The Carlu

{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox historic site | name = The Carlu | native_name = | native_language = | other_name = | etymology = | image = TheCarlu.jpg | caption = The Round Room | alt = | locmapin = | location = [[Toronto]], Ontario, Canada | area = 50,000 sq. ft. | elevation = | founded = | founder = | built = 1930 | original_use = | current_use = | architect = [[Jacques Carlu]] | architecture = | governing_body = | owner = | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | website = [http://www.thecarlu.com www.thecarlu.com] | designation1 = National Historic Site of Canada | designation1_offname = Eaton's 7th Floor Auditorium and Round Room | designation1_date = 1983 | designation1_number = | designation2 = Ontario Heritage Act | designation2_offname = T. Eaton Co. College Street Store | designation2_date =1975 | designation2_number = }} '''The Carlu''' is an historic event space in [[Toronto]], Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1930 and known as the eponymous "Eaton's Seventh Floor", the venue was restored and reopened in 2003, renamed for its [[Jacques Carlu|original architect]]. The Carlu is one of Toronto's best examples of [[Streamline Moderne|Art Moderne]] architecture. The venue is owned by restaurant firm [[Oliver & Bonacini Restaurants|Oliver & Bonacini]].

==History== [[File:EatonsGrandFoyer7th.jpg|thumb|left|The Grand Foyer at the Eaton's Seventh Floor in 1931. The floor was designed by French architect [[Jacques Carlu]].]] In 1930, the [[Eaton's]] [[department store]] chain, at the time Canada's dominant retailer, opened "[[College Park (Toronto)|Eaton's College Street]]", an imposing [[Art moderne]] store at the intersection of [[Yonge Street]] and [[College Street (Toronto)|College Street]]. The matriarch of the [[Eaton family (Toronto)|Eaton family]], [[Flora Eaton|Lady Eaton]], was a member of Eaton's board of directors, and the Eaton's restaurants were one of her responsibilities. She retained the noted French architect [[Jacques Carlu]] to design the seventh floor of the edifice, which was to contain the 1300-seat Eaton Auditorium, the Round Room restaurant, lounges and a private dining room. All of the facilities were to be connected by a long foyer, designed in the style of the ocean liners of the day. Between 1931 and 1965, the theatre was home to the [[Eaton Operatic Society]].

===Broadcast centre=== The newly opened Auditorium was used for radio broadcasts on [[CBLA-FM|CKGW]] during holidays and special events. During Christmastime, one could hear the [[Casavant Frères|Cassavant organ]] being played by [[Frederick C. Silvester]]<ref>{{cite news |author= |title=Eaton's Christmas Morning Broadcast |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=Dec 24, 1931 |id={{ProQuest|1433018242}} }}</ref> or a May Day organ recital by Harold Frost.<ref>{{cite news |author= |title=Friday in the Eaton Auditorium|work=Toronto Daily Star |date= Apr 30, 1931|id={{ProQuest|1432931490}}}}</ref> It also played motion pictures accompanied by organ music (again broadcast over CKGW), for example showing [[Snow White (1916 film)|Snow White]] in April 1931 with organ music by Kathleen Stokes.<ref>{{cite news |author= |title=Eaton Auditorium |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=April 7, 1931 |id={{ProQuest|1432924235}} }}</ref>

===Later history=== With the opening of the [[Toronto Eaton Centre]] in 1977, Eaton's College Street was closed to make way for the new Eaton's flagship store at Yonge Street and [[Dundas Street, Toronto|Dundas Street]]. The store was sold to new owners, and was rechristened '''College Park'''.

Although the new owners had originally agreed to preserve the Seventh Floor, they eventually determined that its preservation and restoration was not financially feasible, and they applied for a demolition permit to convert the entire floor to office space. After a lengthy court battle with the City of Toronto, the [[Court of Appeal for Ontario]] ruled in 1986 that the 1975 designation of the building under the ''[[Ontario Heritage Act]]'' protected the Seventh Floor from demolition. Despite several changes in building ownership, and the efforts of local heritage advocates, the Seventh Floor was sealed off for 27 years and allowed to deteriorate; although it was protected by law, there was no legal obligation to use or restore it. [[File:EatonsCarlu1.jpg|thumb|After restoration work was completed, the floor reopened as The Carlu event venue in 2003.]] The Seventh Floor was eventually restored, after years of neglect, and was reopened in 2003 to much acclaim as "The Carlu" event venue. The restoration process began in 2001 with a $2,500,000 budget and no tenant. But later that year, new tenants Jeffry Roick and Mark Robert came into the picture with an increased budget. Scott Weir of ERA Architects and Hadi Khouzam of [[WZMH Architects]] led the restoration of the space.

