Rolph-Clark-Stone

This building elegantly combines form and function.

Rolph-Clark-Stone is an excellent example of Edwardian industrial architecture.

Animation of a figure drawing an elegant line with a pencil

Location:

201 Carlaw Avenue

Rolph-Clark-Stone

Year:

1913, adapted for residential use in 2010

Architect:

Unknown

Made:

Lithographic prints, product labels, graphic design

**Advertisement for the Rolph and Clark Ltd. Company, 1916.**
Placed in “Two years of war: as viewed from Ottawa,” published by *The Civilian*

**Rolph-Clark-Stone Building, converted into the Printing Factory Lofts, June 2018.**
Image by Herman Custodio

The triangular sawtooth roof gave artists working deep within the two-acre factory a source of natural light.

The main entrance was decorated with ornate pilasters, architectural flourishes that give the appearance of a supporting column and lend the otherwise practical building a touch of style.

Illustration of a figure looking through binoculars

Check it out…

Ghost Sign

Look at the weathered letters above the main entrance. Faded signs like these are called ghost signs, and you will see several on this tour.

Old painted sign over the entrance to a three storey brick building with a modern condo building rising above and behind. — **Ghost sign above the entrance to the**
**Printing Factory Lofts at 201 Carlaw, 2018.**
Image by Herman Custodio

Growth of the Rolph-Clark-Stone factory

When the Rolph-Clark-Stone factory opened in 1913, the company employed nearly 400 people.

Black and white photograph taken of an employee blending inks on an ink mill.

Rolph-Clark-Stone employees made high-quality printed materials such as maps, cheques, and certificates.

Image caption: Employee blending inks for the lithography presses on an ink mill, 1952.
Combination Sheet

Image caption: Cutters in the lithography finishing department, Rolph-Clark-Stone factory, 1952.
Combination Sheet

In the early 1950s, Rolph-Clark-Stone built an extension to the north of its 1913 factory at 233 Carlaw.

The new building was outfitted with modern machinery, a state-of-the-art cafeteria, and a medical centre staffed by a doctor and a nurse. These changes and improvements were captured in the Rolph-Clark-Stone monthly newsletter, Combination Sheet.

Black and white artist's sketch of the Rolph-Clark Stone addition with street featuring pedestrians and a vintage automobile. — **Sketch of the Rolph-Clark-Stone addition 1949.**
*Combination Sheet*

Black and white photograph taken of a busy cafeteria full of men and women eating and talking. Checkered flooring. — **Rolph-Clark-Stone employees in the cafeteria**
**in the basement of the factory extension, 1951.**
*Combination Sheet*

Employee Life

The Rolph-Clark-Stone factory was more than just a building. It was also a social place.

Like many of the companies in this area, Rolph-Clark-Stone took a keen interest in its employees’ wellbeing, organizing social clubs and after-work events.

Dundas and Carlaw factories regularly competed against each other in local baseball, ten-pin bowling, golf, and basketball leagues. The company newsletter reported extensively on the plant’s busy social life.

Black and white baseball team photograph in front of the Rolph-Clark-Stone pillared entrance. The first two rows are wearing baseball jerseys. The men in the last row are wearing black suits and hats. — Rolph-Clark-Stone baseball team in front of the factory on Carlaw, 1920.
The team were the champions of the Riverdale Twilight League that year.
Combination Sheet

Black and white Rolph-Clark-Stone baseball team photo. 14 men in sports clothes (some wearing white jackets with 'Rolph Clark Stone' printed on the breast) and a child pose in a loose group at the edge of a field. — **Rolph-Clark-Stone baseball team 1955.**
Courtesy of Linda Luciani

Black and white photograph of a basketball team wearing 1950s shorts and jerseys, and high tops. The letters 'RCS' are written on their jerseys. — **Rolph-Clark-Stone basketball team wearing company-branded jerseys, 1952.**
Combination Sheet

Social clubs and sports teams were also a way for businesses to build loyalty.

Like today’s tech companies, they believed blending work and play increased productivity.

Black and white photograph of men in suits seated at a table at the end of a meal, a movie is screening and they looking towards the screen outside of the frame. They are laughing and some are smoking. Below is a smaller photograph of two men and a woman in evening attire. A title in red reads 'Foremen's Social Evening.' — **Rolph-Clark-Stone’s foremen enjoy a social evening, 1952.**
*Combination Sheet*

Two black and white photographs of men golfing. — **Rolph-Clark-Stone employees golfing, 1952**
*Combination Sheet*

Composite of 6 black and white photograph. Four shots of people throwing bowling balls, 3 men and one women in a skirt. Below, two photographs of the score keepers and players waiting for their turn. One little girl with a bonnet is the frame of the left side image. — **Rolph-Clark-Stone bowling team competing**
*Combination Sheet*

Black and white photograph taken on a basketball court. Seven Men in 1950s basketball gears are vying in front of the basket, some are shirtless, others have 'RCS' on their jerseys. — **Rolph-Clark-Stone basketball team during a game, 1952**
*Combination Sheet*

Strikes and Labour Disputes

This paternalistic management style did not always work.

