Ihnatowycz Hall – Architectural Heritage

Ihnatowycz Hall is the historic wing of the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, the international headquarters of The Royal Conservatory in Toronto.

It was built in 1881 to house the Toronto Baptist College, a residential school for training missionaries and ministers. The college was incorporated as McMaster University in 1887. In 1930, McMaster moved to Hamilton and the property was sold to the provincial government, which leased it to the University of Toronto. The university bought the property in 1936.

The Royal Conservatory relocated there in 1963, after its buildings at the corner of College Street and University Avenue were sold. In 1976, the Ontario Heritage Foundation designated Ihnatowycz Hall a building of historic significance.

The four storey structure was designed by Langley, Langley & Burke and is typical of the late Victorian era. Rich detailing on the exterior walls incorporates red brick, granite, grey and red Credit Valley sandstone, and white Cleveland sandstone. The steeply pitched roof features dormers dominated by Romanesque arches and eight intricately worked chimneys. A spire originally crowned the building, but it fell during Hurricane Hazel in 1954.

The interior of the edifice features a grand central staircase, original hardwood floors, and arched doors and windows. Originally, student residences and offices were on the upper floors. The ground floor had academic facilities, six classrooms, a reading room, and a common room. The basement held a small gymnasium, mechanical equipment, storerooms and a servery.

A chapel, designed in the Romanesque Revival style by Burke & Horwood, was added to the north-east side of the building in 1901. It was originally named Castle Memorial Hall. It had a flat floor, a rear balcony, and stained glass windows which were bricked up in the 1960s to improve the acoustics.

Since 1991, The Royal Conservatory has spent more than $10 million restoring these historic structures. The exterior brickwork was cleaned, the slate roof was replaced, the front portico was repaired, and the fallen spire was rebuilt. Many new features were added to the chapel, including a raked floor, acoustic panels, and an enlarged stage. Following these renovations, the chapel was rechristened Mazzoleni Concert Hall in honour of Ettore Mazzoleni, a former principal of the Conservatory.

In November 2005, Mr. Ian Ihnatowycz and his wife, Dr. Marta Witer, both alumni of The Royal Conservatory, donated $5 million toward the preservation of the historic wing of the building, which was renamed Ihnatowycz Hall in recognition of their generosity.