Tourists, be warned: photos of Toronto’s iconic Gooderham Building (better known as the Flatiron Building) are not possible right now due to renovations.
A trip to Toronto isn’t complete without photos of all the familiar landmarks like the CN Tower and the Gooderham Building, but that travel album might be lacking for anyone currently touring around town.
The 133-year-old edifice at 49 Wellington Street East is currently ensconced in a scaffold and green netting as of April 2025, as many disappointed tourists are learning upon arriving at the oft-photographed heritage building.
While it’s a bit of a bummer for visitors trying to get a glimpse of all the city’s best-known landmarks, the temporary inconvenience will help keep the structure looking beautiful for years to come.
Last month, the official account of the Old Town Toronto and St. Lawrence Market Neighbourhood BIA took to Instagram to share that “the iconic Gooderham Building (aka #flatirontoronto) is all wrapped up while undergoing some cosmetic renovations.”
“Rest assured, all businesses here are still in operation, including The Flatiron and Firkin.”
Completely disregarding the first half of its statement and the current appearance of the building, the BIA then urged people to “post your flatiron pics.”
Well, okay. If you insist.
It’s just the latest visual change — albeit a temporary one — for the Gooderham Building, and it’s now been years since it was possible to capture an unobstructed photograph of the 1892-built structure.
Before the current renovations, the most recent change came in 2022, when large poles were erected around it.
At that time, the City of Toronto stated that the poles were installed as part of “a series of critical infrastructure upgrades” on Wellington Street East from Yonge Street to Church Street, and Front Street East from Berczy Park to Market Street.
“The City of Toronto and TTC have coordinated upgrades to the area’s streetcar tracks and overhead wires with improvements to the streetscape, street lighting and traffic signals.”
However, approaching three years later, those poles remain — and have been joined by the equally unsightly scaffold that appeared earlier this year.
Luckily, there’s a brand-new landmark just steps to the east in the new St. Lawrence Market North building.
