TORONTO

 June 29, 1998

 To:City of Toronto Community Council

 From:Managing Director, Toronto Historical Board

 Subject:Designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act - 226 King Street East (Imperial Bank)

 Purpose:

 This report recommends that the property at 226 King Street East (Imperial Bank) be designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.

 Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

 Not applicable.

 Recommendations:

1. That Council state its intention to designate the property at 226 King Street East (Imperial Bank) under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.

 2.That the appropriate officials be authorized to take whatever action is necessary to give effect hereto.

 Background:

 At its meeting of June 17, 1998, the Board of Heritage Toronto had before it the attached report recommending the designation of the property at 226 King Street East (Imperial Bank) under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. As conditions of the King-Sherbourne development project, the applicant has agreed to enter into a Heritage Easement Agreement and the property's designation.

 Comments:

Short Statement of Reasons for Designation

   Imperial Bank

226 King Street East

  The property at 226 King Street East is identified for architectural reasons. The King and Sherbourne branch of the Imperial Bank of Canada was constructed in the fall of 1907 according to the designs of the Toronto architectural firm of Darling and Pearson. In 1961, the Imperial Bank amalgamated with the Canadian Bank of Commerce to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).

 The Imperial Bank displays features associated with Edwardian Classicism. The two-storey rectangular plan has a rounded southwest corner with an entrance and extended window openings. Above a stone base, the building is clad with buff brick. On the south and west facades, brick detailing is applied for bands, pilasters and parapets, while stone is used for quoins, cornices, and door and window surrounds. The latter walls display segmental-headed window openings. The east and rear (north) walls are not included in the Reasons for Designation. Important interior features are the entrance rotunda and, in the first-floor banking hall, the entrance door with its moulded wood doorcase.

 The property at 226 King Street is located on the northeast corner of King Street East and Sherbourne Street. The building was designed by one of the leading Toronto architectural firms of the period, noted for its bank buildings. With its location at an important intersection, rounded corner entrance and decorative detailing, the Imperial Bank is a significant feature in the King-Parliament neighbourhood.

 Conclusion:

 Heritage Toronto recommends that City Council designate the property at 226 King Street East under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.

 Contact Name:

 Ms. Kathryn Anderson

Preservation Officer, Historical Preservation Division, Toronto Historical Board

Tel: 392-6827, ext. 239

Fax: 392-6834

    George E. Waters,

Acting Managing Director

 (g:\report\1998\cc98\cc98018.thb)

  copy:Councillor Pam McConnell, Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, Suite 5, Toronto, M5H 2N2

 Councillor Jack Layton, Metro Hall, 55 John Street, Suite 207, Toronto, M5V 3C6

HERITAGE TORONTO

(TORONTO HISTORICAL BOARD)

June 10, 1998

To:Chair and Members, Toronto Historical Board

 Subject:226 KING STREET EAST (IMPERIAL BANK) -- DESIGNATION UNDER PART IV OF THE ONTARIO HERITAGE ACT

 From:Managing Director, Toronto Historical Board (thb98026.hpd)

  RECOMMENDATION

 1. That City Council state its intention to designate the properties at 226 King Street East (Imperial Bank) pursuant to Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act to be of architectural and historical interest.

 2.That the appropriate officials be authorized to take whatever action is necessary to give effect hereto.

 COMMENTS

 1.Background:

 The property at 226 King Street East was included on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties on November 21 and 23, 1973. The impetus to designate at this time stems from the King-Sherbourne Development, also on this agenda.

 A Short Statement of Reasons for Designation, intended for publication, follows. A Heritage Property Report (Long Statement of Reasons for Designation), including visuals, is attached. Both documents constitute the Reasons for Designation.

 2.Short Statement of Reasons for Designation:

 The property at 226 King Street East is identified for architectural reasons. The King and Sherbourne branch of the Imperial Bank of Canada was constructed in the fall of 1907 according to the designs of the Toronto architectural firm of Darling and Pearson. In 1961, the Imperial Bank amalgamated with the Canadian Bank of Commerce to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).

