Public Notice

IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO HERITAGE ACT

R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER O.18 AND

CITY OF TORONTO, PROVINCE OF ONTARIO

506 JARVIS 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 506 Jarvis 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 506 Jarvis Street is worthy of designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for its cultural value and meets Regulation 9/06, the provincial criteria prescribed for municipal designation.

Description

The subject property at 506 Jarvis Street is located on the west side of Jarvis Street, north of Cawthra Square, within the Upper Jarvis neighbourhood. Constructed circa 1889 and renovated with an addition in 1950, the property contains a detached two-and-a-half storey house form designed by the architects Langley & Burke, with alterations designed by the architect Frederick Etherington to convert the structure into a home for retired United Church missionaries. The subject property was a single-family residence until it was sold in 1944 to the United Church of Canada, after which it operated as a hostel for Japanese-Canadian men, a home for retired United Church missionaries, and subsequently a lodging house. It was briefly used by the National Ballet School as a student residence, before returning to function as an apartment house.

The property was included on the Heritage Register in June 1973.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value

Design and Physical Value

The property at 506 Jarvis Street has design and physical value as it displays a high degree of artistic merit and is a representative example of the Annex architectural style as applied to a detached house form structure. The Annex architectural style was popular in Toronto from the 1880s up to 1900. The origins of the architectural style are often attributed to the architect E. J. Lennox, however it was employed by numerous practitioners, and was primarily if not exclusively applied to residential house form structures. The Annex architectural style combined elements of the Romanesque and Queen Anne architectural styles. Architectural features representative of the Annex architectural style, and that display a high degree of artistic merit, include the use of brick, sandstone and terra cotta cladding; fine details depicting vegetal and organic motifs; and low and grouped round-arched window openings.

Historical and Associative Value

The property at 506 Jarvis Street has historical and associative value as it reflects the work of the architects Langley & Burke. Comprised of the architects Henry Langley and his nephew, Edmund Burke, the studio was one of Toronto’s most prolific and sought-after architectural practices for designing ecclesiastical, government, and private residential projects between 1883 and 1892, when Burke left to assume the practice of William George Storm’s. Their residential commissions can be found in neighbourhoods including South Rosedale, the Annex, and Jarvis Street, and exhibit a proficiency in the Queen Anne style alongside the incorporation of new building technologies. 506 Jarvis Street exhibits hallmarks of Langley & Burke including the incorporation of Queen Anne details on a substantial structure for residential use.

The property at 506 Jarvis Street has historical and associative value due to its direct association with the United Church of Canada and its operation as a home for retired United Church missionaries. The subject property was purchased by the United Church in 1944 and was first used to house Japanese-Canadian men before an addition was constructed in 1950. The property was subsequently used as a retirement home for missionaries and was operated by the Woman’s Missionary Society which provided domestic and overseas support relating to the church’s activities comprising nursing, education, and housing. The subject property remained within the United Church’s ownership until 1957 at which time it was sold and converted to a lodging house.

Contextual Value

Contextually, the property at 506 Jarvis Street is visually, functionally, and historically linked to the adjacent properties at 504, 510, 512 and 514 Jarvis Street, which together form a collection of 19th century housing occupying the full block frontage of Jarvis Street between Cawthra Square and Gloucester Street. Each property contains a detached house form structure designed in the Annex architectural style, with a generally consistent setback, scale, form and massing. Visually, the subject property is linked to these adjacent properties as well as nearby house form buildings representative of the historic residential context of Upper Jarvis from the late-19th century and is situated in an area with a concentration of properties built during the mid- to late Victorian period and that have been designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.

The property at 506 Jarvis Street is important in maintaining and supporting the character of the Upper Jarvis neighbourhood and the Cawthra Square - Jarvis Street - Gloucester Street block frontage, comprised of a collection of 19th century house form buildings. Subsequent mid- to late- 20th century apartment buildings reflect the second wave of residential development that replaced many of the original house form buildings akin to the subject property. Collectively, these properties reflect the evolution of Upper Jarvis from a subdivision of private homes located on a landscaped avenue to a high-density residential and institutional arterial corridor within downtown Toronto.

Heritage Attributes

Design and Physical Value

The following heritage attributes contribute to the cultural heritage value of the property at 506 Jarvis Street as being a representative example of a detached house form designed in the Annex architectural style:

• The scale, form and massing of the subject property, containing a detached two-and-a-half storey house form building set-back from the sidewalk

• The red brick, sandstone and terra cotta cladding and ornamentation

• The segmental-arched, round-arched and flat-headed window openings with stone sills, brick lintels and drip moulds, and brick pilasters

• The terra cotta details including string courses of organic motifs and dentils, and stone string courses

• The prominent roof comprised of a cross-gable roof above deep eaves with exposed rafter details, wood half cove shingles, and punctuated by brick chimneys

Historical and Associative Value

The following heritage attributes contribute to the cultural heritage value of the property at 506 Jarvis Street as being demonstrative of the work of the architectural practice of Langley & Burke:

• The scale, form and massing of the subject property, containing a detached two-and-a-half storey house form building set-back from the sidewalk

• The red brick, sandstone and terra cotta cladding and ornamentation

• The segmental-arched, round-arched, and flat-headed window openings with stone sills, brick lintels and drip moulds, and brick pilasters

• The terra cotta details including string courses of organic motifs and dentils, and stone string courses

• The prominent roof comprised of a cross-gable roof above deep eaves with exposed rafter details, wood half cove shingles, and punctuated by brick chimneys

Attributes that contribute to 506 Jarvis Street being associated with the United Church of Canada:

• The side hall entrance porch, with brick piers supporting wooden doric columns, arched wooden spandrels and hipped porch roof added to accommodate the United Church’s use of the property

Contextual Value

The following heritage attributes contribute to the cultural heritage value of the property at 506 Jarvis Street being visually, functionally and historically linked to its surroundings and for maintaining and supporting the character of the area:

• The placement, setback and orientation of the structure on the west side of Jarvis Street between Cawthra Square and Gloucester Street

• The two-and-a-half storey scale of the primary (east) facades and the visible portions of the secondary (south) facade

• The wrought iron fence dividing the front yard from the sidewalk

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.PH24.12.