TORONTO

August 27, 1998

To:City of Toronto Community Council

From:Managing Director, Toronto Historical Board

Subject:Designation Under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act and Permission to Enter into a Heritage Easement Agreement - 84 Woodlawn Avenue East (James Avon Smith House)

Purpose:

This report recommends that the property at 84 Woodlawn Avenue East (James Avon Smith House) be designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act and that permission be granted to enter into a Heritage Easement Agreement with the property owner.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

Not applicable.

Recommendations:

(1)That City Council state its intention to designate the property at 84 Woodlawn Avenue East (James Avon Smith House) 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.

(3)That authority be granted for the execution of a Heritage Easement Agreement under Section 37 of the Ontario Heritage Act with the owner of 84 Woodlawn Avenue East using substantially the form of easement agreement prepared by the City Solicitor, subject to such amendments as may be deemed necessary by the City Solicitor in consultation with Heritage Toronto (Toronto Historical Board).

(4)That authority be granted for the necessary Bills in Council to give effect hereto.

(5)That the owners be requested to provide Heritage Toronto (Toronto Historical Board) with two (2) copies of the required photographs of 84 Woodlawn Avenue East for inclusion in the easement agreement.

Background:

At its meeting of August 26, 1998, the Board of Heritage Toronto had before it the attached report recommending the designation of the property at 84 Woodlawn Avenue East (James Avon Smith House) under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. The owner has requested the designation of the property and has agreed to enter into a Heritage Easement Agreement.

Comments:

Short Statement of Reasons for Designation

The property at 84 Woodlawn Avenue East is recommended for designation for architectural and historical reasons. Constructed in 1881, the house was designed by James Avon Smith of the Toronto architectural firm Smith and Gemmell as his family residence.

The James Avon Smith House is designed in the Gothic Revival style. Rising 2½ stories beneath a gable roof with cross-gables, the house is constructed of brick on a stone base and trimmed with brick, stone and wood. Important exterior features are the principal (south) entrance, two-storey verandah, bay windows, round-arched and segmental-headed window openings (some with lead glass windows and louvered shutters), dormers and chimneys. The two-storey entrance hall and staircase, and the fireplaces, door openings and detailing in the first-floor study, parlour and dining room, and the second-floor master and southeast bedrooms are significant interior elements.

The James Avon Smith House is set back and elevated on a rise of land on the north side of Woodlawn Avenue East. With its landscaped grounds, the property is an important feature of the Summerhill neighbourhood.

Conclusion:

Heritage Toronto recommends that City Council designate the property at 84 Woodlawn Avenue East (James Avon Smith House) under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act and that permission be granted to enter into a Heritage Easement Agreement with the owner of 84 Woodlawn Avenue East.

Contact Name:

Ms. Kathryn Anderson

Preservation Officer, Historical Preservation Division, Toronto Historical Board

Tel: 392-6827, ext. 239

Fax: 392-6834

George Waters,

Acting Managing Director

(g:\report\1998\cc98\cc98023.thb)

copy:

Councillor John Adams, Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, Suite 18, Toronto,

M5H 2N2

Councillor Ila Bossons, Metro Hall, 55 John Street, Suite 214, Toronto, M5V 3C6

HERITAGE TORONTO

August 18, 1998

To:Chair and Members, Toronto Historical Board

Subject:84 WOODLAWN AVENUE EAST (JAMES AVON SMITH

HOUSE) - INCLUSION ON THE CITY OF TORONTO INVENTORY OF HERITAGE PROPERTIES AND

DESIGNATION UNDER PART IV OF THE ONTARIO

HERITAGE ACT

From:Managing Director, Toronto Historical Board (thb98028.hpd)

RECOMMENDATIONS

1.That City Council state its intention to designate the property at 84 Woodlawn Avenue East (James Avon Smith House) pursuant to Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act to be of architectural and historical value.

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

3.That authority be granted for the execution of a Heritage Easement Agreement under Section 37 of the Ontario Heritage Act with the owners of 84 Woodlawn Avenue East using substantially the form of easement agreement prepared by the City Solicitor, subject to such amendments as may be deemed necessary by the City Solicitor in consultation with Heritage Toronto (Toronto Historical Board).

