when it was completed as it was selected by the Canadian Architect as one of the 12 most significant projects for 1963-1964, praising it for its "poetic expression." 6 It was also reviewed in the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Journal in 1963.7
The former Wrigley property has cultural heritage value as it is historically associated with the 1950s planning and development of Don Mills by E. P. Taylor and Don Mills Developments Ltd. with the lead planner Macklin Hancock which was a notable example of Post-War suburban planning based on Garden City principles and encouraged the establishment of businesses to the south of the residential neighbourhood as part of a goal for self-sufficiency and local employment. It is also valued for its association with the popularly renowned William Wrigley Jr. gum company, established in the United States in 1891, opening its Canadian branch on Carlaw Avenue in 1911 and became the largest gum manufacturer in the world. Further, it is valued for its association with the architectural practice of Gordon S. Adamson + Associates (later known as Adamson + Associates) who following World War II became outstanding leading and award winning Modernist architects.
Although not part of the original plan for Don Mills, located on a sloping ground facing Wilket Park on the east side of Leslie Street, 1123 Leslie Street has contextual value as its low-rise, modernist building in a landscaped setting represent the two design principles that define the mid-20th century Garden City values of the Don Mills development. It maintains and defines the character of the area and is visually, physically and historically linked to its surroundings in this part of Don Mills as it developed through the 1950s-1960s establishing its landscaped campus headquarters character.
