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 - 363-365 Adelaide Street
East (Paul Bishop's Houses)
Purpose:
This report recommends that the properties at 363-365 Adelaide Street East (Paul Bishop's
Houses) be designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
Not applicable.
Recommendations:
- That Council state its intention to designate the properties at 363-365 Adelaide Street
East (Paul Bishop's Houses) 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 properties at 363-365 Adelaide Street East (Paul
Bishop's Houses) 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 designation of the properties.
Comments:
Short Statement of Reasons for Designation
Paul Bishop's Houses
363-365 Adelaide Street East
The properties at 363-365 Adelaide Street East were built for blacksmith Paul Bishop as
early as 1842. The houses were located within the original Town of York, the ten-block area
defined by present-day Front, George, Adelaide and Berkeley Streets. They are among the
few buildings and perhaps the only residential structures from Old Town that survived the
Great Fire of 1849.
The pair of townhouses display the brick surfaces, stone bases and detailing, and regular
organization of openings characterized by the Georgian style of the early 19th century.
Extending two stories above raised basements, the buildings are covered by gable roofs with
firebreak walls and end chimneys. As originally designed, each house had a symmetrical
three-bay north facade with an entrance on the left (on #365, the entrance is relocated to the
right) The houses have flat-headed window openings with stone lintels and sills. The rear
(south) additions are not included in the Reasons for Designation.
The properties at 363-365 Adelaide Street East are located on the southeast corner of
Adelaide and Sherbourne Streets. Paul Bishop's Houses are important reminders of early
Toronto and the historical evolution of the King-Parliament neighbourhood.
The pair of townhouses display the brick surfaces, stone bases and detailing, and regular
organization of openings characterized by the Georgian style of the early 19th century.
Extending two stories above raised basements, the buildings are covered by gable roofs with
firebreak walls and end chimneys. As originally designed, each house had a symmetrical
three-bay north facade with an entrance on the left (on #365, the entrance is relocated to the
right) The houses have flat-headed window openings with stone lintels and sills. The rear
(south) additions are not included in the Reasons for Designation.
The properties at 363-365 Adelaide Street East are located on the southeast corner of
Adelaide and Sherbourne Streets. Paul Bishop's Buildings are important reminders of early
Toronto and the historical evolution of the King-Parliament neighbourhood.
Conclusion:
Heritage Toronto recommends that City Council designate the properties at 363-365
Adelaide Street East (Paul Bishop's Houses) 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\cc98017.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:363-365 ADELAIDE STREET EAST (PAUL BISHOP'S HOUSES) --
DESIGNATION UNDER PART IV OF THE ONTARIO HERITAGE ACT
From:Managing Director, Toronto Historical Board (thb98025.hpd)
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. That City Council state its intention to designate the properties at 363-365 Adelaide
Street East (Paul Bishop's Houses) 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 properties at 363-365 Adelaide Street were included on the City of Toronto Inventory
of Heritage Properties on April 21, 1989. 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 properties at 363-365 Adelaide Street East are recommended for designation for
architectural and historical reasons. The townhouses were built for blacksmith Paul Bishop
as early as 1842. The houses were located within the original Town of York, the ten-block
area defined by present-day Front, George, Adelaide and Berkeley Streets. They are among
the few buildings and perhaps the only residential structures from Old Town that survived
the Great Fire of 1849.
The pair of townhouses display the brick surfaces, stone bases and detailing, and regular
organization of openings characterized by the Georgian style of the early 19th century.
Extending two stories above raised basements, the buildings are covered by gable roofs with
firebreak walls and end chimneys. As originally designed, each house had a symmetrical
three-bay north facade with an entrance on the left (on #365, the entrance is relocated to the
right) The houses have flat-headed window openings with stone lintels and sills. The rear
(south) additions are not included in the Reasons for Designation.
The properties at 363-365 Adelaide Street East are located on the southeast corner of
Adelaide and Sherbourne Streets. Paul Bishop's Houses are important reminders of early
Toronto and the historical evolution of the King-Parliament neighbourhood.
George E. Waters
Managing Director (Acting)
RS/KA
Encl. Heritage Property Report
HERITAGE TORONTO
Heritage Property Report
Paul Bishop's Houses
363-365 Adelaide Street East
June 1998
Heritage Property Report
Paul Bishop's Houses
363-365 Adelaide 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:363-365 Adelaide Street East (southeast corner of Adelaide and Sherbourne
Streets)
Ward:25
Current Name:not applicable
Historical Name:Paul Bishop's Houses
Construction Date:1842
Architect:none found
Contractor/Builder:none found
Additions/Alterations:window opening altered on west wall of #363; entrance relocated on
north facade of #365; firebreak end walls altered on #363 and #365; additions attached to
rear (south) walls of #363 and #365
Original Owner:Paul Bishop, blacksmith
Original Use:residential
Current Use*:vacant
Heritage Category:Notable Heritage Property (Category B)
Recording Date:June 1998
Recorder:HPD:KA
* this does not refer to permitted use(s) as defined in the Zoning By-law
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
After the founding of the Town of York in 1793, military officer Alexander Aitken prepared
a Plan for York Harbour, which laid out a townsite for the provincial capital. The business
and residential core of the community was established in a ten-block district bounded by
present-day Front, George, Adelaide and Berkeley Streets. The area remained the centre of
the expanded City of Toronto, incorporated in 1834. After the devastation of the Great Fire
of 1849 and the replacement of buildings over time, little evidence remains of the original
Town of York. Surviving properties that pre-date the Great Fire include the Bank of Upper
Canada and Fourth Post Office at 252 Adelaide Street East, Toronto's Second City Hall at
91 Front Street East, the City Buildings at 107 through 147 King Street East, Daniel Brooke
Building at 150-154 King Street East, and commercial buildings at 100 Front Street East, 33
Jarvis Street, and 171-179 King Street East. All of these properties are identified on the City
of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties, and many are designated under the Ontario
Heritage Act. The only known residential buildings from the period are Paul Bishop's
Houses at 363-365 Adelaide Street East.
