Photo Credit : Illustration of the Press Building (formerly Administration Building) as part of the 1928 CNE programme. CNE Heritage
Architectural Credit : George Wallace Gouinlock

While the Scadding Cabin might be the oldest building on the exhibition grounds (dating back to 1794 and relocated to Exhibition Place in 1879), the Press Building (1905) is the oldest building on the grounds built for the exhibition. This two storey structure originally housed the administrative offices of the CNE Association (CNEA), but became the Press Building in 1957 when the CNEA moved its offices to the Queen Elizabeth Building. Nowadays, the building is once again home to the staff of the CNE. Designed by George Wallace Gouinlock and completed in 1905, the Press Building was designed to emulate the formal public buildings of the time. Like the other 15 structures designed by Gouinlock for Exhibition Place, the Press Building was designed in the Beaux Arts style, with a heavy application of baroque elements including its bold massing and opulent use of ornament and colour. Today, the building is protected as part of the Gouinlock Buildings/ Early Exhibition Buildings National Historic Site of Canada. Gouinlock was not only the architect of many of the CNE’s buildings, he also played a significant role leading the profession, first as Chair of the Toronto Society of Architects in 1895 and soon after as President of the Ontario Association of Architects in 1909. To view the CNE Heritage website, including more images of CNE buildings, visit: Press Building