IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO
HERITAGE ACT
R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER O.18 AND
CITY OF TORONTO, PROVINCE OF ONTARIO
576 SHERBOURNE STREET AND 37
LINDEN 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 576 Sherbourne Street and 37 Linden
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 properties at 576 Sherbourne Street and 37
Linden Street are 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, historical/associative, and contextual
value.
Description
The properties at 576 Sherbourne Street and 37
Linden Street form the corner/end unit of a continuous row of five grand
rowhouses constructed between 1888 and 1889 for City of Toronto Alderman and
speculator Edward Hewitt at the southwest corner of Sherbourne and Linden
Streets. Historically known as 576 and 578 Sherbourne Street, today 578
Sherbourne is municipally known as 37 Linden Street. Together, these two house-form structures
read as a grand single-family residence. Rising three-storeys over a raised
basement, the red brick structure features a design combining elements of both
the Richardson Romanesque and Queen Anne Revival styles with an asymmetrical
massing and complicated rooflines. Together the properties have two principal
facades along Sherbourne Street (east) and Linden Street (north). Both
properties share architectural elements including hipped roofs with prominent
cross-gables and dormers; recessed main entrances framed by rounded-arch
entryways with second storey covered balconies; flatheaded, rounded arch, and
three-pointed arch fenestration; decorative brickwork; and stained-glass
transoms. The property at 37 Linden Street also features a square three-storey
corner tower with pyramidal roof facing the corner of Sherbourne and Linden Streets.
The property at 576 Sherbourne Street is
physically connected to the adjacent property to the south (574 Sherbourne) by
a brick "tail" that is deeply recessed between the main entryways and
containing a single light at the first and second storeys of each property. The
rear (west) elevation of the properties is also red brick construction with a
single-storey rectangular addition with shed roof.
Both properties were listed on the City's
Heritage Register (then Inventory of Heritage Properties) on August 18, 1976.
Statement of Cultural
Heritage Value
Design or Physical Value
The properties at 576 Sherbourne Street and 37
Linden Street, as part of a continuous row of five rowhouses connected by a
recessed "tail" near their rear or west end, are a rare example of a
pair of late-nineteenth century rowhouses designed to appear like the
neighbouring grand homes along Sherbourne Street. Utilizing a vocabulary of
shared architectural elements, the two properties read as a single grand corner
residence.
The properties are representative examples of
late-Victorian residential architecture, combining elements of both the Queen
Anne Revival and Richardson Romanesque styles. This is evident in the
asymmetrical composition of the two principal (east and north) elevations at
576 Sherbourne Street and 37 Linden Street, respectively, and their shared
defining architectural elements, including a large, square corner tower
basketweave patterned brickwork, recessed main entrances framed by round-arched
brick entryways, second-storey balconies with decorative wood detailing, and a
combination of flat-headed, rounded-arch and three-centred arch fenestration.
Historical or Associative Value
The property at 576 Sherbourne Street is
directly associated with acclaimed Toronto author Shirley Faessler, who owned
and resided at the property from 1940s to the mid 1990s during which time she
wrote her most notable works.
Contextual Value
The subject properties at 576 Sherbourne Street
and 37 Linden Street are important in defining, supporting, and maintaining the
predominant late-nineteenth century residential character of the surrounding
area bounded by Sherbourne, Selby, Huntley, and Isabella Streets where an
eclectic mix of then-fashionable Victorian-era architectural styles continue to
define the streetscape today.
The properties are physically, functionally,
visually, and historically linked to their surroundings both as a part of a
continuous row of five grand rowhouses and to nearby structures in the
surrounding area which developed in the same period. The properties anchor the
southwest corner of Sherbourne and Linden Street, and along with the James
Cooper Mansion on the northwest corner, frame the intersection of Sherbourne
and Linden Streets.
Heritage Attributes
Design or Physical Value
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the cultural heritage value of the properties at 576 Sherbourne Street and 37
Linden Street as rare and representative examples of late-nineteenth century
rowhouses designed to appear like the neighbouring grand homes along Sherbourne
Street:
·
The properties scale,
form, and massing
·
Red brick cladding
with stone and wood trim
·
Large three-storey
square tower surmounted by a pyramidal roof.
·
Hipped roof with
large, shed dormers and cross gables on the principal (east and north)
elevations
·
Recessed brick
round-arched entryway on the north elevation with off-set entrance steps and
adjacent triple-arched brick with recessed second-floor balcony framed with a
decorative wooden balustrade, screen and turned colonnettes
·
Recessed east
elevation entrance framed by a rounded-arch entryway surmounted by a
second-storey balcony with ornate wooden screen and balustrade
·
South elevation with
deeply recessed brick "tail" connecting to the adjacent property to
the south (574 Sherbourne)
·
Fenestration of
principal (east and north) elevations including rounded arch, three-centred
arch, and flatheaded openings
·
Decorative brickwork
including:
·
Drip mouldings over
the first, second, and third storey openings
·
Stringcourses
delineating the storeys
·
Basketweave spandrel
above the three-centred first storey arch window opening
·
Denticulated cornice
line between second and third storeys on the tower
·
Scrolled brick aprons
below first storey windows
·
Rusticated stonework
sills and basement level
Contextual Value
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the cultural heritage value of the properties at 576 Sherbourne Street and 37
Linden Street as character-defining structures within a historic residential
area:
·
The properties siting
and orientation on the southwest corner of Sherbourne Street and Linden Street
with two principal (east and north) facades
·
The properties scale,
form, and massing as part of a row of five large late-nineteenth century
rowhouses
·
The properties
legibility as a large single detached residential structure
·
The material palette
typical of Victorian Era buildings, including red brick with stone and wood
detailing
·
Hipped roofline with prominent
cross gables and large shed dormers on principal (east and north) elevations
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: RegistrarCCO@toronto.ca within thirty days of November 14, 2023, which is December 14, 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.PH7.12
Dated at the City of Toronto on November 14,
2023.
John D. Elvidge
for City Clerk