Industrial Revolution II Lofts

History of Industrial Revolution II Lofts

Row houses stood here before the war, and the city directories list nothing at 670 Richmond through 1948. The Northwest Building appears in 1951, named for Northwest Sportswear, a garment maker, and from 1951 to 1959 the directories also list Decca Records at this address; a 1951 Globe and Mail story about a break-in links the building to Decca and its distributor, Apex. George Offer, Decca's manager, had his office up the stairs where unit 201 is now, and gave up the record business around 1962. His son remembers baseball games at Maple Leaf Stadium with the singing group the Four Aces, and the knitting mill next door making socks.

In 1997, a year after converting the knitting mill next door, Bob Mitchell turned the Northwest Building into 12 two- and three-storey lofts. He enlarged the window openings and used the brick he took out to raise the parapet and hide private roof gardens.

Stories you'll hear

Walter Grealis, who created the Juno Awards, is said to have worked for Apex Records, Decca's distributor, in the 1950s or 1960s. Whether he worked in this building isn't recorded.