Dean Oros Photography + Design | Thunder Bay, ON

Interior, vertical view, of brick kiln artifact.

The Tunnel Kiln and Dryer Building is located at the southeast end of the property. The Wire-Press Brick Production Plant (Building 14) flanks it on the west. Part of the west wall abuts the Holding Room (Building 12). Behind (north of) Building 16, the concrete retaining wall was constructed about 1891 to separate the buildings from the quarry to the north.

The Tunnel Kiln and Dryer Building rises one extended storey on a concrete foundation. The long rectangular plan is aligned with the short end walls facing north and south. Constructed of steel with red and yellow brick cladding, the building is covered by a gable roof. The east, north and west walls are enclosed with brick, while metal cladding faces the south wall.

The “Brick Works Mural” (1996) by Toronto artist Sady Ducros extends across Buildings 14, 15 and 16, covering the lower part of the south walls. Building 16 shares one large interior space with the adjoining Holding Room (Building 12) and the Dry-Press Brick Production Plant (Building 15). Buildings 15 and 16 are all but identical, except that Building 16 is slightly larger in size.

The Tunnel Kiln and Dryer Building is contextually significant in relation to the Brick Storage Shed (Building 13), the Wire-Cut Brick Production Plant (Building 14), and the Dry-Press Brick Production Plant (Building 15) at the southeast end of the Don Valley Brick Works.