According to John Ross Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto (Volume I, 130-132),
blacksmith Paul Bishop acquired the property on the corner of Duke (Adelaide) and
Caroline (Sherbourne) Streets formerly belonging to Sheriff Jarvis where he erected the
subject buildings in 1848. However, historical records indicate that Bishop actually acquired
the subject property in 1841, with the house form buildings in place the following year. An
1842 Map of Toronto, which shows the site as developed, also supports this date. Robertson
describes Bishop as a French Canadian blacksmith and wheelwright who "was the principal
workman in his trade in the town, but eventually he failed in business and left Toronto".
Initially renting the property, Bishop resided on-site in 1843. The next year, he sold the
property to Malachy O'Donohue, a local landowner. O'Donohue retained the site until 1846.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
The pair of townhouses display the brick surfaces, stone detailing and regular organization
of openings characterized by the Georgian style of the early 19th century. Constructed of
brick on stone bases, the buildings extend two stories above raised basements. Each house is
covered by a gable roof with firebreak walls and end chimneys. The principal (north)
facades are organized symmetrically in three bays. As originally designed, the first storey
contained an entrance in the left (east) bay beside two flat-headed window openings. The
façade of #365 is altered, with the relocation of the entrance to the right bay and the
replacement of the original entrance with a window opening. Each house has three
flat-headed window openings in the second storey. The window openings have stone lintels
and sills. The gabled dormer window in the attic level of #363 is a later addition. On #363,
the west wall along Sherbourne Street has three flat-headed window openings in each of the
first two stories, with a single opening in the attic level. The opening in the right (south) bay
of the first floor has been filled in. The rear (south) additions are not included in the Reasons
for Designation.
CONTEXT:
The properties at 363-365 Adelaide Street East are located at the southeast corner of
Sherbourne Street. To the west, the complex of buildings located at Adelaide and George
Streets and containing the Bank of Upper Canada Building, De La Salle Institute, and the
Fourth Post Office is included on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties and
designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. South of Paul Bishop's Houses, the King and
Sherbourne branch of the Imperial Bank of Canada at 226 King Street East is another
important heritage property.
SUMMARY:
The properties at 363-365 Adelaide Street East are identified for architectural and historical
reasons. Dating as early as 1842, Paul Bishop's Houses are among the few buildings and
perhaps the only residential structures from Old Town that survived the Great Fire of 1849.
Paul Bishop's Houses are important reminders of early Toronto and the historical evolution
of the King-Parliament neighbourhood.
Sources Consulted:
Arthur, Eric. Toronto. No Mean City. 3rd ed. Revised by Stephen A. Otto. University of
Toronto, 1986.
Assessment Rolls, City of Toronto, 1834 ff.
City of Toronto Directories, 1834 ff.
Dendy, William. Lost Toronto. 2nd ed. Oxford University, 1993.
McHugh, Patricia. Toronto Architecture. A City Guide. 2nd ed. McClelland and Stewart,
1989.
Scadding, Henry. Toronto of Old. Reprint (1873). Oxford University, 1966.
Robertson, John Ross. Landmarks of Toronto. Vol. 1. 1897.
Kathryn Anderson
June 1998
APPENDIX I
Short Statement of Reasons for Designation
Paul Bishop's Houses
363-365 Adelaide Street East
The properties at 363-365 Adelaide Street East were built for blacksmith Paul Bishop as
early as 1842. The houses were located within the original Town of York, the ten-block area
defined by present-day Front, George, Adelaide and Berkeley Streets. They are among the
few buildings and perhaps the only residential structures from Old Town that survived the
Great Fire of 1849.
The pair of townhouses display the brick surfaces, stone bases and detailing, and regular
organization of openings characterized by the Georgian style of the early 19th century.
Extending two stories above raised basements, the buildings are covered by gable roofs with
firebreak walls and end chimneys. As originally designed, each house had a symmetrical
three-bay north facade with an entrance on the left (on #365, the entrance is relocated to the
right) The houses have flat-headed window openings with stone lintels and sills. The rear
(south) additions are not included in the Reasons for Designation.
The properties at 363-365 Adelaide Street East are located on the southeast corner of
Adelaide and Sherbourne Streets. Paul Bishop's Houses are important reminders of early
Toronto and the historical evolution of the King-Parliament neighbourhood.
The pair of townhouses display the brick surfaces, stone bases and detailing, and regular
organization of openings characterized by the Georgian style of the early 19th century.
Extending two stories above raised basements, the buildings are covered by gable roofs with
firebreak walls and end chimneys. As originally designed, each house had a symmetrical
three-bay north facade with an entrance on the left (on #365, the entrance is relocated to the
right) The houses have flat-headed window openings with stone lintels and sills. The rear
(south) additions are not included in the Reasons for Designation.
The properties at 363-365 Adelaide Street East are located on the southeast corner of
Adelaide and Sherbourne Streets. Paul Bishop's Buildings are important reminders of early
Toronto and the historical evolution of the King-Parliament neighbourhood.
