Wrigley's - Made In Toronto: Dundas & Carlaw

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

Animation of figure looking up at a gum package

Location:

245 Carlaw Avenue

Wm. Wrigley Junior Company

Year:

1915

Architect:

Prack & Perrine

Made:

Chewing gum

Wrigley factory, 1952. — **Wrigley factory, 1952**
Wrigley

**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.

Black and white drawing of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. factory in 1914. The building have five floors with large windows. Written below the drawing is the caption: 'Largest chewing gum factory in the British Empire; Prack & Perrine Architects and Engineers'. — **Architectural rendering of the Wrigley factory, 1914.**
Wrigley

Black and white image of five-storey factory with large windows. A large sign beside the building reads: 'Canadian Factory: Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, J. Allan Ross, manager'. — **The Wrigley factory, 1915. The north wing was added in 1917.**
Wrigley

Colour image of a multi-story brick industrial building with white detailing. — **Wrigley Building, June 2018.**
Image by Susan Roden

Colour photograph of an industrial brick building divided into to aisles. A tour group walks past the building, on the other side of the street. A women is holding a sun umbrella. — **Wrigley Building, June 2018.**
Image by Herman Custodio

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.

A unique legacy

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

Image caption: Wrigley Factory, Chicago, 1915
The Central Manufacturing District, 1915.

Exciting advancements in technology and their impact on Wrigley’s manufacturing

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

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 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.

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.

Fast Fact

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 support 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.

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

Black and white group photograph of a large group of female factory workers in uniform and one man. All the workers are wearing white jackets and head coverings. — **Packaging department, 1947.**
Courtesy of the Wilkins Family

Black and white photograph sugar grinding room. Large machine at center of room that goes floor to ceiling. A man is pouring a sack of sugar into the machine. Other large machinery in the background. — **Sugar grinding room, 1952.**
Wrigley

Living Memory

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

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.

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

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 Street, circa 1936**
City of Toronto Archives

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.

Advertisement for Wrigley's Spearmint gum explaining that, until wartime shortages end, the product would not be available to North American consumers. An empty gum package appears beside the tagline: 'Remember this wrapper. It means chewing gum of the finest quality and flavour. It will be empty until gum of Wrigley's Spearmint quality can again be made.' — **Second World War “Remember This Wrapper” streetcar advertisement.**
Wrigley

Colour Wrigley's advertisement showing package of Spearmint gum against a background with stars. Text beneath says: 'All we can make now – going to our fighting forces overseas only.' — **Second World War “Remember This Wrapper” streetcar advertisement.**
Wrigley

Colour Wrigley's advertisement for Spearmint gum explaining that all available product will be sent to the Armed Forces fighting overseas. Tagline reads: 'Remember this package... it still contains quality chewing gum. While it lasts – it is going only to the Armed-Forces overseas.' — **Second World War “Remember This Wrapper” streetcar advertisement.**
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.

Black and white image. Rows of desks across the photograph, approximately 16 desks total. In the back corner an enclosed office is visible. Mostly women working at the desks. Large pillars in the center of the room, and large windows on the left hand side. — **Office at Wrigley, 1915**
Wrigley

Black and white image of Wrigley Factory office space. Large room with rows of desks. Mostly women at the desks. Women at the front is typing on a typewriter, and closest man is filing paper into his desk. — **Office at Wrigley, 1953**
Wrigley

Formal black and white photograph a group of men. All the men are dressed in suits; the first row are seated, the second row are standing behind them. — **Senior Management, 1952**
Wrigley

Black and white photograph of a laboratory at Wrigley Building. In the center of the room is a desk with science equipment(beakers, measuring cups, sink). The other walls also have larger related equipment. — **The laboratory at Wrigley, 1952.**
Wrigley

Wrigleys factory today

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 confectionary 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 the front of the building.

View the text transcription

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.

Illustration of Crown Cork and Seal Company building

Next stop:
Crown Cork and Seal

Map to Next Stop at the Crown Cork and Seal Company

Ready to hit the next stop?

Continue north on the west side of Carlaw Avenue.

The next stop isn’t far! Keep your eyes peeled for a small plaque about Crown Cord and Seal Company located at 326 Carlaw Avenue. This is your next stop.

Wrigley’s