Public Notice

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

The subject property at 34 Jason Road is located on the north side of Jason Road at the intersection of Riverdale Drive within the Thistletown community of Etobicoke. Constructed c.1921 atop foundations believed to date to the mid-19th century and featuring an extension c.1926-33, the property contains a single-family house form building that incorporates the foundation of a former piggery that was part of the Elm Bank property belonging to the Grubb family, who were some of the earliest post-colonial settlers within the present-day Thistletown community. It was later home to the notable photographer Bruce Metcalfe, and his family.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value

Design or Physical 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