Adjacent to The Great Library at Osgoode Hall, @BlogTo once called The American Room, “the most beautiful room in Toronto”.

Although Osgoode Hall was built in 1832, The American Room was added later in 1895 as a periodical library.

The Law Society of Upper Canada needed a space to store growing collections of cases and rulings from the US and United Kingdom, at a time when Canadian cases were limited as basis of rulings.

To maximize storage, there are floor to ceiling oak shelves installed on both levels. To save more space, the cast iron spiral staircase was installed in the middle, and made as narrow as possible, with matching wrought iron railings on the upper floor.

In such a confined space, Burke and Horwood Architects have put in an exceptional amount of design effort. The space feels intimate yet grand at the same time.

Like other grand interiors from the late Victorian / Early Edwardian era, there is an abundance use of decorative oak panels.

The oak planks extend all the way to the ceiling, with decorative staff plaster panels creating a coved ceiling.

The floral stained-glass skylight and electric copper candelabra, the first room to be electrified at Osgoode Hall, provide warm lights to its visitors.

130 Queen Street West