The classic Imperial Bank building exterior is now back at Mount Pleasant Station in all its glory.

The face of this building, called a “heritage façade,” is an important part of the architecture for this structure. It also plays a big role in conserving Toronto’s history. So, Metrolinx ensured that this heritage façade persisted through the construction.

Last month, the station – and the Eglinton Crosstown light rail transit (LRT) project as a whole – reached a milestone: the heritage façade is now 100 per cent complete.

Check out the before and after photos below.

As seen in the photos above, the building appears almost identical before and after construction. But let’s rewind for a minute – how did crews do this?

Well, for almost 90 years, the former Imperial Bank building façade stood on the corner of Mount Pleasant Road and Eglinton Avenue East. But then, to prepare for Mount Pleasant Station construction, crews took the building down in 2016.

During construction, crews carefully labelled, catalogued and stored all the façade’s bricks in an off-site facility. And when the team built the main entrance to Mount Pleasant Station, they used the exact same bricks to construct the façade.

This means that, after construction, the façade now stands precisely as it had before.

This marks a step in the progression of the Eglinton Crosstown project – and a big milestone for Mount Pleasant Station.

The next step for this station is to continue testing and commissioning station equipment. Then, road restoration and landscaping works are to follow.

Check Metrolinx News regularly for Crosstown LRT updates and follow the project on social media for the latest.