Benjamin Brown and the Balfour Building, Toronto

Toronto’s first accredited Jewish architect, Benjamin Brown graduated from the architectural school at the University of Toronto in 1913. Excluded from the WASP-ish old-boys’ network of architects that then prevailed, he attained commissions from a circle of wealthy Jewish businessmen – with names like Gelber, Dunkelman, Cherry, Greisman and Pomerantz – who became his champions. His career reached its zenith in the 1930s. Most conversant in art deco and art nouveau styles, he also utilized more traditional elements from Georgian, Gothic, Tudor, Romanesque and other styles.
Balfour Building, Toronto
Balfour Building, arguably one of Brown’s most important commissions, which, along with his Tower Building across the street, is considered an architectural “gateway” to the garment district. Built for the Shiffer-Hillman clothing company and completed in 1930, the Balfour Building amply demonstrates Brown’s superlative sense of scale and proportion