Francis R. Heakes

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The Whitney Block (formerly the East Block of Queens Park) in downtown Toronto. It was designed by F. R. Heakes and erected in two phases between 1926 and 1932.

Francis Riley Heakes (1858 - 1930) was a Canadian architect. He studied under Kivas Tully in the mid-1880s. He was at one time Chief Architect of the Public Works Department of the Province of Ontario. Among his important commissions were the Whitney Block in downtown Toronto, the Mining Building at the University of Toronto (1905), and the Superior Court of Justice in Thunder Bay (1924). Perhaps his most famous commission was Government House in Toronto (Chorley Park), designed in a style reminiscent of French châteaux. It was one of the most expensive residences ever constructed in Canada at the time (1915), and was more impressive than even Rideau Hall in size and grandeur. The building was demolished in 1961.