A GREEK REVIVAL ROW HOUSE

Mackenzie House presents a ‘Greek Revival’ façade to the public. Greek Revival was an architectural movement that was more popular in the United States than Canada, and had its heyday from about 1825 to 1850, particularly in eastern cities such as New York and Philadelphia where affirmations of democratic ideals and their links to the ancient world resulted in a keen interest in Grecian-inspired design. Although less common in the British North American colonies, this form of architecture appeared slightly later in Montreal, Toronto, and elsewhere. Mackenzie House exemplifies many of the typical features of the style. Decorative motifs on the exterior of the home include the ‘Greek key’ and ‘egg and dart’ patterns, as well as the ‘acanthus leaf’ pattern that appears on the iron gate enclosing the property.

‘GREEK KEY’, ‘EGG AND DART’ AND
‘ACANTHUS LEAF’ MOTIFS
Toronto Public Library (TRL)

Interior features in the Greek Revival style include high ceilings, sliding (or pocket) doors between the main floor parlours, and plaster mouldings, called ‘cornices,’ around the ceiling and at the base of light fixtures. Later owners of Mackenzie House unfortunately removed the cornices, but the original archway with lion-headed corbels remains in the entryway and speaks to the classical influence in the design of the house.

GROUND FLOOR HALL SHOWING THE ARCH AND CORBELS
City of Toronto Culture

William Lyon Mackenzie’s Bond Street home also preserves ‘row house’ (or town house or terrace) architecture in which groups of distinct homes were built in an interconnected row. This was a popular 18th- and 19th-century solution to the need for affordable and space-efficient housing in growing urban environments, and naturally the construction of these homes affected the use of the space within. First, the shared walls and consequent absence of windows on the sides of the house created a division within the home into front and back spaces. Second, the architectural impetus to build a series of uniform homes limited variations in form and use of the space.

MACKENZIE HOUSE ON BOND STREET
City of Toronto Culture

Mackenzie House’s architectural design was consistent with that of modest row housing in other urban centres, such as London, New York, and Montreal. Not only was the layout similar, but the use of the interior spaces was typical as well. The main level served as the most public and social area of the home, and consisted of an entryway, hall, and front and back parlours, the latter of which typically served as a dining room. The decoration of the hall and entryway commonly was architectural in nature, utilizing plaster techniques, faux finishes, and wallpaper patterns, such as the popular ‘ashlar’ print that imitated stone and brick work. By bringing a little of the outside indoors, the hall served as a transitional space between the exterior and the interior of the home. This emphasis on architectural elements suggested a construction of both space and status, given the ability of the hall and the entryway to create an important first impression of the entire home.

GROUND FLOOR PLAN AND ‘ASHLAR’ PRINT WALLPAPER
City of Toronto Culture

The architecture repeated the same layout in the basement and on the second floor, with the stairs located on the left and a front and back room on the right when one faced the house from the street. The basement consisted of more functional areas, such as the kitchen and an informal dining room; the second floor of the home comprised the more private space of the bedrooms. The small attic level above provided storage and living space, including a room for the family’s domestic servant, Catherine Byrnes. The interior of the mid-Victorian Toronto home can be divided into formal, private, and functional spaces. Corresponding examples of these rooms are the front parlour, the bedroom, day room, and kitchen, which we will examine below.

SECOND AND ATTIC FLOOR PLANS
City of Toronto Culture

The front parlour was the best room in the house. Thus, homeowners affirmed their social status through purchasing and displaying items that represented the best that the family could afford to acquire. As the room was a showcase, many people limited their use of it, often reserving it for entertaining guests and for important occasions, such as weddings and funerals. The rest of the time, homeowners might keep the shades drawn, close adjoining doors, and put slipcovers or dustcovers over the furniture to preserve their possessions from the ravages of dirt, light, and unnecessary use.

FRONT PARLOUR ON THE GROUND FLOOR
City of Toronto Culture

The careful placement of certain objects in the room spoke not only to the Victorian aesthetic preference for a variety and abundance of items to decorate their homes, but also to the underlying social significance inherent in possessing these items. One common accoutrement in the parlour, for example, was the over-mantle mirror – a middle-class adaptation of an aristocratic tradition that once had required a certain level of wealth to purchase. During the industrial revolution improvements in glass making techniques increased the availability and affordability of these luxury items, thus granting middle-class families the opportunity to emulate upper-class trends. While the size of the mirror conveyed a sense of the wealth and the status of the owner, the mirror also served more practical purposes, such as providing a reflective surface to add more light and sparkle to an otherwise dimly lit interior.

OVERMANTLE MIRROR IN THE PARLOUR
City of Toronto Culture, X.3022.1

Other popular furnishings for the parlour included items made out of such innovative materials as horsehair. Horsehair upholstery was a fabric made of the hair from the tails of horses that was dyed and treated to imitate the more expensive look of silk. The upholstery commonly was applied to sofas, side chairs, and dining chairs, such as the pieces manufactured and sold by such local furniture makers as Jacques and Hay.

