IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO
HERITAGE ACT
R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER O.18 AND
CITY OF TORONTO, PROVINCE OF ONTARIO
134 CARLTON 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 134 Carlton 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 134 Carlton 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, historical/associative, and contextual value.
Description
The "LaVerne Apartments", located at
134 Carlton Street, is situated mid-block on the north side of Carlton Street
between Homewood Avenue and Jarvis Street in the Church-Wellesley Village
vicinity. The property occupies a location across from Allan Gardens. The
three-storey, flat-roof building was constructed in 1926 and designed in the
Neoclassical style. The property continues to serve as apartments.
Statement of Cultural Heritage Value
The property has design and physical value for
being a representative example of an early-20th century apartment building
constructed in the Neoclassical style. Characteristic of the elegant and
understated style, the building's main façade has a formal appearance being
symmetrically arranged and detailed with a classical columned portico marking
the main entrance. High-quality brick and cast stone materials distinguish the
front of the building with ashlar masonry comprising quoins and the foundation.
Bush hammered tooling of the cast stone evidences the care to detail in the
finishes. Other classical flourishes such as the cartouche with building date,
central window casing, and classical roofline cornice and parapet add to the
composition. Classical-style balusters within the parapet, and multi-pane
windows originally contributed to the building's Neoclassical style design but
have subsequently been lost.
Built for Dr. Oscar A. McNichol (1875-1955), the
subject property yields information that contributes to an understanding of the
Church - Wellesley Village. The property reflects the historic transition of
the Church - Wellesley Village neighbourhood in the first few decades of the 20th
century from an area of single-family residences - including some of the city's
most substantial - to a zone containing a concentration of nearly 40 extant
apartment houses between Bay, Bloor, Carlton and Sherbourne Streets. Due to the
area's close proximity to downtown, it was one of the first areas of the city
to be redeveloped into an area dominated by apartment buildings. This
redevelopment also led to a transformation of the social demographics of the
neighbourhood including the addition to the area of a large number of single,
working-class residents - notably single, working women. When first occupied,
the LeVerne Apartments was more than half occupied by single women reflecting
this demographic shift.
The property is a surviving example of
the of early-20th-century apartment house that maintains the character of
Church-Wellesley Village neighbourhood. The area contains a concentration of
early-20th-century apartment houses that include walk-up apartments leading to
a distinct and notable grouping of nearly 40 such buildings between Bay,
Bloor, Carlton and Sherbourne Streets. The buildings are six-storeys or less in
height and generally three to four stories in height, like the LaVerne.
Similarly, the LaVerne and the majority of these apartments were developed in
the 1920s and early 1930s.
On Carlton Street, in the four short blocks
between Church and Sherbourne Streets, the LaVerne Apartments is joined by two
other historic apartment buildings which contribute to the concentration of
early-20th century apartment buildings in the Church Wellesley Village area -
the 1928 Sheldrake Apartments at 1 Homewood Avenue, and the 1929 apartment
building at 92 Carlton Street. The properties front onto the designated
landmark property, Allan Gardens park - first developed in 1860, and currently
located within the Garden District Heritage Conservation District.
Additionally, the former Frontenac Apartments (1931) is situated nearby at 300
Jarvis Street, across from Allan Gardens. Historically, the prominent Allan
Gardens Apartments (1914 and demolished in 1993) at 121 Carlton Street stood
across the street in what is now the northwest corner of Allan Gardens,
contributing to the grouping of apartments buildings around Allan Gardens and
its iconic Palm House (1910) and greenhouses.
Heritage Attributes
Design and Physical Value
Attributes that contribute to the value of the
property at 134 Carlton Street as a representative example of the Neoclassical
style:
·
The three-storey,
long, rectangular form, scale and massing of the building with a short façade
·
The flat-roof form;
cast-stone roofline cornice; brick parapet
·
The exterior
materials comprising facing brick for the main façade and construction brick
cladding secondary facades; cast-stone detailing comprising the main façade
detailing including portico, ashlar block quoins, cartouche, central window
casing, stringcourses and windowsills
·
The regular
fenestration of the building comprising rectangular flat-headed windows
throughout the building, symmetrically arranged on the main façade
·
The central main entrance
with portico with classical columns and entablature and wood door with
multi-pane glazing
Historical and Associative Value
Attributes that contribute to the value of the
property at 134 Carlton Street for its contribution to an understanding of the
development history of the Church - Wellesley Village vicinity:
·
The location on
Maitland Street within the concentration of apartment buildings in the
Church-Wellesley Village area
·
The early
twentieth-century apartment building typology
Contextual Value
Attributes that contribute to the contextual
value of 134 Carlton Street as helping to define, maintain, and support the
historic early-20th century character of its context include:
·
The location on
Carlton Street and fronting Allan Gardens
·
The three-storey
height and elevated front entrance
·
masonry finish
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 (30) days
of October 10, 2025, which is November 10, 2025. 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=2025.PH24.9.
Dated at the City of Toronto on October 10, 2025.
John D. Elvidge
City Clerk