 The Imperial Bank displays features associated with Edwardian Classicism. The two-storey rectangular plan has a rounded southwest corner with an entrance and extended window openings. Above a stone base, the building is clad with buff brick. On the south and west facades, brick detailing is applied for bands, pilasters and parapets, while stone is used for quoins, cornices, and door and window surrounds. The latter walls display segmental-headed window openings. The east and rear (north) walls are not included in the Reasons for Designation. Important interior features are the entrance rotunda and, in the first-floor banking hall, the entrance door with its moulded wood doorcase.

 The property at 226 King Street is located on the northeast corner of King Street East and Sherbourne Street. The building was designed by one of the leading Toronto architectural firms of the period. With its location at an important intersection, rounded corner entrance and decorative detailing, the Imperial Bank is a significant feature in the King-Parliament neighbourhood.

George E. Waters

Managing Director (Acting)

RS/KA

Encl. Heritage Property Report

HERITAGE TORONTO

Heritage Property Report

Imperial Bank

226 King Street East

June 1998

Heritage Property Report

  Imperial Bank

226 King Street East

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

 Basic Building Data1

 Historical Background2

 Architectural Description2

 Context3

 Summary3

 Sources Consulted3

   Attachments:

 IShort Statement of Reasons for Designation

 IILocation Map

 IIIPhotographs

    HERITAGE TORONTO

 Heritage Property Report

  Basic Building Data:

 Address:226 King Street East (northeast corner of King Street East and Sherbourne Street)

 Ward:25

 Current Name:Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

 Historical Name:Imperial Bank of Canada

 Construction Date:1907

 Architect:Darling and Pearson

 Contractor/Builder:Dancy Brothers

 Additions/Alterations:openings altered in corner entrance; parapet on south wall altered; interior alterations; one-storey rear (north) addition

 Original Owner:Imperial Bank of Canada

 Original Use:commercial (bank)

 Current Use*:commercial (bank)

 Heritage Category:Neighbourhood Heritage Property (Category C)

 Recording Date:June 1998

 Recorder:HPD:KA

 * this does not refer to permitted use(s) as defined in the Zoning By-law

 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

 The Imperial Bank of Canada was incorporated in 1873 and began operations following the financial depression of 1875. With Henry Stark Howland, future Mayor of Toronto, as its first president, the bank established its head office on Wellington Street East. Prior to 1961 when the Imperial Bank amalgamated with the Canadian Bank of Commerce (forming the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, or CIBC), it opened branches throughout the City of Toronto and beyond. The King and Sherbourne branch was constructed in the fall of 1907.

 The King and Sherbourne branch of the Imperial Bank was located within the original boundaries of the Old Town of York, a ten-block area laid out after 1793 as the business and residential core of the community with King Street as the principal corridor. After the City of Toronto was incorporated in 1834, Old Town remained the commercial nucleus of the community. Properties at major intersections were coveted by businesses. By the mid-1800s, the northeast corner of King and Caroline (now Sherbourne) Streets was the location of Cawthra's Apothecary Store, operated by one of the community's leading families and first "millionaires". With the evolution of the area and the replacement of the building stock, this site stood vacant after 1900.

 The Imperial Bank engaged one of the leading Toronto architectural firms of the early 20^th century to design its King and Sherbourne branch. Formed in 1893, Darling and Pearson executed numerous commissions of note around the city, including the George Gooderham House (now the York Club), the College Street Wing and Private Patients' Pavilion at the Toronto Hospital, the Royal Ontario Museum, the CPR North Toronto Station, and the Art Museum of Toronto (now the Art Gallery of Ontario). Over a twenty-year period, Darling and Pearson designed buildings for the University of Toronto, including Convocation Hall, Simcoe Hall, Trinity College, the original University of Toronto Library, and facilities for the departments of engineering, anatomy, and forestry. While the firm provided designs for many banks, their work for the Canadian Bank of Commerce prior to its merger with the Imperial Bank included the Canadian Bank of Commerce Building at 25 King Street West. All of the projects listed above are included on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties.