The raked floors were removed from the auditorium to return the space's original movable seating. Other modifications had to be made to the auditorium so that modern acoustical equipment could be used. Even the original Lalique fountain, which had long been believed lost, was restored to its place at the centre of the Round Room. The large kitchen in the Carlu was replaced with two smaller ones in different areas of the seventh floor. This made room for a new entertainment space to be added, the Sky Room. The venue's new name was chosen to honour the architect that had originally designed the space.

Upgrades were also needed in the [[HVAC]] system. These updates were done without damaging or removing the original vents from the space. In 2008, The Clipper Rooms were re-envisioned and renovated by [[HGTV]] designer [[Sarah Richardson]].<ref>[http://www.designinc.ca/tr/tr.php?id=65&season=04 designinc.ca]</ref>

Today, the space acts as a special events venue. Concerts, dinners, galas, weddings, fashion shows and the presentation of the annual [[Polaris Music Prize]] are among the events that take place at the Carlu.

==The facility== Itself a highly regarded work of [[Streamline Moderne|Art Moderne]],<ref>[http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=7413 Info at the Canadian Register of Historic Places]</ref> the Eaton's Seventh Floor was at the heart of Toronto's cultural life for many years. The Auditorium played host to the major performers of its day, including [[Billie Holiday]], [[Duke Ellington]] and [[Frank Sinatra]]. The first performance of the [[National Ballet of Canada]] was on the stage of the Eaton Auditorium. [[Glenn Gould]], fond of the Auditorium's excellent acoustics, used the hall for a number of his recordings.

[[File:College Park Building 2022.jpg|thumb|The Carlu is housed on the seventh floor of [[College Park (Toronto)|College Park]], located at [[College Street (Toronto)|College]] and [[Yonge Street]].]]

The Round Room was, as the name suggests, a circular room, with circular mouldings in the domed ceiling and recessed alcoves in the corners. At the centre of the room stood a [[René Lalique|Lalique]] fountain, lit from below. Carlu was responsible for all aspects of the dining room's design, from the lighting fixtures to the [[Royal Worcester]] china, the stemware, and the waitresses' black uniforms. Carlu's wife, Anne Carlu (née Peckard 1895-1972), designed the murals on the walls, depicting various scenes of pastoral life. For years, the Round Room was one of the most elegant places to dine in Toronto.

Inside of the Carlu, monel, a steel-nickel alloy, was used for many accents. The monel can be found in the light fixtures, vents, doors and the fountain. It helps to play up the sleek lines in the space and the Art Moderne style. Marble panelling was also used at both ends of the foyer. The colour palette for the Carlu was taken from the marble and spread throughout most of the floor.

===Heritage protection=== The entire building at 444 Yonge St. is designated under Part IV of the ''[[Ontario Heritage Act]]'' since 1975. The City also holds a Heritage Easement Agreement, registered on January 10, 2012 as Instrument #: AT2915699, on the property.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://secure.toronto.ca/HeritagePreservation/details.do?folderRsn=2437191&propertyRsn=746290 |title=City of Toronto Heritage Property Detail, 444 Yonge St. |author= |website= City of Toronto Heritage Property Register}}</ref> The venue itself is listed as a National Historic Site of Canada since 1983.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=535 |title=Eaton's 7th Floor Auditorium and Round Room National Historic Site of Canada |author= |website=Parks Canada |access-date=December 17, 2018 }}</ref>

==See also== * [[Eaton's Ninth Floor Restaurant]] in Montreal

==Further reading== * Anderson, Carol and Mallinson, Katharine, ''Lunch With Lady Eaton: Inside the Dining Rooms of a Nation'', Toronto: ECW Press, 2004.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Eaton's Seventh Floor}} *{{Official website|http://www.thecarlu.com }}   *[http://www.toronto.ca/archives/beckernew3.htm City of Toronto Archives – The Eaton News]

{{Eaton's}} {{Coord|43.660929|N|79.383302|W|region:CA-ON_type:landmark|display=title}} {{NHSC}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlu, The}} [[Category:Buildings and structures in Toronto]] [[Category:Culture of Toronto]] [[Category:Eaton's]] [[Category:National Historic Sites in Ontario]] [[Category:Streamline Moderne architecture in Canada]]