New Toronto Central Office of the Bell Telephone Company of Canada built in 1926 is a designated Ontario heritage property located at 80 Birmingham Street in South Etobicoke.
This Edwardian style commercial building has been extensively restored to preserve its original architecture, furniture, and Bell artifacts. It has been repurposed as an office building and 3 season outdoor event space.
Birmingham Business Centre offers vintage furnished office space an meeting room rental to over 30 small businesses across three floors.
Bell Garden Courtyard is a 9500 sq ft outdoor event space rented by the hour for private events. Furnished with a white tent, tables, chairs and umbrellas, it features a lush green space, mature trees, waterfall garden and hand laid cobblestone.
Amenities
-
Family-Friendly -
Guided Tour -
Parking -
Pet-Friendly -
Washrooms
Fun Facts
This year marks a special triple anniversary the historic Bell Telephone Co. of Canada building in New Toronto. It was 150 years ago when the first telephone call was made by Alexander Graham Bell to his assistant in March 1876. To meet demand for this new invention, 80 Birmingham Street was constructed 100 years ago to serve as the New Toronto Central Office for the Bell Telephone Company of Canada. It also is the 25 anniversary of saving the building slated for demolition, by its present owner Christina Sobolak, who is dedicated to its preservation and repurposing the heritage property.
In 1923, Bell acquired land at the corner of Sixth Street and Birmingham in New Toronto, intending to construct a modern common battery (manual) central telephone office to replace the older magneto system.
The first building constructed on the property in was known as 205 Sixth St. It resembled a residential house, a front room for 6 operators, lunchroom, restrooms, and office.
Plans were made in 1925 to build a much larger structure on the property at 199 Sixth St. to house centralized battery power, eliminating the need for individual telephone sets to generate their own. This advancement meant customers would no longer turn a crank to signal an operator; instead, lifting the receiver would prompt a simple “Number, please?” from the operator on duty. The structure, built with durable brick, was envisioned as a functional hub.
The original blueprints (available for viewing), called for a two-storey brick building with a full height basement. The upper floor accommodated switchboards and operator stations. The mainfloor housed switching equipment, administrative spaces, locker rooms, and a lunch room. The lower floor had a cable vault, equipment storage, workroom for technicians and installers.
Intended to serve 1,500 Bell customers across Mimico, New Toronto, and Long Branch, the building reflected a significant investment, with the final construction (completed in 1925-1926) valued at $125,000.
Mayors G.C. Warner (New Toronto) and W.E.S. Savage (Mimico) were present and had the honour of placing the first calls. There were two extensions to the building, completed in 1948 and 1950.
Bell ceased operations at this location in 1982, when the switching equipment was moved to a new location on Islington Ave. south of Birmingham St.
The building was acquired by an engineering firm and served as office space until it was sold in 2001 to its present owner who dedicated the next 25 years to preserving original features, contents and furniture, restoring the interior and exterior of the building, and having it designated a heritage property in 2008.
