Inside Flavelle House: A Tour
The magnificent colonnade that frames the entrance to Flavelle House is the inspiration for the law school's logo.
The original building, built in 1902, has been supplemented by a modern extension which houses the Bora Laskin Law Library and modern classroom space. As you enter Flavelle House, you will see part of the original building to your right, the Rowell Room to your left, and the modern extension directly ahead.
The Original Building
On the right of the entrance is part of the original Flavelle House, once the residence of Canadian industrialist Sir Joseph Flavelle. The ground floor has been restored, and features beautiful woodwork and mosaic floors, as well as magnificent painted ceilings.
This part of Flavelle House includes the Flavelle Dining Room, used for small classes, seminars and meetings; the Faculty Lounge; and faculty offices. It also houses the Graduate Program, including the graduate student lounge, and the Centre for Innovation Law and Policy.
As part of the renovations, accessibility to the original parts of Flavelle house has been greatly improved thanks to a generous grant from the Law Foundation of Ontario.
The Rowell Room
On the left of the entrance is the lovely Rowell Room, the original solarium of Flavelle House. The Rowell Room is a student-faculty lounge which serves as a gathering spot for the entire law school community.
A small Starbucks outlet serves hot and cold beverages, sandwiches, soups and snacks, while racks of free newspapers dispense Toronto's three daily broasheets (The Globe and Mail, National Post and Toronto Star) as well as various student and community newspapers.
The Rowell Room was recently restored to its original splendour thanks to a donation from the Honourable Henry N. R. Jackman, Chancellor of the University of Toronto from 1997-2002, who graduated from the law school in 1956. The room's original windows have been duplicated and replaced, and the mosaic floor has been restored to its initial beauty.
The Modern Extension
As you go straight ahead, you will find yourself in the airy, spacious atrium of the modern extension.
The atrium is presided over by a bust of Bora Laskin, one of the founding faculty members of the law school, and a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Behind him, the atrium is framed by part of the wall of the original part of Flavelle House.
The atrium serves as a gathering place for students and for visitors during special events. Student clubs will often set up tables "beside Bora's Head" when they are selling tickets, fundraising, or carrying on charitable campaigns.
The Bora Laskin Law Library
Facing onto the atrium is the entrance to the Bora Laskin Law Library. The library offers more than 265,000 volumes and supports law studies with the highest quality legal resources, services and training.
The entrance to the library features a portrait of Pierre Elliot Tudeau by the artist and cartoonist Duncan Macpherson (visible through the glass on the left). Prime Minster Trudeau appointed Bora Laskin to the Supreme Court, and officially opened the library in 1991.
The Flavelle Classrooms
An elegant curved staircase leads from the atrium to the lower level of the new extension, which houses the majority of the law school's classroom space.
The largest classroom, the Bennet Lecture Hall, is also where the law school's many special lectures are delivered by distinguished guests of the Faculty.
Other classrooms include the Cassels Brock & Blackwell classroom and the McCarthy Tétrault classroom, which features advanced videoconferencing equipment, enabling our students to benefit from presentations, lectures and discussion by scholars and experts from around the world.
Along with the classrooms, the lower level also includes the Rosalie Silberman Abella Moot Court Room, where the law school's mooting program is held.
Beyond Flavelle House
The back of Flavelle House overlooks the beautiful Philosopher's Walk, a University of Toronto landmark. On the left is the Bora Laskin Law Library.
Robarts Library, one of the largest research libraries in North America, can be seen in the distance.
The oldest and largest of Canada’s universities, the University of Toronto offers a wide range of services and opportunities from which students at the Faculty of Law can benefit.
Text and Photos courtesy of the Faculty of Law Website: http://www.law.utoronto.ca/prosp_stdn_content.asp?itemPath=3/4/4/0/0&c ontentId=653