IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO
HERITAGE ACT
R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER O.18 AND
CITY OF TORONTO, PROVINCE OF ONTARIO
34 JASON ROAD
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 34 Jason Road 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 34 Jason Road is worthy of
designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for its
cultural heritage value and meets Regulation 9/06, the provincial criteria for
municipal designation.
Description
Statement of Cultural Heritage Value
The property at 34 Jason Road has design and physical value as a rare
example of the adaptive reuse of an agricultural property for residential
purposes. The incorporation of the historic stone foundations of the piggery
building that was associated with the Elm Bank farm for the c.1921 house form
building was a conscious decision on the part of Dr. Irwin, who is responsible
for initiating the twentieth-century residential subdivision of the historic
Grubb property. Rather than demolishing the piggery, Dr. Irwin chose to build
upon the foundations for what would have been both practical and aesthetic
reasons, and as such it is an example of adaptive reuse. The inhabitation of
the resultant house for over a century serves as a marker of the viability of
such a decision and continues to communicate the design value of the decision
to adaptively reuse historic foundations today.
Historical or Associative Value
The property at 34 Jason Road has historical and associative value as it
incorporates the foundations of the piggery that was part of the Elm Bank
property that was established c.1835 by John Grubb (1783-1850) and was farmed
by his descendants. Constructed of the same stone used for the adjacent barn
(the foundations of which were incorporated into the house at 32 Jason Road)
and the residence at 23 Jason Road, the former piggery was an important
component of the working farm, and of agricultural life, in the 19th century.
The Grubb family are significant within Etobicoke and the local community for
their role in settling Thistletown, located immediately north of 34 Jason Road,
and attracting development to the surrounding area.
The property was subsequently subdivided by Dr. Eli Franklin Irwin, who
is believed to have constructed the present-day structure atop the foundations
of the piggery and whose daughter, Irma, subsequently resided at 34 Jason Road
with her husband Bruce Metcalfe and their two children until 1961, during which
time the surrounding community evolved from a rural agricultural landscape to a
post-war residential subdivision. Dr. Irwin is responsible for transforming the
surrounding neighbourhood from a primarily agricultural landscape into a 20th
century suburban residential community and registered the plan of subdivision
that resulted in the present-day landscape.
The property at 34 Jason Road has historical and associative value as it
has direct associations with Cecil Bruce Metcalfe (1891-1962), along with his
wife Irma and their two children, who resided at 34 Jason Road from 1926 until
1961. Metcalfe was a prolific musician and musical teacher, a prominent member
of the Weston and Thistletown communities, and a celebrated photographer and
artist. His appointments included positions with the Romanelli Orchestra, the
Hambourg Conservatory and the Weston and Mount Dennis Choral Society. His
photography, the majority of which he would have produced while residing at 34
Jason Road, is included in the collections of the Public Archives Canada and
the J. Paul Getty Museum Collection, was featured in an exhibition in 1944 at
the Royal Ontario Museum, and illustrated Canadian Nature Magazine’s handbook
publication, Native Ferns. A respected naturalist, his tenure at 34 Jason Road
on the banks of the western branch of the Humber River influenced his artistic
style and the subject matter he chose to represent.
Contextual Value
Contextually, the property at 34 Jason Road has
cultural heritage value as it is visually and historically linked to the
adjacent properties at 32 Jason Road, 19 Jason Road, and 23 Jason Road which
are remnants of the historic Elm Bank property. Established c.1835 by the
Scottish immigrant John Grubb (1783-1850), Elm Bank was a 150-acre farm located
on the banks of the Humber River straddling Albion Road within York Township.
The single-family house built c.1921 incorporated portions of the foundations of
the piggery associated with Elm Bank, built of the same fieldstone used to
construct the foundations of the former barn that were incorporated into the
neighbouring house at 32 Jason Road, as well as the residence at 23 Jason Road.
Collectively, these properties are associated with mid-19th century
agricultural settlement within present-day Etobicoke, the pioneering Grubb
family, and the development of the Thistletown community.
The property at 34 Jason Road also has
contextual value as it maintains and supports the character of the area, and
the subdivision established by Dr. Irwin which led to the residential
development of the community. The house is situated on a rise of land
overlooking parkland to the south and west, with generously landscaped yards
and fieldstone retaining walls. The low-rise, one and a half storey house form
building constructed atop the historic piggery foundations was one of the first
if not the first houses built following the plan of subdivision. The house
helped to establish the prevailing low-rise character of this community, which
is defined by detached early to mid-20th century houses set on lots with
generous landscaping and no sidewalks that contribute to the present-day
semi-rural context.
Heritage Attributes
Design and Physical Value
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the design and physical value for the property at 34 Jason Road as they support
an understanding of the property as an example of the adaptive reuse of a
formerly agricultural structure for residential purposes:
·
The stone foundations
of the former piggery, roughly rectangular in shape and comprising the westerly
portion of the present-day structure.
·
The “L” extension,
including the first-floor stone walls and second half-storey with high pitched
gabled roof, which reflect the adaptive reuse of the former piggery for
residential purposes.
·
The various window
openings, the verandah, and the secondary entrance within the crux of the “L,”
which permitted the structure’s use for residential purposes.
Historical and Associative Value
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the historical and associative value of the property at 34 Jason Road as they
support the historical association of the property with the Grubb family and
the Elm Bank farm complex, as well as its subsequent use as a single-family
house inhabited by the Metcalfe family:
·
The location of the
house form. Building in view of and in proximity to the residential buildings
of Elm Bank at 19 and 23 Jason Road, and the former barn at 32 Jason Road.
·
The Humber River
stone foundation, which was the basis of the piggery associated with the Elm
Bank property and its use as a farm complex
·
The scale, form and
massing of the one and a half story house form building, with a gable roof
·
The gable-roofed
awning on the south façade extending out from the c.1921 structure and
supported atop the stone base, reflective of the conversion of the piggery to a
house
·
The addition
c.1926-33, with stone foundation and walls and gable roof creating the “L” plan
of the present-day structure
·
The shed dormer
window
·
The verandah with
extended roofline at the crux of the “L”
·
The stone cladding of
the house, with visible joints and showing variation between the foundation
stone and the upper wall stone
Contextual Value
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the contextual value of the property at 34 Jason Road as it supports the early
to mid-19th century agricultural context alongside the adjacent properties at
32 Jason Road and 19 and 23 Jason Road, and its context as an early to mid-20th
century residential subdivision:
·
The setback of the
house from the street, sitting atop a rise of land with extensive landscaping
including dry stone retaining walls leading down to Jason Road and Riverdale
Drive
·
The one and a half
storey form of the house with a gable roof and verandah, and the stone patio on
the west façade facing towards the Humber River
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 June 26, 2026, which is July 27, 2026. 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=2026.PH31.16
Dated at the City of Toronto on June 26, 2026.
John D. Elvidge
City Clerk