IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO
HERITAGE ACT
R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER O.18 AND
CITY OF TORONTO, PROVINCE OF ONTARIO
51 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 51 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 51 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 all three categories of
design, associative and contextual value.
Description
Located on the east side of Yonge Street, north
of Wellington Street East, the property at 51 Yonge Street comprises a
four-storey commercial building. The building is believed to date to
c.1878-1879, although the underlying structure may date to 1847. Faced in
limestone with a mansard roof and a cast iron storefront, the building
demonstrates the Second Empire style.
Statement of Cultural
Heritage Value
The property is a
fine representative example of a Second Empire-style commercial building. With
a high degree of integrity confirmed by documentation from the 1890s, the
building is faced in limestone on the upper storeys, with a cast iron
storefront at ground level. Typical of the Second Empire style, the building has a mansard roof,
which has a round-arched dormer window with a pediment, and two smaller
flanking windows with limestone surrounds and flat roofs. Additional noteworthy
features include limestone banding and pilasters with fluted capitals, keystone
details, and a wooden frieze above the entry.
Originally developed in conjunction with the
adjacent Bank of British North America in 1847, the property has direct
associations with the theme of Toronto's early emergence as a commercial
capital in the 1840s, at which time the area around Yonge and Wellington
streets became a centre for financial institutions. The extant building is
associated with the Commercial Travellers' Association of Canada, for which it
served as headquarters from 1890 to 1956.
As a late-19th-century commercial building with
intact architectural detailing, the property at 51 Yonge Street is important in
maintaining and supporting the character of the surrounding area. The property
remains as an important reflection of the 19th-century commercial streetscape
that evolved around Yonge and Wellington streets. In particular, it has
historic and visual links to the adjacent designated heritage property at 49
Yonge Street, the former Bank of British North America, with which it shares a
general material palette and Second Empire-style architectural vocabulary.
Together, the two buildings form a strong historic streetwall that anchors this
side of the block.
Heritage Attributes
Design and Physical Value
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the cultural heritage value of the property at 51 Yonge Street as a
representative example of a Second Empire-style commercial building:
·
The scale, form, and
massing of the property as a four-storey commercial building
·
The building's
underlying structure, which may date to 1847
·
The building's
material palette of limestone, cast iron, and wood
·
The primary (west)
elevation, with its symmetrical, three-bay composition
·
The mansard roof,
which features a round-arched dormer window with a pediment, and two smaller
flanking windows with limestone surrounds and flat roofs
·
Additional
architectural details consistent with the Second Empire style, including a
stone cornice with brackets, limestone banding and pilasters with fluted
capitals, arched window openings, and keystones
·
The ground-level cast
iron storefront, which defines the entry and two glazed bays with fluted
pilasters
·
The entry with double
doors recessed beneath a wooden frieze and a round-arched transom window
Historic and Associative Value
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the cultural heritage value of the property at 51 Yonge Street as being
associated with Toronto's early emergence as a commercial capital, and with the
Commercial Travellers' Association of Canada:
·
The property's siting
and orientation on the east side of Yonge Street, north of Wellington Street
·
The scale, form, and
massing of the property as a four-storey commercial building
·
The building's
underlying structure, which may date to 1847
Contextual Value
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the cultural heritage value of the property at 51 Yonge Street as an important
remnant of the 19th-century commercial streetscape around Yonge and Wellington
streets:
·
The property's siting
and orientation on the east side of Yonge Street, north of Wellington Street
·
The scale, form, and
massing of the property as a four-storey commercial building
·
The building's
material palette of limestone, cast iron, and wood
Second Empire design vocabulary, such as a
mansard roof, arched windows, keystones, and brackets
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 April 5, 2023, which is May 5, 2023. 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:
https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2023.PH2.16
Dated at the City of Toronto on April 5, 2023.
John D. Elvidge
City Clerk