The St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts is a municipally owned theatre complex in Toronto, built as the city’s centennial project and opened in 1970.[1] The Centre houses two theatres and serves as a home to several Toronto-based not-for-profit theatre and music companies.[2] Since 2019, it has been managed and operated by TO Live, a City of Toronto agency that oversees the city’s three major civic theatres.[2]
Design and History
Burton Kramer, founder of Kramer Design Associates Ltd, is credited with the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts identity project.[3] Kramer’s identity work for the Centre is listed among his major projects, alongside the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CIBC, and the Royal Ontario Museum.[3] The exact date of the mark’s creation is not documented in available sources, though Kramer’s identity work for the Centre appears in a 1986 Studio Magazine cover featuring his logos.[4]
In November 2007, following a year-long $3 million renovation, the St. Lawrence Centre revealed a new, modern look to the public.[5] The design concept by 3rd UNCLE design updated and reinvigorated the Centre while respecting the original design of the building.[5] The renovation included new exterior signage, information systems, lighting, and a new exterior canopy, completed in 2006, followed by a 2007 renewal of the lobbies and the Bluma Appel and Jane Mallett theatres.[6]
In 2008, Acumen Visual Group provided exterior illuminated signage for the Centre, featuring a luminescent blue LED marquee and custom formed stainless steel illuminated letters.[7]
For the ongoing redevelopment of the Centre, KerrSmith Design created a separate identity with logo and graphic styles for the STLC NEXT public consultation project, distinct from the Centre’s own mark.[8]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Centre’s archival records at the University of Guelph include correspondence from 1968 concerned with a name change for the Centre, including suggested logos, indicating that logo proposals were considered before the building opened.[9]
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