Notice of intention to designate

506 College Street

Take notice that Toronto City Council intends to designate the lands and buildings known municipally as 506 College Street under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

Reasons for Designation

Description
The property at 506 College Street is worthy of designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, and meets the criteria for municipal designation prescribed by the Province of Ontario under the three categories of design, associative and contextual value. Located on the northwest corner of College Street and Palmerston Boulevard, College Street Baptist Church (completed 1889) was listed on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties in 1973.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value
The property at 506 College Street is associated with an institution of importance to the community. The origins of College Street Baptist Church date to 1872 when a Baptist congregation was organized to serve the new suburbs west of Bathurst Street, followed by the construction of a modest church on the northeast corner of College Street and Lippincott Street (the building survives in altered form and is recognized on the City's heritage inventory). As the area grew, a second church with accommodation for 900 was constructed on the corner of College Street and Palmerston Boulevard, opening in 1889. The work of the congregation continued, including its support of city missions, educational activities and charitable work. In the 20th century, the demographics of the area changed and the neighbourhood welcomed, in turn, Jewish, Italian and Portuguese immigrants. Beginning in 1970, the Portuguese Seventh Day Adventist Church occupied the premises for over 35 years.

College Street Baptist Church (1889) is identified with the notable Toronto architectural partnership of Langley and Burke. The firm originated in 1869 when Henry Langley began a solo practice that received immediate recognition with the high profile commission for Metropolitan Methodist Church (the recognized heritage building was rebuilt after a disastrous fire and is now known as Metropolitan United Church). Joined in partnership by his brother, Edward Langley and nephew, Edmund Burke, Henry Langley was noted for his ecclesiastical designs, which included churches for all of the major Protestant denominations. Beginning in the late 1880s when the firm was known as Langley and Burke, its projects evoked the newly popular Romanesque Revival style. Identified by monumental round-arched openings, the style was first interpreted by Langley and Burke at Beverley Street Baptist Church (1886), followed by the firm's designs for Sherbourne Street Methodist Church (reconstructed 1886) and Western Methodist Church (later Trinity Methodist and now Trinity United Church, 1887). With the commission for College Street Baptist Church, Langley and Burke continued working with Romanesque Revival elements, but its design was elevated by the various finishes, including the extended Credit Valley stone base and decorative terra cotta detailing. After College Street Baptist Church was heavily damaged by fire in 1925 (the Sunday School wing had been repaired after a less devastating blaze in 1896), the successor firm of Burke and Horwood accepted the commission to restore the exterior and design a new interior.

College Street Baptist Church (1889) is a well-crafted example of Romanesque Revival design that displays the robust materials, round-arched openings, and dominant towers identified with the style. Attention is focused on the principal (south) façade on College Street, where the main entrance is found beneath the gable end of the roof and between two square towers. This entry reflects the Romanesque Revival style with a trio of oversized round-arched openings that contain paired wood doors under exaggerated transoms with quatrefoils. The round-arched motif is repeated in the oversized windows above the entry and on most of the remaining fenestration on the elevations and towers of the church.

Contextually, College Street Baptist Church (1889) is a local landmark on College Street in the neighbourhood west of Bathurst Street. It anchors the northwest corner of Palmerston Boulevard, the unusually wide street that extends from College Street to Bloor Street West and is distinguished by the Palmerston Gates marking the north and south entrances and the vintage lamp standards that line the thoroughfare. With its scale and architectural features, the church is visible from many vantage points along College Street and from the adjoining residential neighbourhoods.

Heritage Attributes
The heritage attributes of College Street Baptist Church (1889) associated with its design and contextual value as a well-crafted example of the Romanesque Revival style that is a landmark on the corner of College Street and Palmerston Boulevard are:

• The scale, form and massing
• Above a raised stone base, the red brick cladding and the brick, stone, terra cotta, clay and wood detailing
• The steeply-pitched cross-gable roof, with the brick chimney on the south end of the rear (north) wing that is visible from Palmerston Boulevard
• At the southeast and southwest corners, the square towers with hipped roofs, with the southeast tower extended as the bell tower
• On the principal (south) façade, the main entrance where three oversized round-arched openings contain paired wood doors and enlarged transoms with quatrefoils
• The fenestration, with round-arched openings in various sizes, some of which contain tracery
• The three-storey rear (north) wing, with the complementary cladding, the pedimented roofline with finials, the round-arched entrance, and the flat-headed window openings
• The decorative detailing on the church and wing, with buttresses and pilasters, stringcourses, cornices with dentils and corbels, carved imposts and label stops, and billet ornament
• The location of the building on a corner lot that is viewed from both directions along College Street, as well as from Palmerston Avenue (south) and Palmerston Boulevard (north)

Notice of an objection to the proposed designation may be served on the City Clerk, Attention: Rosalind Dyers, Administrator, Toronto and East York Community Council, Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, 2nd floor, Toronto, ON M5H 2N2, within thirty days of the 26th day of October, 2009, which is November 24, 2009. The notice must set out the reason(s) for the objection, and all relevant facts.

Dated at Toronto this 26th day of October, 2009.

Uli S. Watkiss
City Clerk