IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO
HERITAGE ACT
R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER O.18 AND
CITY OF TORONTO, PROVINCE OF ONTARIO
29 BASIN 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 29 Basin 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 29 Basin 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 criteria of
design/physical, historical/associative and contextual values.
Description
The subject property at 29 Basin Street,
historically known as the Sun Oil Company Building, is located on the south
side of Basin Street east of Bouchette Street, on the north side of the Port
Lands' Ship Channel west of the Turning Basin. Today, the building forms part
of a planned film and television studio campus in the Port Lands.
The subject property at 29 Basin Street is
comprised of a two-storey, brick, factory/warehouse type structure which was
completed in 1931 as the main office for Sun Oil Company Limited. The Sun Oil
Company Building was designed by T.H. Mothershill with Classical Revival
elements. These elements are expressed by the use of a geometric, structural
grid of cast stone capped piers and horizontal bands with brick infill which
organize the exterior elevations into a series of stacked, rectangular bays, as
well as the reliance on symmetry upon the principal (north) elevation. The
subject property is further defined by its factory/warehouse type windows,
modern replicas of the originals which were installed in 2019, and for its two
cast stone entablatures upon the front (north) elevation. The front façade is
characterized by its central, ground-level entryway with cast stone surround
and flanking cast iron coach lamps, which is topped by the smaller of two
entablatures, which reads: "Office." A second, larger entablature
adorns the second-storey gable, reading: "Sun Oil Company Limited."
The property at 29 Basin Street was included the
City's Heritage Register on October 28, 2004.
Statement of Cultural Heritage Value
Design and Physical Value
The Sun Oil Company Building at 29 Basin Street
has cultural heritage value as an early twentieth-century example of a
factory/warehouse type structure with Classical Revival design elements. These
are expressed by the use of a geometric, structural grid of cast stone capped piers
and horizontal bands with brick infill which organize the exterior elevations
into a series of stacked, rectangular bays, as well as the reliance on symmetry
upon the principal (north) elevation. Completed in 1931 with designs by T.H.
Mothershill and Company, the subject property is a rare surviving example
within the Port Lands of an early twentieth-century industrial building
constructed with an exposed, cast stone frame with brick infill. The grid-like
form of the frame produces a relentless repetition and dimensional uniformity
of red brick infill spandrels across all four elevations, many containing
aluminium-capped, multi-light, factory/warehouse type windows with attached
mullions which are faithful replicas of the originals. Typical of factory/warehouse
type structures of this era, the property retains Classical Revival details,
including the central entryway with cast stone surround, brick parapet with
central gable, capped with tera-cotta coping, and two large, cast stone
entablatures upon the front elevation which read "Office" and
"Sun Oil Company Limited."
Historical or Associative Value
The subject property yields information that
contributes to an understanding of the historical industrial development of the
Port Lands neighbourhood. The Sun Oil Company Building is reflective of the
first major phase of development of the area following the completion of the
Toronto Harbour Commission's 1912 Waterfront Development Eastern Section Plan.
The subject property's location along the Ship Channel and attached Turning
Basin is historically linked to its use as an oil refinery and storage facility
upon the Toronto Harbour.
Contextual Value
The Sun Oil Company Building maintains and
supports the early twentieth-century, industrial character of the Port Lands
neighbourhood. The subject property forms part of a broader collection of
listed and Part IV designated properties within the Port Lands which date to
the area's first major phase of industrial development between 1912 and 1945.
These properties include the Queen's City Foundry (1914), Toronto Harbour
Commissioners Buildings (1916), Bank of Montreal (1920), Toronto Dry Dock
Company (1920), Fire Hall No. 30 (1928), Cherry Street Toronto Hydro-Electric
System substation (1930), the Dominion Boxboards Building (1931), and others.
Located on the north side of the Port Lands'
Ship Channel west of the Turning Basin, the subject property is visually linked
to its immediate surroundings where it sits in
close proximity to two listed and/or Part IV
designated properties. These include the Richard L. Hearn Generating Station
(1949) at 440 and 470 Unwin Avenue, located directly south across the Ship
Channel, and the City of Toronto Incinerator (1953) at 400 Commissioners Street
to the north.
Heritage Attributes
Design and Physical Value
Attributes that contribute to the value of the
property at 29 Basin Street as representative of an early twentieth-century
factory/warehouse type structure with Classical Revival design elements:
·
The form, scale, and
massing of the two-storey, factory/warehouse type building
·
The materials, with
the exposed concrete frame construction on a raised foundation, the red brick
infill cladding, and the cast stone detailing
·
The structural cast
stone capped piers and horizontal bands which geometrically organize the
exterior elevations into a series of rectangular stacked bays
·
The central main
entryway upon the front (north) elevation with cast stone surround and flanking
cast iron coach lights
·
The smaller of two
cast stone entablatures above the main entryway upon the front elevation which
reads: "Office"
·
The larger of two
cast stone entablatures affixed to the second-storey gable upon the front
elevation which reads: "Sun Oil Company Limited"
·
The replica,
aluminum-capped, fixed pane, multi-light, factory/warehouse type windows with
attached mullions installed on north, south, east, and west elevations
·
The cast stone
lintels supporting each of the factory/warehouse type windows
·
The flat roofline
(except for front gable) with red brick-clad parapet capped with terra-cotta
coping, above the concrete frame
Historical or Associative Value
Attributes that contribute to the value of the
property at 29 Basin Street for the contribution to yielding an understanding
of the historical development of the area include:
·
The building's form,
scale, massing, and Classical Revival design elements which identify it as part
of the collection of pre-WWII-era structures which constitute the earliest
modern phase of industrial development in the area
·
The building's
placement along the north side of the Ship Channel thereby connecting the site
to its historic use as an oil refinery and storage facility
Contextual Value
Attributes that contribute to the contextual
value of the property at 29 Basin Street as visually linked to its surroundings
and helping to define, maintain, and support the character of the area include:
·
The building's
setback, placement, and orientation on Basin Street
·
The building's form,
scale, and massing; its brick and cast stone finish; and Classical Revival
design elements
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, 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.CC8.27
Dated at the City of Toronto on July 25, 2023.
John D. Elvidge
City Clerk