The current headquarters is on the former site of the downtown Toronto YMCA building at Bay Street and Grenville. The Central YMCA Building was built in 1913 and vacated in 1984 for their new building on Grosvenor Street.
Architecture
Completed in 1988 by Toronto firms Shore Tilbe Irwin and Partners and Mathers and Haldenby, the twelve floor 50m tall building is an example of Postmodern style. It was built to replace the older and smaller office on Jarvis Street. The building is composed of a series of glass block and pink granite cubes which step back as they rise along College and Grenville Streets. An octagonal twelve storey tower meets the southeast corner of Bay and Grenville Streets. Natural light pours into the central area of the building through a ten-storey high atrium. A domed roof crowns the elevator lobby atop the terraced structure. Street officer nicknames for the structure can vary, depending on the individual officer's opinion of headquarters as an institution: "the Pink Palace" and "the Pink Whorehouse" are two examples. A fully stocked bar has been located on the 4th floor since 1988. It's operated by the Toronto Police Senior Officers' Association and access to the bar is limited to senior officers, to those ranked inspector or above.
Previous Police Headquarters 1835-1988
590 Jarvis Street was a headquarters for the then Metropolitan Toronto Police from 1967 to 1988, then used by the City of Toronto until it was sold and torn down for residential development. The 6 storey building was built originally for the Foresters until the group moved to Don Mills.
Old Imperial Oil Building 92 King Street East built 1917, became Police Headquarters 1960 after Imperial Oil of Canada moved to Imperial Oil Building in 1957. Police remained here until 1967 and building has since demolished and now King Plaza condo ; a doorway pediment was recovered and now located at Guild Park and Gardens.
