Adelaide Street Court House, Courthouse in St Lawrence neighborhood, Toronto, Canada
The Adelaide Street Court House at 57 Adelaide Street East is a courthouse built with white brick and Classical Revival features, including four fluted pilasters framing the entrance. The building has been converted into a restaurant space while retaining its heritage character and architectural details.
The courthouse served as a venue for major legal proceedings between 1852 and 1900, including the trial of James Brown that resulted in Toronto's final public execution in 1862. This period established it as the site of some of the city's most significant criminal cases.
The upper floor served as a meeting place for the Arts and Letters Club between 1910 and 1920, where Canadian artists and writers including Group of Seven members gathered regularly. This space was a hub for the city's creative community during that era.
The building now houses a restaurant spanning four floors that serves Southern Italian cuisine within the repurposed courthouse spaces. Visitors should note the building operates as a restaurant with standard dining hours and is designated as a heritage property under Ontario law.
The courthouse walls bear historical graffiti from 1897, with the phrase 'Long Live Anarchy' scratched above the front entrance. This marking emerged during a period when the building faced neglect and remains a rare glimpse into the unrest of that time.
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