Strikes and labour disputes happened regularly.

In July 1949, close to 1,000 members of the Amalgamated Lithographic Workers of America union were involved in a labour dispute with their employers in Quebec and Ontario, including Rolph-Clark-Stone.

The union wanted a 10-cent increase to their hourly wage (a raise of about $1.35 in 2025), a reduction in working hours from 40 to 37.5 a week, and a company pension and benefits plan.

Living Memory

“In 1949, one of the [workers] came up and said: ‘Lou, you’ve got to pack up your tools. We’re being locked out’… that happened in June 1949 and it ended in December 1949. Six months… We had a picket team of eight people and I was one of them at the front of Rolph-Clark-Stone.”
Lou Luciani
who worked at Rolph-Clark-Stone from 1947 to 1970

Faded colour placard that reads: 'Rolph-Clark-Stone lithographers, locked out' in green and red ink. — **Rolph-Clark-Stone lockout placard signed by picketers, 1949.**
Courtesy of Linda Luciani

Ultimately, workers received a pension, benefits, and a 17-cent ($1.88 in 2019) pay increase, making their hourly pay roughly equivalent to $19.75 today.

Only male employees were eligible for the insurance, likely because women, even if they worked, were considered dependent on the head of the household.

Black and white image of a group of nine men on a picket line holding 'locked out' placards. Two men are crouched in front. Many are wearing winter coats and hats. — **Locked out Rolph-Clark-Stone workers, including Lou Luciani**
**(back row second from left) on the picket line on Carlaw, 1949.**
Courtesy of Linda Luciani

Rise and decline of the graphic design powerhouse

In the 1950s, under the direction of artist Clair Steward, Rolph-Clark-Stone became a graphic design powerhouse.

It produced work for the Canada Packers, Canada Steamship Lines, the Canadian National Exhibition, the Ontario government, Salada tea, and the Toronto Star newspaper.

While at Rolph-Clark-Stone, Clair Stewart also consulted with the Toronto Transit Commission on the graphic design of Canada’s first subway, the Yonge line, which opened in 1954.

Black and white image of three men discussing a product package in an office. The men are dressed in shirts and one is wearing a bow tie. — **Artist Clair Stewart (right, wearing a bow-tie) and** **co-workers at the factory, 1952.**
*Combination Sheet*

Black and white photograph take on an employee lining up a positive prior to exposing it to produce an image. — **A worker preparing Heinz Spaghetti labels prior to printing, 1952**
*Combination Sheet*

Black and white photograph taken of five employees in a row, drawing at inclined light-tables. — **Lithography required specialized skills, many of which are now performed by computer software.** **Here, dot etchers are working at light desks, 1952.**
*Combination Sheet*

A new life for the factory building

Starting in the 1960s, due to economic decline, many of the buildings on Carlaw took on new uses.

The 1950s addition to the Rolph-Clark-Stone factory became a garment factory owned by the fashion giant Dylex, which operated clothing retailers Harry Rose, Tip Top Tailors, Club Monaco, BiWay, and many others.

In 2010, both the original Rolph-Clark-Stone building and the extension were converted for residential use. They were now known as the Printing and the Garment Factory Lofts, a nod to the previous tenants.

Illustration of a figure pointing upward

Check it out…

A heritage parking lot?

Once owned by Rolph-Clark-Stone, the vacant lot at the southwest corner of Colgate and Carlaw Avenues has been used for storing vehicles for more than 100 years. It has never been developed.

Read the plaque

Safely cross the street using the pedestrian crossing north on Carlaw to read the plaque or enjoy it below. The plaque is located in front of the building.

View the text transcription

Rolph-Clark-Stone Limited Building 1913

For more than five decades, this building was the headquarters and main factory of one of the largest graphic arts companies in Canada. Founded in 1849 as Ellis & Co, and purchased by lithographer Joseph Thomas Rolph in 1867, the company was renamed Rolph-Clark-Stone in 1917 after a series of mergers. When the factory opened in 1913, in the heart of a rapidly growing industrial area, the company employed approximately 400 people. They produced high-quality printed materials such maps, cheques, and certificates. The building’s sawtooth roof shielded sensitive printing machinery from direct sunlight. A railway line at the rear simplified shipping and receiving. A notable example of industrial architecture from just before the First World War, the Rolph-Clark-Stone building was converted for residential use in 2010.