Community Ventures

Table of Contents

Aerial perspective, Riverdale Courts housing project, Bain Avenue/Logan Avenue
1913
Eden Smith & Sons, architects; A. Scott Carter, renderer
Toronto Housing Company, Better Housing in Canada
City of Toronto Archives, SC 18, box 1

The Toronto Housing Company was organized by industrialist Frank Beer, who sat on the executive committee of the Toronto Playgrounds Association from 1908 onwards.

Spruce Court and Riverdale Courts (1913-15) were geared toward lower-income families and were Toronto's first social housing projects. The City guaranteed 85% of the Company's bonds and helped manage its affairs. The remaining capital came from private shareholders who received limited dividends.

The two projects introduced the "playcourt" to the Toronto housing market. The Company's 334 units were organized around these small open spaces, which were supervised by the families living adjacent to them.

©2001. City of Toronto