Dundas + Carlaw: MADE IN TORONTO
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Illustration of giant gum package

The world-famous    
Wrigley chewing gum        
company built this            
imposing factory                
in 1915.                   

The world-famous
Wrigley chewing gum    
company built this imposing        
factory in 1915.           

Animation of figure looking up at a gum package

The world-famous Wrigley chewing gum company built this imposing factory in 1915.

5

Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.

Location:
245 Carlaw Ave.

 
Year:
1915

Architect:
Prack & Perrine

Made:
Chewing gum

Wrigley factory, 1952.
Wrigley Building, June 2018.

Left:  Wrigley factory, 1952.
Wrigley


Right:  Wrigley Building, June 2018.
Image by Herman Custodio


Architects Prack & Perrine styled it after the main Wrigley plant in Chicago, and for a time this was the tallest factory in the neighbourhood.

   Fast Fact   

Black and white photograph of a large brick industrial building with a large advertisement for Wrigley chewing gum on one of its walls.

Wrigley factory, Chicago, 1915
The Central Manufacturing District, 1915


A unique legacy

Wrigley’s historic Chicago factory was partially demolished in 2013, leaving Toronto with a unique piece of North American industrial architecture.


Wrigley factory, Chicago, 1915
The Central Manufacturing District, 1915

Workers made Wrigley’s famous
Doublemint, Spearmint, and
Juicy Fruit chewing
gum here.

Illustration of Wrigley's gum packaging

The raw materials — chicle, sugar, and essential oils — were processed into sheets of gum, packaged, and shipped across Canada by rail.

In 1915, Wrigley extensively documented the manufacturing process using an exciting new technology — moving pictures.

Inside the Wrigley factory, 1915
Wrigley


The factory was technologically advanced to meet the demand of chewing gum manufacturing. The building had to be kept cold at all times to stop the gum becoming too sticky during manufacturing.


Inside the Wrigley factory, 1915
Wrigley

New technology allowed Wrigley to package its gum in airtight wax papers that stopped it drying out and losing flavour.

Men worked on the manufacturing floor while women packed the gum.

Living Memory

“There was one woman
[who worked on the gum-making
machines] … even before you
expected to see a woman
in that role.”

Denise White
who had a summer job at Wrigley
in the early 1960s and whose family
also worked at the factory.

Illustration of speech bubble

   Fast Fact   

Engineering drawing of Turner Mushroom System, A. A. Barthelmes factory, April 1909.

Turner Mushroom System, A. A. Barthelmes factory, April 1909.
Construction journal


Turner Mushroom System

The Wrigley and Palmolive factories were built using the popular Turner Mushroom System, which maximized interior space by eliminating the need for horizontal supporting beams. The floors were held up by reinforced concrete columns that flared at the top like mushrooms. One of the first buildings to use this system in Canada, 349 Carlaw was built on this street in 1909 by Toronto engineers Clarke and Monds.


Turner Mushroom System, A. A. Barthelmes factory, April 1909.
Construction journal

Living Memory

“The day they made Doublemint
and Spearmint it would clear your
sinuses. There was sugar in the air …
I only worked there three summers
and I got cavities at my gum line.”

Denise White

Illustration of speech bubble

Wrigley was
famous for its
creative
marketing
techniques.

The founder of the company, William
Wrigley, owned the Chicago Cubs and
the baseball team’s stadium is still
known as Wrigley Field.

Illustration of baseball

In Toronto, the company sponsored sporting events and raised its profile between the wars with neon signs located around the city.


Wrigley’s neon advertising
sign, Bloor and Yonge St., circa 1936

City of Toronto Archives

Black and white night photograph of a large neon sign advertising Wrigley's Spearmint gum at Yonge and Bloor Streets in Toronto, looking south. The marquee of the Uptown movie theatre is visible in the background.

Wrigley’s neon advertising sign, Bloor and Yonge St., circa 1936
City of Toronto Archives


Wrigley’s marketing
skill was so strong that
even a major setback
could be turned into
an opportunity.

Wrigley’s marketing skill was so strong that even a major setback could be turned into an opportunity.

Due to shortages of natural ingredients late in the Second World War, Wrigley stopped selling its most popular products in North America and sent them to soldiers instead. The company developed the “plain and honest” replacement gum, Orbit, for people at home using available materials.

Streetcar advertisement for Orbit chewing gum showing the product package on a green background. The tagline reads: 'A good wartime chewing gum. Made by Wrigley's... of pure, wholesome, available products.'

Streetcar advertisement for Wrigley’s Orbit gum, Second World War
Wrigley


This move created brand loyalty because it gave people a way to support the troops.

Wrigley’s “Remember This Wrapper” advertising campaign urged customers not to forget their favourite Wrigley products while they were absent from shelves.

Colour Wrigley's advertisements

Second World War “Remember This Wrapper” streetcar advertisements.
Wrigley


Employees in the Carlaw factories had a wide range of skills and were not all manual labourers.

Products were often designed and made in the same building. The plants also employed engineers, accountants, creatives, and management staff.

Wrigley moved to a new factory in the Don Mills suburb of Toronto in 1962. The new facility was home to a state-of-the-art production line that made chewing gum for sale in North America and beyond.

In 2016, Wrigley stopped making gum in Canada. Wrigley is now part of Mars Wrigley, a leading confectionery company in Canada.

Illustration of a figure pointing upward

     Check
it out ...


Spot the difference

Although the two wings of the Wrigley building appear to match, they were built several years apart and are now under separate ownership.


Read the plaque

The plaque is located in front of the building.

WM. WRIGLEY JR. CO. FACTORY
1915 (with additions)

The Wrigley chewing gum company opened this five-storey factory in 1915. Designed by the architecture firm Prack & Perrine, the building was styled after Wrigley’s main plant in Chicago, Illinois. A freight track at the rear aided shipping and receiving, and the factory had its own fire hall on nearby Boston Avenue (now a private home). Wrigley made its successful Doublemint, Spearmint, and Juicy Fruit products here for sale in Canada. Technological advances allowed the company to package its gum in airtight wax papers that prevented it drying out and losing its flavour. Wrigley soon added a northern wing to the factory, doubling its size and creating space for lease. Known for its innovative marketing techniques, Wrigley boosted its profile between the wars with neon signs located around Toronto. Amid shortages late in the Second World War, the company stopped selling its most popular products at home and sent them to soldiers instead, creating brand loyalty. Wrigley moved to Don Mills in 1962.

Compass pointing north

Ready to hit the next stop?

Continue north on the west side of Carlaw Ave. The next stop isn’t far! Keep your eyes peeled for a small plaque about Crown Cork and Seal Co. located at 326 Carlaw Ave. This is your next stop.


Full steam
ahead!

Next Stop