4. That authority be granted for the introduction of any necessary Bills in Council to give effect hereto.

5.That the owners be requested to provide Heritage Toronto (Toronto Historical Board) with two (2) copies of the required photographs of 84 Woodlawn Avenue East for inclusion in the easement agreement.

COMMENTS

Background:

In a letter dated May 4, 1998, the owner of the property at 84 Woodlawn Avenue East requested Heritage Toronto to consider the property for designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. The owner also agreed to enter into a Heritage Easement Agreement to protect the heritage features of the property in perpetuity.

The property at 84 Woodlawn Avenue East is not included on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties. Heritage Toronto staff evaluated the property according to the Board's criteria which indicates that it merits inclusion as a Notable Heritage Property (Category B).

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.

Short Statement of Reasons for Designation:

The property at 84 Woodlawn Avenue East is recommended for designation for architectural and historical reasons. Constructed in 1881, the house was designed by James Avon Smith of the Toronto architectural firm Smith and Gemmell as his family residence.

The James Avon Smith House is designed in the Gothic Revival style. Rising 2½ stories beneath a gable roof with cross-gables, the house is constructed of brick on a stone base and trimmed with brick, stone and wood. Important exterior features are the principal (south) entrance, two-storey verandah, bay windows, round-arched and segmental-headed window openings (some with lead glass windows and louvered shutters), dormers and chimneys. The two-storey entrance hall and staircase, and the fireplaces, door openings and detailing in the first-floor study, parlour and dining room, and the second-floor master and southeast bedrooms are significant interior elements.

The James Avon Smith House is set back and elevated on a rise of land on the north side of Woodlawn Avenue East. With its landscaped grounds, the property is an important feature of the Summerhill neighbourhood.

George Waters

Acting Managing Director

RS/KA

Encl.Heritage Property Report

HERITAGE TORONTO

Heritage Property Report

James Avon Smith House

84 Woodlawn Avenue East

August 1998

Heritage Property Report

James Avon House

84 Woodlawn Avenue East

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Basic Building Data

Historical Background

1. Summerhill Neighbourhood
2. 84 Woodlawn Avenue East

Architectural Description

Context

Summary

Sources Consulted

Attachments:

IShort Statement of Reasons for Designation

IILocation Map

IIIPhotographs

HERITAGE TORONTO

Heritage Property Report

Basic Building Data:

Address:84 Woodlawn Avenue East (north side, east of Yonge

Street)

Ward:23 (Midtown)

Current Name:not applicable

Historical Name:James Avon Smith House

Construction Date:1881

Architect:James Avon Smith

Contractor/Builder:James S. Nicholson

Additions/Alterations:post-1900: verandah posts likely replaced

Original Owner:James Avon Smith, architect

Original Use:Residential (Single)

Current Use*:Residential (Single)

Heritage Category:Notable Heritage Property (Category B)

Recording Date:August 1998

Recorder:HPD:KA

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

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

1.Summerhill Neighbourhood:

With the founding of the Town of York in 1793, the land north of the community was laid out as the Township of York. A series of 200-acre farm lots were surveyed between the future Bloor Street and Eglinton Avenue. Lot 17 in the Second Concession, on the east side of Yonge Street south of St. Clair Avenue, was granted by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe to John Playter in 1796. Playter, a member of one of the Town of York's founding families and later the Overseer of Highways for the Town and Township of York, retained the property until 1802.

The site remained undeveloped following its acquisition by Charles Thompson in 1833. Thompson, who operated both stagecoaches and steamships, engaged Toronto architect John E. Howard to design a residence called "Summerhill" on his property in 1842. On another portion of his lot, Thompson established an amusement park, first known as Thompson Park and later called Summer Hill Spring Park and Pleasure Grounds. In 1859, Thompson's executors successfully subdivided Lot 17 into 59 smaller lots.

When the Historical Atlas of the County of York was published in 1878, the Summerhill area was shown as part of Yorkville, the community centered at Yonge and Bloor Streets to the south. It remained an unincorporated area between Rosedale and Deer Park until 1903 when the City of Toronto annexed the lands on the east side of Yonge Street.

