Massey-Harris Company
This office building, constructed in 1883, is the only surviving structure from the Massey-Harris manufacturing complex. Designed by notable Toronto architect E.J. Lennox, the building combines elements of the Queen Anne Revival style (arches, coloured glass, and bay windows) with Classical features (the cornice and pediment). The Massey Manufacturing Company was begun by Daniel Massey in 1847 and merged with rival A. Harris, Son and Company in 1891.
Massey-Harris became the largest producer and exporter of agricultural equipment in the British Empire. Once an employer of 9,000 people, the Toronto plant lined the south side of King Street West between Strachan Avenue and Sudbury Street.
In the decades following the Second World War, the company faced new competition, sales declined, and in 1982, the plant closed. The property was subdivided and sold. The former Massey-Harris office building, designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, was converted into condominiums in 2003.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Toronto Plaques. Full page here.