THE WALNUT VENEERED SOFA, 1860S
City of Toronto Culture, X.2330.1

Another innovative material of the Victorian period represented on the ground floor of Mackenzie House is papier mâché. It was used on a variety of furnishings, ranging from small decorative pieces, such as trays and bowls, to larger items, such as tilt-top tables and ladies’ sewing tables. One industrious manufacturer even attempted to construct a piano out of this paper and glue-based concoction. Manufacturers finished papier mâché to resemble the exotic appearance of Japanese laquerware, which they could embellish with any combination of mother-of-pearl inlay work, gilded stencilling, and painted scenes. Mackenzie House today displays a nice example of this work in the form of a mid-19th-century tilt-top table. It is a factory-made piece from England, and features a copy of a portrait entitled Dignity and Impudence by Sir Edwin Landseer. As a tilt-top, it could be used as a conventional table, but when not needed functionally, it could sit in a corner where it minimized space and served as a decorative item. This flexibility in use reminds us that the Victorians regularly moved furniture around their rooms to meet their changing needs, often several times during the course of a day, in contrast to modern people whose (generally lighter) furnishings rarely shift in their rooms.

TILT-TOP TABLE WITH IMAGE OF DIGNITY AND
IMPUDENCE ON IT, C. 1840-80
City of Toronto Culture, 1960.1578.10C

The image on the Mackenzie House tilt-top table also speaks to some of the values of the Victorian era and the marketing of consumer goods and how images and ideas could be transferred beyond such means as books, magazines, and reproduction prints of famous pictures that people might purchase to hang on their walls. As noted, the picture on the table is a copy of a painting by Sir Edwin Landseer of a pair of dogs, Dignity and Impudence. Born in 1792, Landseer was a student of animal anatomy from a young age, and his equine and canine paintings were favoured by the aristocratic set to whom he catered. Upon meeting Queen Victoria in 1837, the artist secured a position in her court by presenting her with a drawing of her favourite King Charles spaniel. Afterwards, he received numerous royal and aristocratic commissions and was considered to be Victoria’s favourite living artist. That association, of course, made his works all the more marketable among 19th-century middle-class consumers, as represented by Dignity and Impudence’s appearance on a papier mâché table. (Sadly, Landseer himself suffered a mental breakdown in 1840 and, despite being knighted in 1850 and continuing to be a popular and prolific artist, his condition deteriorated throughout the 1860s. His best-known commission was for the lion sculptures in Trafalgar Square, installed in 1867, but despite that success, Sir Edwin was certified insane in 1872. He died in 1873, leaving behind a respected but tragic legacy as a prominent British artist.)

DIGNITY AND IMPUDENCE BY SIR EDWIN LANDSEER, 1839
Tate Gallery, London, N00604

In contrast to the formal surroundings of the ground floor, especially the front parlour, the second-floor bedroom was functional in nature, providing a private space for sleeping, dressing, and grooming. Usually it was more utilitarian in decoration, especially among families with limited financial resources. While the best examples of carpeting, upholstery, and wall coverings went into the parlour, more modest or serviceable examples usually saw use in private spaces like bedrooms. Beds (often even shared by older siblings) typically consisted of a straw- or feather-filled mattress on a rope frame that had to be tightened periodically to provide adequate support. Other furnishings typically included a washstand, a chest of drawers, and a few chairs.

DAUGHTERS’ BEDROOM ON THE SECOND FLOOR
City of Toronto Culture

Issues such as heating and lighting limited the use of spaces such as bedrooms for reading, sewing, and other tasks or pastimes because it was impractical and expensive to heat and light individual rooms throughout the house during the course of much of the year. Instead, families typically gathered together in a single room. For the Mackenzie family, that was an informal dining room in the basement, sometimes referred to as the day room.

DAY ROOM IN THE BASEMENT
City of Toronto Culture

The basement of Mackenzie House is built in the ‘raised English style,’ which means that the day room and the adjoining kitchen are partially underground and thus protected from the elements. This made the rooms cooler in summer and warmer in winter. Yet, the large front and back windows let in plenty of natural light – a feature conducive to the numerous tasks performed in the basement. The labour-intensive work, such as laundry, mainly was performed by the domestic servant, Catherine; while some of the lighter chores, such as ironing and baking, could be done by Isabel Mackenzie and her three grown daughters.

KITCHEN IN THE BASEMENT
City of Toronto Culture

By the time the Mackenzie family moved to Bond Street, located only a 10-minute walk from St Lawrence Market, they did not have to worry about long-term food storage, but instead could shop daily and buy ready-made products like soap, candles, butter, and bread as needed. We know, for instance, that they purchased such items as raw and refined sugar, smoked herring, flour, nutmeg, tea, and pickles, along with all the other items that made up a mid-19th-century Toronto diet. That included fresh fruits and vegetables, because, as far as we know, the Mackenzies did not have a kitchen garden at 82 Bond Street, despite having them in earlier residences. They also at times received food (and other items) from people who owed them money, such as from subscribers to William’s newspaper who could not pay their bills in cash.

Continue on to next section:
Gentility vs Reality

Constructing Gentility - Contents

1. Introduction
2. A Victorian Consumer Revolution
3. A Greek Revival Row House
4. Gentility vs Reality

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