IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO
HERITAGE ACT
R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER O.18 AND
CITY OF TORONTO, PROVINCE OF ONTARIO
1909 YONGE STREET
NOTICE OF INTENTION TO DESIGNATE
THE PROPERTY
TAKE NOTICE that Council for the
City of Toronto intends to designate the property, including the lands, buildings
and structures thereon known municipally as 1909 Yonge Street under Part IV,
Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.O.18, as amended, as a
property of cultural heritage value or interest.
Reasons for Designation
The property at 1909 Yonge Street is worthy of
designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for its
cultural heritage value, and meets Ontario Regulation 9/06, the provincial
criteria prescribed for municipal designation, under the categories of
design/physical value, associative value, and contextual value.
Description
The property at 1909 Yonge Street (including the
entrance addresses at 2 and 2A Davisville Avenue) is located in the historic
community of Davisville/North Toronto, where it anchors the northeast corner of
Yonge Street and Davisville Avenue. The property contains the J. J. Davis
General store, a 2-storey late-Victorian vernacular mixed-use building with
frontages on both Yonge Street and Davisville Avenue, which was constructed
circa 1890 and was owned and occupied by members of the Davis family of
Davisville from 1896 to 1945.
Surrounding properties recognized on the
Heritage Register include a row of early-20th-century main street commercial
buildings immediately to the north at 1913, 1917, 1919, 1919A, 1921 and 1923
Yonge Street.
Statement of Cultural Heritage Value
Dating to circa 1890, the property at 1909 Yonge
Street is a representative example of a late-Victorian vernacular mixed-use
building typology. It retains its scale, form, and massing as a two-storey
brick building with a cross-gable roof, and original window openings at the
upper storey. The building's ground storey has been significantly altered over
time to accommodate commercial uses.
The property at 1909 Yonge Street has historical
value as a rare surviving mixed-use building on Yonge Street from the late 19th
century. The property is also valued for its associations with the historical
evolution of the Davisville neighbourhood, for which it served the important
role of post office and general store in the late-19th and early-20th
centuries. The property has further historical value for its associations with
the Davis family of Davisville, in particular postmaster and grocer J. J. Davis
and his two brothers Charles R. and Herbert B. Davis, who owned the property
from 1896 to 1945 and operated it as a post office and store for nearly 50
years.
Located at the northeast corner of Yonge Street
and Davisville Avenue, and reflecting a late-19th-century scale and
architectural form, the mixed-use building at 1909 Yonge Street has contextual
value for its contribution to the historic character of the east side of Yonge
Street, between Davisville Avenue and Millwood Road, which features a grouping
of late-19th- and early-20th-century buildings.
As one of the oldest mixed-use buildings in the
surrounding area, the property at 1909 Yonge Street also has contextual value
for its visual and historical links to its surroundings. Located at the corner
of Yonge Street and Davisville Avenue, one of the earliest east-west streets in
the area, the building reflects the first wave of development in Davisville,
and is a remnant of the fine-grained mixed-use streetscape that existed along
Yonge Street in the 19th century.
Anchoring the northeast corner of Yonge Street
and Davisville Avenue, and featuring a rare early architectural form along
Yonge Street in North Toronto, the property at 1909 Yonge Street may also be
considered a local landmark within Davisville.
Heritage Attributes
Design and Physical Value
Attributes that contribute to the value of the
property at 1909 Yonge Street as representative of the late-Victorian
vernacular mixed-use typology include:
·
The building's scale,
form and 2-storey massing
·
The building's
cross-gabled roof, with gable ends facing west and south, and the hipped roof
profile at the northeast corner of the building
·
The property's
original L-shaped plan
·
The property's brick
construction with brick and stone exterior details
·
Upper storey
segmentally-arched window openings, which feature brick voussoirs and stone
sills
·
The
segmentally-arched doorway on the property's south elevation, below the south
gable-end
·
The brick chimney
located above the property's south gable end
Contextual Value
The following heritage attribute contributes to
the cultural heritage value of the property at 1909 Yonge Street as the
historic anchor of the northeast corner of Yonge Street and Davisville Avenue,
and as part of a grouping of late-19th- and early 20th-century buildings:
·
The property's
siting, orientation, and scale at the northeast corner of Yonge Street and
Davisville Avenue, with a primary elevation along the former and a secondary
elevation along the latter
Note: that the one-storey commercial addition at
1909 Yonge Street's west and south elevations and the one-storey commercial
building at 2A Davisville Avenue are not heritage attributes.
Notice of Objection to the Notice of Intention to Designate
Notice of an objection to the Notice of
Intention to Designate the Property may be served on the City Clerk, Attention:
Administrator, Secretariat, City Clerk's Office, Toronto City Hall, 2nd Floor
West, 100 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 2N2; Email: hertpb@toronto.ca within thirty days of February 8, 2022, which is March 10, 2022. The
notice of objection to the Notice of Intention to Designate the Property must
set out the reason(s) for the objection and all relevant facts.
Getting Additional Information:
Further information in respect of the Notice of
Intention to Designate the Property is available from the City of Toronto at:
http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2022.CC39.15
Dated at the City of Toronto on February 8, 2022.
John D. Elvidge
City Clerk