Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Architectural Records Collection
General material designation
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
Level of description
Collection
Repository
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
1857 - 2008 (Creation)
- Creator
- Trinity College Archives
Physical description area
Physical description
2918 items
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Trinity College was founded in 1850 by Toronto’s first Anglican Bishop, John Strachan, in response to the secularization of King’s College, precursor to the University of Toronto. The new College incorporated the Theological Institution, Cobourg, as the basis of its Faculty of Divinity in 1851. In 1852 the College received its Royal Charter and opened its doors on Queen Street West, now the site of Trinity Bellwood’s Park. In 1904 Trinity College federated with the University of Toronto and in 1924 moved to its present location on Hoskin Avenue. Dr. George W. Spragge, retired Provincial Archivist of Ontario and a Trinity College graduate, was asked by Provost D.R.G. Owen in 1963 to report on "the historical material in the vaults and storage rooms in Trinity College." Dr. Spragge, a noted researcher and writer on the early history of education in Upper Canada, continued as Archivist until 1969. In 2008 the position of Archivist was endowed by Dr. Ruth M. Bell in honour of her first husband, Professor William Rolph (4T0) and his uncle, Dr. Frederick Rolph, a graduate of the Trinity Medical College.
Custodial history
This collection of architectural records has been accumulated from approximately 150 years of building
projects either contemplated or actually constructed by the corporation of the University of Trinity College.
Few records survive from the period when the University was located on Queen Street West. In all
likelihood, they may have been discarded in the move to Hoskin Avenue in 1925. If they survived the
removal process, they may have been discarded during construction of one of the subsequent additions.
Some of the architectural records have been in the archives for many years. More recently, many records
were transferred from various departments and formally accessioned in 1988.
Responsibility for drawings and specifications of completed structures and renovations is presently held by
the office of the building manager. Before the creation of this office, college administrators such as the
provost and bursar were responsible for early planning and design, and signing of building contracts. By
the mid 1950s, it was decided that it was necessary to relieve the senior administrators of some of their
workload by the appointment of a business administrator whose office would discharge the duties of bursar,
secretary of corporation, personnel, and superintendant of buildings. The office responsible for building
maintenance retains complete sets of drawings and specifications in order to carry out its work.
Scope and content
Architectural records are plans, drawings, blueprints, or other graphic or visual documents used in the
design and construction of buildings, landscapes, or other manmade objects. Architectural records are the
result of a lengthy process of gathering and refining data in order to prepare a design and produce final
construction drawings and plans. Using surveys of the construction site, the architect produces rough
sketches and diagrams of the proposed building. Preliminary drawings are then prepared and revised. The
final construction drawings include minute details about size, scale, structural systems, electrical wiring,
plumbing, heating, and air conditioning systems, as well as interior and exterior finishes. The final plans,
prepared by a photochemical process, might be reproduced several times, and might be revised as
construction progresses.
The architectural records in this finding aid are listed chronologically, by series number, name of project,
name of architect/architectural firm, and number of items. They have been arranged chronologically,
according to date of building project. Each project constitutes a records subseries. Each subseries has
been described according to name of building project, name of architect/architectural firm, and date span.
Within each subseries, the records divide themselves into files according to type of drawing, such as
sketches, mechanical plans, or detailed drawings. The architect's original organization and system of
numbering has been maintained. When this information has been unavailable, the records have been
organized by date and subject.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Records have been organized into the following six series:
SERIES /A: University of Trinity College, Queen Street West
SERIES /B: University of Trinity College, Queen's Park (Hoskin Avenue)
SERIES /C: St. Hilda's College
SERIES /D: Gerald Larkin Academic Building (Larkin Building)
SERIES /E: Munk School of Global Affairs (John W. Graham Library)
SERIES /F: Records of related bodies
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
The items held in this collection have been digitized; see notes for each subseries for exceptions. All digitized records are available to researchers upon request, pending other restrictions.
Restrictions on access
All of the architectural drawings in this accession are open to researchers with the exception of records deemed too fragile or in otherwise poor condition. If limits exist on a record, they will be outlined where appropriate
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Uploaded finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
Accruals are expected on an unscheduled basis.
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number area
Standard number
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules or conventions
Language of description
- English