 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:

 The Imperial Bank displays features associated with Edwardian Classicism, the style favoured for commercial buildings after the turn of the 20^th century. With a two-storey rectangular plan, the building is clad with buff brick and decorated with brick and stone. The southwest corner is rounded, with floor to ceiling openings in the first storey, three segmental-headed window openings in the second storey, and extended stone cornices above the first and second floors. The south façade on King Street is organized into three bays. Above a stone base, the wall has brick banding and stone quoins. In the ground floor, a single window opening is set in a stone surround with a curved pediment. To the right (east), an entrance has a stone doorcase with a bracketed entablature and a name band marked "Chambers". A moulded stone cornice separates the first

and second stories. The second floor displays three segmental-headed window openings separated by brick pilasters. Above, a moulded stone cornice is topped with a brick parapet. The west wall extends four bays along Sherbourne Street. The decorative detailing and pattern of window openings are continued from the south façade. The east and rear (north) walls are not included in the Reasons for Designation. Important interior features are the entrance rotunda and, in the first-floor banking hall, the entrance door with its moulded wood doorcase.

 CONTEXT:

 The property at 226 King Street East is located on the northeast corner of King Street East and Sherbourne Street. Around this intersection, the warehouse at 214 King Street East, Carolyn Smith Building at #236, shops at #241-243, William Copeland Building at #245-247, and Grand Central Hotel at #251 are also included on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties. To the north, Paul Bishop's Buildings at 363-365 Adelaide Street East (at Sherbourne) are properties of historical importance.

 SUMMARY:

 The property at 226 King Street East is identified for its architectural significance. The King and Sherbourne branch of the Imperial Bank, dating to 1907, was designed by one of the leading Toronto architectural firms of the period, noted for its bank buildings and its commissions on the University of Toronto campus. The Classical design is highlighted with a rounded corner entrance and decorative detailing in brick and stone. With its location at an important intersection, the Imperial Bank is a significant feature in the King-Parliament neighbourhood.

 Sources Consulted:

 Assessment Rolls, City of Toronto, 1900 ff.

 Building Permit #9340, 15 October 1907.

 City of Toronto Directories, 1900 ff.

 "Notice to Contractors: 226-228 King Street East". Contract Record (11 September 1908).

 Scadding, Henry. Toronto of Old. Reprint (1873). Oxford University, 1966.

    Kathryn Anderson

June 1998

APPENDIX I

 Short Statement of Reasons for Designation

 Imperial Bank

226 King Street East

  The property at 226 King Street East is identified for architectural reasons. The King and Sherbourne branch of the Imperial Bank of Canada was constructed in the fall of 1907 according to the designs of the Toronto architectural firm of Darling and Pearson. In 1961, the Imperial Bank amalgamated with the Canadian Bank of Commerce to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).

 The Imperial Bank displays features associated with Edwardian Classicism. The two-storey rectangular plan has a rounded southwest corner with an entrance and extended window openings.. Above a stone base, the building is clad with buff brick. On the south and west facades, brick detailing is applied for bands, pilasters and parapets, while stone is used for quoins, cornices, and door and window surrounds. The latter walls display segmental-headed window openings. The east and rear (north) walls are not included in the Reasons for Designation. Important interior features are the entrance rotunda and, in the first-floor banking hall, the entrance door with its moulded wood doorcase.

 The property at 226 King Street is located on the northeast corner of King Street East and Sherbourne Street. The building was designed by one of the leading Toronto architectural firms of the period. With its location at an important intersection, rounded corner entrance and decorative detailing, the Imperial Bank is a significant feature in the King-Parliament neighbourhood.