The unassuming red brick building at 401 Richmond St. W. contains over 100 years of history.
What started as a lithography factory in 1899 has transformed into a vibrant, low-rent community where artists rent space for studios, galleries and offices. If the glowing “Open to the Public” sign doesn’t draw you in, then four stories of hidden art gems and an award-winning garden rooftop surely will.
The building began life in its current form when, after going through several owners, it was saved from the wrecking ball by the Zeidlers, a family that has played a vital role in shaping Toronto’s cultural and architectural landscape.
It was Eb Zeidler who designed the iconic Eaton Centre; his youngest daughter, Christina, transformed the Gladstone Hotel into the thriving art centre it is today; and it was her sister Margaret – known to most as Margie – who took charge of the 401 Richmond building in 1994 to create a vibrant artistic hub.
According to Murray Whyte, art critic for the Toronto Star, this is a classic example of giving an old building new life that benefits everyone. He calls it a “very Jane Jacobs way of thinking” – which makes sense, since the Zeidlers were close friends with the renowned urbanist.
“When the Zeidlers redeveloped that building, they could easily have knocked it down and built whatever the city planning commission would allow in terms of height,” Whyte said. “Instead, not only did they choose to rehabilitate it for new uses, but they set aside a fair amount of that space for cultural and not-for-profit organizations, and they really committed to that.”
Now, each of the four storeys is packed with galleries and retail space rented by visual artists, photographers and cultural organizations – not to mention that garden rooftop, where anyone in Toronto can take a paperbag lunch, share some breadcrumbs with the sparrows and escape the maddening concrete jungle.
One of the newest tenants to move in is Angela Noussis, winner of this year’s 401 Richmond Career Launcher Prize. Each year, the building’s owners award one outstanding arts student with their own studio space. Noussis, 38, was an A student studying graphic design at OCAD, where she designed a series of children’s books for her thesis project. She moved into studio 260 on July 1, and describes the building as an inspirational place where she’s surrounded by like-minded people.
“I’ve been coming here for years, just milling around, and I always envisioned being here. It was kind of a dream,” she said. “So the fact that I ended up getting this space was pretty overwhelming.”
And on the ground floor, studio 133 is filled with the recordings of Finnish musicians Uulu. The shop, Musideum (“Music + Museum + Deum”) is a unique, multicultural musical instrument store that sells everything from Mongolian horse head fiddles to African finger pianos and musical saws.
“I’ve learned a lot from being here,” said musician and shop employee Ivy Mairi, 21. “We have instruments from many different cultures, so we get master musicians coming in, and we also get people looking for rare cultural instruments they want to learn more about.”
Since the shop first opened in December 2007, Mairi has also been impressed by the wide range of people she has met.
“Because of the building, some people just wander in,” she said. “I’m so amazed by how many people know about this store.”
Erin MacKeen, 401 Richmond’s director of community development, has worked at the building for 10 years.
That sense of openness and community is maintained by Erin MacKeen, the building’s director of community development for the past 10 years. Through annual events like Open Doors Toronto, the 401 Art Redux and the Holiday Marketplace – plus a quarterly tenant newsletter – MacKeen takes care of the building’s artists and entrepreneurs.
“Here in this building, the focus is on creating an arts community; that was the intention from the very beginning,” she said. “The idea is that we’re mimicking all the things that make a really healthy and vibrant neighborhood, but it’s all in one building.”
According to MacKeen, the building provides affordable, mixed-use space that’s priced “well below the market” in a trendy neighbourhood.
“The financial aspect is hugely important and can’t be pushed to the side, because non-profit organizations and artist-run centres are working with very limited budgets,” she said. “What traditionally happens with things like gentrification is they get priced out of their neighbourhoods, and we are unwilling to let that happen.”
Demolition? Retail chains? Margaret Zeidler’s original vision has rendered these options unthinkable.
While they may not have the same street retail presence as Queen Street West – in fact, the sidewalk on Richmond Street actually ends where it meets the building’s front doors – 401 Richmond St. W. has become a sustainable cultural destination in its own right.
Laura Godfrey
Rahul Gupta
Ciaran Thompson
