IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO
HERITAGE ACT
R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER O.18 AND
CITY OF TORONTO, PROVINCE OF ONTARIO
649 YONGE STREET
(INCLUDING ENTRANCE ADDRESSES AT
647 YONGE STREET
AND 12A ISABELLA 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 649 Yonge Street (including
entrance addresses at 647 Yonge Street and 12A Isabella 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 649 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, historical/associative value and contextual value.
Description
The property at 649 Yonge Street (including
entrance addresses at 647 Yonge Street and 12A Isabella Street) is located on
the east side of Yonge Street, in the block between Isabella Street and Charles
Street East. It comprises two earlier structures of different heights and dates
of construction reclad with a newer 3-storey façade dating to the early-20th
century. The property is part of a cohesive grouping of built heritage
resources that provide a distinct sense of place and represent Toronto's
1860s-1950s architecture, a period when Yonge Street's commercial main street
character was established and flourished.
The property was listed on the City of Toronto
Inventory of Heritage Properties (now known as the Heritage Register) on March
15, 1974 and is identified as a contributing property in the Historic Yonge
Street Heritage Conservation District, adopted by City Council in 2016 and
currently under appeal.
Statement of Cultural Heritage Value
The property at 649 Yonge Street (including
entrance addresses 647 Yonge Street, 12A Isabella Street) has design and
physical value as a representative example of a Main Street Commercial Row
building constructed during a significant period of development along Yonge
Street. The unique design of the 3-storey building dates to the early-20th
century and displays restrained Italianate influences, while skillfully
integrating two earlier structures with different heights and floor levels
behind a unified façade.
The subject property is valued for its
association to Lionel Rawlinson, a prominent Toronto cabinet maker and
furniture dealer in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Rawlinson Furniture
operated out of the location at 649 Yonge Street for just over 75 years, taking
over the property from another cabinetmaker, Henry Schomberg. Together, the two
businesses contributed to nearly a century of furniture making activity on the
site. Lionel Rawlinson was significant to the Yonge Street area as the owner of
other property nearby, including a larger warehouse at 18 Gloucester Lane.
Contextually, the property has cultural heritage
value for maintaining and supporting the historic main street character of
Yonge Street, south of Bloor Street. Situated on the east side of the block
between Isabella Street and Charles Street East, the subject property's scale,
form and massing contribute to the low-rise streetwall condition found on this
portion of Yonge Street. The building's fenestration pattern and materiality
are shared by many other buildings in the area, which all date to the late-19th
and early-20th century.
The property at 649 Yonge Street (including 647
Yonge Street and 12A Isabella Street) Yonge Street is functionally, visually
and physically linked to Yonge Street, Toronto's "Main Street", as a
commercial building housing the services, amenities, and employment
opportunities necessary to support daily life in neighbouring residential
areas. As a commercial property associated with a prominent local business, the
property is also historically linked to the metamorphosis of Yonge Street into
Toronto's main commercial corridor.
Heritage Attributes
Design and Physical Value
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the cultural heritage value of the property at 649 Yonge Street as a
representative example of a Main Street Commercial Row building designed in a
vernacular style with Italianate influences:
·
The placement,
setback and orientation of the building on the east side of Yonge Street
between Isabella Street and Charles Street East
·
The scale, form and massing
of the 3-storey building
·
The material palette,
with the buff brick cladding and brick and stone details
·
The flat roofline and
copper parapet coping
·
The decorative
brickwork at the parapet and cornice above the third-storey windows
·
The flat-arched window
openings in the second and third stories
·
The decorative
brickwork accenting the window openings including brick lintels, frames, and
aprons
·
The wood cornice and
sign band above the ground floor storefronts
·
Entrances providing
at-grade access from the street to the ground floor and upper floors of the
building
Historical and Associative Value
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the cultural heritage value of the property at 649 Yonge Street as associated
with Lionel Rawlinson, a prominent Toronto cabinet maker:
·
The wood and copper
storefront cornice spanning the full width of the elevation, which was modified
while Lionel Rawlinson's company owned the two buildings comprising the
property
Contextual Value
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the cultural heritage value of the property at 649 Yonge Street as supporting and maintaining the character of this
portion of Yonge Street, and as being historically, functionally, and visually
linked to its surroundings:
·
The placement,
setback and orientation of the building on the east side of Yonge Street
between Isabella Street and Charles Street East
·
The scale of the
building, which is consistent with the 2-4 storey streetwall height along this
portion of Yonge Street
·
The recessed entrance
doorways of the ground floor units, which are consistent with the storefronts
along this portion of Yonge Street
·
The materials of the
building's façade, which are consistent with the brick, stone, and wood
detailing found along this portion of Yonge Street
·
The higher percentage
of glazing on the ground floor façade along Yonge Street relative to upper
floors, which serves the purpose of indicating retail use at-grade that can be
accessed directly from Yonge Street and residential and/or commercial uses in
upper floors
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:
Registrar Secretariat, City Clerk's Office, Toronto City Hall, 2nd Floor West,
100 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 2N2.; Email: RegistrarCCO@toronto.ca within thirty days of July 25, 2023, which is August 24, 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.PH5.13
Dated at the City of Toronto on July 25, 2023.
John D. Elvidge
City Clerk