The Colonnade
His worship the late Donald Summerville, Mayor of Toronto officially opened the Colonnade on October 16th, 1963 with these words.:
"A creative and imaginative answer to the pressing problems of urban renewal."
Thousands of Canadians attended the opening to tour the building and view handicraft and ballet demonstrations arranged in support of Canada's National Ballet Company.
The 45,000 square metres of residential, commercial and retail selling space was planned and financed through the resources of Revenue Properties Company Limited.
The Colonnade is a totally Canadian project.
The one and a half turn spiralling staircase you are now looking at is the only one ever built without a central support.
The broad beams at the top of the arches distribute the weight of ten stories of apartments to the curved gothic-like arches.
No other building in the world profitably combines residential, commercial and selling space to the same degree.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Toronto Plaques. Full page here.