1.84 Woodlawn Avenue East:

Following the subdivision of Lot 17, the north side of present-day Summerhill Avenue was laid out in a series of building lots. Lot 22, site of 84 Woodlawn Avenue East, was initially developed in the 1860s with the construction of a house on the south end of the property facing Summerhill Avenue. In 1870, Toronto artist Thomas Mower Martin acquired the lot, selling it to James Avon Smith four years later. Smith rented the property with the existing house until 1881. According to his directions, builder James S. Nicholson completed the construction of a new residence on the north end of Lot 22 in June 1881. The house was reached via a laneway from Summerhill Avenue until Woodlawn Avenue was extended east across Yonge Street from "Woodlawn", the estate of William Hume Blake (1840) at 84 Woodlawn Avenue West.

James Avon Smith (1834-1918), a prominent Toronto architect, designed the house at 84 Woodlawn Avenue East. Born in Scotland, Smith immigrated to Toronto in the 1850s where he apprenticed with architect William Thomas and formed a brief partnership with John Bailey. While in solo practice from 1860 to 1870, Smith designed the first of the nearly 100 churches attributed to him. In 1870, he joined his former student, John Gemmell in a partnership that lasted nearly half a century. Among their many notable commissions were Charles Moore's Warehouses at 7 and 9 Wellington Street West (1871), the National Club at 303 Bay Street (1874), Knox College at 1 Spadina Crescent (1875), the Don Brewery at 19R River Street, and the Noble Block at 342-354 Queen Street West (1888). Ecclesiastical projects included Berkeley Street Wesleyan Methodist Church at 317 Queen Street East, the Church of the Redeemer at 162 Bloor Street West, Zion Congregational Church at 88 College Street, College Street Presbyterian Church at 452 College Street, and Morningside-High Park Presbyterian Church at 4 Morningside Avenue. All of the above noted properties are recognized on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties.

While records outlining the initial occupancy of the house do not survive, between 1883 and 1886 Smith rented the property at 84 Woodlawn Avenue East to Hugh Ritchie, a machinery salesman. Smith and his family occupied the residence from 1886 to 1896. During this period, Smith subdivided Lot 22. In 1886, he built and sold a house at 84 Summerhill Avenue and, four years later, developed a semi-detached house at 81 Woodlawn Avenue East. In 1888, Smith built the neighbouring house at #82 Woodlawn whose design is attributed to his partner, Gemmell. James Strachan Cartwright acquired the latter residence. In 1896, Smith and Cartwright traded houses. Smith occupied #82 Woodlawn until 1903 when he moved into the semi-detached house, opposite, at 81 Woodlawn Avenue East.

James Strachan Cartwright, King's Council and Master-in-Chambers for the Supreme Court of Ontario, occupied the house at 84 Woodlawn Avenue East until his death in 1914. Three years later, his widow sold the property to Alexander Crooks. Crooks severed a portion of the property east of #84 where #86 Woodlawn was completed in 1919. In 1934, Cartwright's widow foreclosed on Crooks' mortgage and reacquired #84. She sold the site to her daughter and son-in-law, Dr. Gordon Dales, who established his medical practice in the house.

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:

The James Avon Smith House is designed in the Gothic Revival style inspired by medieval architecture. Rising 2½ stories with an asymmetrical plan, the building is constructed of yellow brick on a stone base. The window openings are highlighted with brick voussoirs, stone sills and, in some cases, louvered wood shutters. Most openings contain sash windows. The building is covered by cross-gable roofs with hipped gables on the south and north (rear) façades. Gabled dormers with wood brackets and strapwork are placed on the east and north slopes, while large brick chimneys with corbelling and multiple pots are found on the south and east slopes.

The principal (south) façade is organized into three extended bays with different proportions. At the right end of the wall, a double gable tops a wide 2½-storey bay window. It has segmental-headed window openings (one containing a floor-to-ceiling window) in the outer faces. A chimney, with a brick panel with Gothic-inspired quatrefoil and shield motifs at the second-storey level, rises through the centre of the bay window. On the left, a two-storey verandah with Classical pillars and wood banisters extends across the wall and protects the main entrance. A moulded doorcase contains double wood doors with moulded wood panels, glass inserts, and multi-paned transoms with coloured glass. A segmental-headed window opening is placed on the left side of the entry. Above the entrance bay, the wall displays corbelled brickwork and a pair of extended rounded-arched openings with lead-glass transoms. One of the openings lights the interior stairwell, while the other is a French door opening onto the balcony. A segmental-headed window opening is found at the left end of the second floor. Overhead, a pair of diminutive round-arched window openings marks the attic level.

