Canada Life Building, University Avenue

Architect	Sproatt & Rolph
Date	1929 to 1931
Location	University Avenue
Description
This fifteen-storey office building on University Avenue, in downtown Toronto, was the tallest building in Toronto when it was first built. Despite its impressive size it was erected in just 18 months and Canada Life staff moved in on March 23, 1931. The mast on the roof of the building is in fact a weather beacon added in 1951. The shaft of the beacon is lined by over 1000 incandescent light bulbs which indicate temperature change. If the lights are constant the temperature is steady. If they run upwards or downwards that indicates temperatures are forecast to rise or fall. At the top of the beacon is a light which forecasts weather. Steady green means clear, steady red means cloudy, flashing red for rain, and flashing white for snow. The beacon is updated four times daily, seven days a week, with information provided by Environment Canada's Weather Centre at Pearson International Airport. In August of 2013 work began to remove the incandescent bulbs and replace them with LEDs.