Osgoode Hall, home of the Ontario Court of Appeal
and the Law Society of Upper Canada
When we’re away from the home office, we actually do the tourist thing at court houses. We’ve visited everything from space-age California courthouses to rural county courts in the Mississippi Delta. Yes, we admit it: we’re law nerds.
So when we were in Toronto recently for the ABA Annual Meeting, we had to pay a visit to the storied Osgoode Hall, a downtown courthouse and bar association rolled into a single building. As the name reflects, it also once housed the law school. There’s a free tour sponsored by the law society that starts at 1:15 p.m. Ours was conducted by a delightful local lawyer, who gave us an insider’s look at the building and the inner workings of the court. For more, visit Osgoode Hall’s website, or better yet, visit in person next time you find yourself in Toronto. It’s well worth the time.
The historical details.
This being Canada, the historical details en français.
Why we like traditional courthouses: stained glass.
Lots of stained glass.
Appeals Court.
One thing you won’t see in U.S. courtrooms.
“Law Society” beats “bar association” any day.
Their words, not ours. Send your complaints here.
Who could not happily dig into the law books in this library?
Home of the American collection.
Makes you almost want to do some legal research, doesn’t it?
Corinthian columns and flat panel LCDs:
the old and the new blended in the Great Library.
We like any court house with a restaurant
(open September through June; sadly not in August).
They say that these stained glass panels contain symbols of the law.
All we saw was “talk to the hand.”
Just so you don’t think it’s all stodgy wood paneling and old leather,
one of the modern courtrooms.
One more, from the well-tended grounds.