Notes:
The Ellis Building is architecturally significant for its combination of contemporary materials
with the surface treatment, symmetrical organization and detailing identified with earlier
Edwardian Classicism. Found on the north side of Adelaide Street West near its intersection
with Spadina Avenue, the building contributes contextually to the character of the King-Spadina
neighbourhood as it expanded as an industrial area after World War I.The heritage attributes of the building are found on the exterior walls and roof with attention
focused on the principal (south) façade. Constructed of brick and concrete with red brick facing
and stone trim, the building rises four stories above a basement. The five-bay south facade is
organized into a Classical base, shaft and attic. The raised basement and first floor are clad with
channelled stonework beneath a bracketed cornice with fleur-de-lis motifs. The main entry, set
in the right (east) bay at street level, is protected by a bracketed entablature. The pattern of flatheaded
window openings in the base is repeated in the upper floors where the window openings
are finished with stone lintels. On the brick-clad shaft, the openings in the outer bays are set in
two-storey stone enframements with balconets at the bottom and cartouches at the top. A
projecting cornice with modillion blocks crowns the stone-clad attic, and two Classical parapets
mark the flat roof. The west wall displays similar cladding, fenestration and details, and
combines flat-headed window openings with large commercial windows. Abutting the adjacent
building, the east elevation has stone quoins and bands in the upper storey.
