Standing at 637 Lake Shore Boulevard West on Toronto’s waterfront, is one of the city’s true tributes to innovation, renovation and upscale living — the Tip Top Lofts condominium complex.
Often described as a “once in a lifetime” art deco building, Tip Top lofts is a testament to the innovation and ingenuity that keeps the city of Toronto in the limelight as one of the most cutting edge locations in North America. The building’s reputation has earned its place in Toronto’s cultural and commercial history.
Completed in 1929 at the height of the art deco design era, The Tip Top loft building housed the manufacturing, warehousing, retail and office operations of Tip Top Tailors Ltd., a menswear firm founded in 1910 by Polish immigrant David Dunkelman. The company had outgrown its previous facilities on Adelaide Street West, and chose this location on land reclaimed from Lake Ontario, for its bold new headquarters. The five-story, u-shaped structure, designed by Roy Bishop of Bishop and Miller, Architects and engineers, featured expansive windows to bring natural light into the working areas of the factory. (a brilliant feature in creating residential loft spaces) The stretch of blank façade above the fifth story, initially built to support the roof top sign, was completely enclosed as a sixth story in 1951.
Designated as a heritage property by the city in 1973, the building’s exterior has an elegant look of cool sophistication, complete with the symmetrical features and geometric shapes that the hallmarks of art deco architecture.
The Tip Top Tailors building was sold to Context Development in 2002 who renovated the historic structure into the high-end condominium building it is today, registering the complex in 2006.