The east wall displays flat-headed window openings of varied heights in the first storey, and segmental-headed window openings in the second floor. On the west wall, a 2½-storey bay window has segmental-headed window openings on all three faces. The rear (north) wall displays a mixture of single and paired segmental-headed window openings.

On the interior, the entrance hall has wood floors, moulded doorcases and chair rails. A curved two-storey staircase displays turned newel posts and spindles, curved banisters and, in the second floor, a curved landing. On the first floor, the study (southwest corner), parlour (northwest) and dining room (southeast) have wood floors, moulded door and window surrounds, ceiling and baseboard mouldings, and fireplaces with tiled hearths, wood mantels, and surrounds in various finishes. This detailing is repeated on the second floor where the master bedroom (west end) and the southeast bedroom contain fireplaces. The doors into the bedrooms have adjustable transoms. An archway separates the stairhall from the remainder of the second floor.

CONTEXT:

The property at 84 Woodlawn Avenue East is located on the north side of Woodlawn Avenue east of Yonge Street. The James Avon Smith House is set back from and rises above Woodlawn Avenue amid landscaped grounds. Flanked by its neighbours at #82 and #86 Woodlawn, the James Avon Smith House is situated on a rise of land bounded by the Rosehill Reservoir (built by the City of Toronto in 1875) on the north and David A. Balfour Park to the east. On the opposite side of Woodlawn Avenue, single residential buildings are set close to the street and to one another. Among them, the Arthur C. Stephenson House at #87 Woodlawn is included on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties. Completed in 1908, its design is attributed to James Avon Smith.

SUMMARY:

The property at 84 Woodlawn Avenue East is identified for architectural and historical reasons. Completed in 1881, the house was designed by Toronto architect James Avon Smith. Its exterior elements and detailing are hallmarks of the Gothic Revival style. The interior has been meticulously restored. Situated amid landscaped grounds on an elevated lot, the James Avon Smith House is an important component of the Summerhill neighbourhood.

Sources Consulted:

Arthur, Eric. Toronto. No Mean City. 3^rd ed. Revised by Stephen A. Otto. Toronto: University of Toronto, 1986.

Blumenson, John. Ontario Architecture. Toronto: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1990.

Campbell, Robert. "Notes on the History and Ownership of 84 Woodlawn Avenue East and Surrounding Property". Typescript, April 1998.

Historical Atlas of York County. Toronto: Miles and Company, 1878.

Lundell, Liz. The Estates of Old Toronto. Erin, Ont.: Boston Mills Press, 1997.

Martyn, Lucy Booth. Aristocratic Toronto. Toronto: Personal Library, 1980.

McArthur, Glenn, and Annie Szamosi. William Thomas Architect 1799-1860. Ottawa: Carlton University Press, 1996.

McHugh, Patricia. Toronto Architecture. A City Guide. 2^nd ed. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1989.

Scadding, Henry. Toronto of Old (1873). Edited by F. H. Armstrong. Toronto: Oxford University, 1966.

Kathryn Anderson

August 1998

APPENDIX I

Short Statement of Reasons for Designation

James A. Smith House

84 Woodlawn Avenue East

The property identified as 84 Woodlawn Avenue East is recommended for designation for architectural and historical reasons. The house was constructed in 1881 according to the designs of James A. Smith of the Toronto architectural firm Smith and Gemmell as his family residence.

The James Avon Smith House is designed in the Gothic Revival style. Rising 2½ stories beneath a gable roof with cross-gables, the house is constructed of brick on a stone base and trimmed with brick, stone and wood. Important exterior features are the principal (south) entrance, two-storey verandah, bay windows, round-arched and segmental-headed window openings (some with lead glass windows and louvered shutters), dormers and chimneys. The two-storey entrance hall with staircase, and the fireplaces and detailing in first-floor study, parlour and dining room, and second-floor master and southeast bedrooms are significant interior elements.

The James Avon Smith House is set back and elevated on a rise of land on the north side of Woodlawn Avenue East. With its landscaped grounds, the property is an important feature of the Summerhill neighbourhood.