IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO
HERITAGE ACT
R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER O.18 AND
CITY OF TORONTO, PROVINCE OF ONTARIO
4888 DUNDAS STREET WEST
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 4888 Dundas Street West
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 4888 Dundas Street West 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 criteria of
design/physical, historical/associative and contextual values.
Description
The property at 4888 Dundas Street West
comprises a two-storey house constructed in 1879. It is located midblock on the north side of
Dundas Street West between Burnhamthorpe Road and Burnhamthorpe Crescent
in the village of Islington area of Etobicoke. The brick house was
designed in the Italianate style and originally featured a wraparound verandah.
It is now distinguished by its hipped roof and symmetrical façade. The
polychromatic brick has been painted on the main facades and a c. late 1940s
addition attached to the southwest corner of the house. The property housed the
post office from 1887-1906, while also serving as the residence for postmasters
Thomas and Elizabeth Musson. In addition to its continued use as a residence,
it contained the local telephone exchange from 1912-25.
Statement of Cultural
Heritage Value
Design and Physical Value
The property at 4888 Dundas Street West, built
1879, has design value as a unique example of Italianate style design in
Toronto. The house represents an understated version of Italianate design in
combination with an earlier, more conservative Georgian-style aesthetic. In
reference to Georgian-style architecture, the house is of rectangular form with
a symmetrical main façade, hipped roof and central doorway with side and
transom lights. However, numerous features align the home with the more
contemporary Italianate style of the time such as the segmental arched windows,
polychromatic brickwork, and the detailing of the main doorway assembly with
its rounded sidelights, thick rope mouldings and panelled base. Further, the design
originally featured two-over-two windows sashes, and a verandah will bellcast
eaves to create a picturesque effect characteristic of Italianate style design.
Historical or Associative Value
The property has historical value given that it
yields information that contributes to an understanding of the historical
development of the village of Islington.
The site occupies a position on Dundas Street
West, which was the main street of the Islington village and an important
strategic and military road established further south in 1795 but resurveyed
through this location in 1814. The road became a stagecoach route in 1816 and
then an important location of converging local roads by the 1840s. In the
decade before, however, the village had already begun to take form with a
tavern, store, and services typical of a small, rural village.
By 1879, when the house was constructed for
Township clerk, Alexander MacPherson (1822-1906), the village contained 200
people and had just gained railway service the same year. The property became
an Islington focal point and contributed significantly to the social fabric of
the community as the post office from 1887-1906, while also serving as the
residence for postmasters Thomas and Elizabeth Musson. In addition to its continued
use as a residence, it contained the local telephone exchange from 1912-25.
Contextual Value
The presence of 4888 Dundas Street West, in
addition to several other municipally recognized heritage properties, serves to
symbolize the location of Islington village and is historically linked to its
surroundings.
The subject property is situated within close
proximity to two other sites designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage
Act: the Montgomery Inn (c.1832), a site to the east, and the Etobicoke
Township Hall (built 1843 as the Methodist church), a site one block west.
Additionally, two other sites to the north are listed on the City's Heritage
Register. Immediately behind the house is the Islington United Church (1949),
and a block further north at 66 Burnhamthorpe Road is the 1907 Johnston
residence built for descendants of the first settlers to the area. This small
collection of buildings, of which the subject property contributes to, are
integral to representing the historic development of the Islington community.
Heritage Attributes
Design and Physical Value
Attributes that contribute to the value of the
property at 4888 Dundas Street West as a unique example of Italianate style
design include:
·
The form, scale and
massing of the building as a rectangular, two-storey, house-form building
·
The hipped roof
·
The polychromatic
brick exterior comprising mostly red brick with buff-coloured brick quoin
detailing at the corners of the house (painted on the three main facades, but
extant on the rear facade)
·
The fenestration
comprising segmental-arched openings and a symmetrical arrangement on the main
facade
·
The main central
doorway and doorway assembly with transom light and rounded sidelights, a
panelled base and thick rope mouldings
Historical or Associative Value
Attributes that contribute to the value of the
property at 4888 Dundas Street West for its contribution to an understanding of
the historical development of the village of Islington include:
·
The setback,
placement, and orientation of the house in its original location on Dundas
Street West
·
The rear doorway at
the Northeast corner of the house marking the location of the post office and
telephone exchange
Contextual Value
Attributes that contribute to the contextual
value of 4888 Dundas Street West as historically linked to its surroundings include:
·
The setback,
placement, and orientation of the house in its original location on Dundas
Street West
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 May 16, 2023, which is June 15, 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.PH3.13
Dated at the City of Toronto on May 16, 2023.
John D. Elvidge
for City Clerk