Inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of
Heritage Properties - 262 and 264 St. Clair Avenue West
(Alexander Davidson House and Coach House) (Midtown)
The Toronto Community Council submits this matter to Council without recommendation.
The Toronto Community Council reports, for the information of Council, having requested:
(1)the Managing Director, Toronto Historical Board to undertake an inventory of properties which can be listed and/or
designated on St. Clair Avenue West between Spadina Road and Avenue Road; and
(2)That the communication (September 20, 1999) from Mr. Michael McClelland, E.R.A. Architects Inc., addressed to
Mr. Gary Switzer, Great Gulf Homes Limited be referred to the Managing Director and Board of the Toronto Historical
Board for consideration.
The Toronto Community Council further reports, for the information of Council, that the following motion by Councillor
Adams lost on the following tied vote:
"That the report (September 27, 1999) from the Acting Managing Director, Toronto Historical Board be adopted."
Yeas:Councillors McConnell, Adams, Bossons, Bussin, Silva and Walker - 6
Nays:Councillors Chow, Disero, Jakobek, Korwin-Kuczynski, Pantalone and Rae - 6
The Toronto Community Council submits the following report (September 27, 1999) from the Acting Managing
Director, Toronto Historical Board:
Purpose:
This report recommends that the properties at 262 and 264 St. Clair Avenue West (Alexander Davidson House and Coach
House) be included on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
Not applicable.
Recommendations:
1.That City Council state its intention to include the properties at 262 and 264 St. Clair Avenue West (Alexander
Davidson House and Coach House) on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties.
2.That the appropriate officials be authorized to take whatever action is necessary to give effect hereto.
Background:
In August, 1999, on behalf of his constituents, Councillor John Adams requested that the properties at 262 and 264 St.
Clair Avenue West (Alexander Davidson House and Coach House) be considered for inclusion on the City of Toronto
Inventory of Heritage Properties.
As outlined in the attached report to the Board of Heritage Toronto (August 24, 1999), Heritage Toronto staff evaluated the
property according to the Board's criteria; it is worthy of inclusion on the Inventory of Heritage Properties as a Notable
Heritage Property (Category B).
Comments:
At its meeting of September 8, 1999, the Board of Heritage Toronto heard deputations from the property owner and several
interested parties. The property owner objected to the proposed inclusion of the properties on the Inventory of Heritage
Properties; representatives of a local ratepayers group spoke in favour of the proposed listings. The Board recommended
that the properties be added to the Inventory of Heritage Properties.
The properties at 262 and 264 St. Clair Avenue West are identified for architectural and historical reasons. The Alexander
Davidson House and its complementary Coach House are good examples of Edwardian Classicism architecture with
important surviving interior elements in the house.
Conclusion:
Heritage Toronto recommends that City Council include the properties at 262 and 264 St. Clair Avenue West (Alexander
Davidson House and Coach House) on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties.
Contact Name:
Ms. Kathryn Anderson
Preservation Officer, Historical Preservation Division, Toronto Historical Board
Tel: 392-6827, ext. 239
Fax: 392-6834
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(Report dated August 24, 1999, addressed to the Chair and Members,
Toronto Historical Board, from the Acting Managing Director, Heritage Toronto)
Recommendation:
That the properties at 262 and 264 St. Clair Avenue West (Alexander Davidson House and Coach House) be recommended
for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties.
Comments
1.Background:
Councillor John Adams, on behalf of his constituents, submitted a Property Nomination Form requesting that the
properties at 262 and 264 St. Clair Avenue West be considered for inclusion on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage
Properties. The property at 262 St. Clair Avenue West contains a house form building dating to 1911-1912 which is
currently used for medical offices and an apartment. The adjoining coach house located at 264 St. Clair Avenue West was
constructed at the same time and is now in residential use. There is concern in the neighbourhood that the continuing
pressure to increase density along St. Clair Avenue West will result in the demolition of these buildings.
A report prepared by heritage consultant Paul Dilse for the applicant as supporting evidence for the nomination is attached.
2.Discussion:
The properties at 262 and 264 St. Clair Avenue West were evaluated according to the Board's Criteria which indicate that
the site is a Notable Heritage Property (Category B).
A Property Research Summary is attached.
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HERITAGE TORONTO
PROPERTY RESEARCH SUMMARY
Basic Building Data:
Address:262 and 264 St. Clair Avenue West (northwest corner of St. Clair Avenue West and Russell Hill Road)
Ward:23 (Midtown)
Current Name:#262:Hendry Building
#264: not applicable
Historical Name:Alexander Davidson House and Coach House
Construction Date:1911-1912
Architect: J. Wilson Gray
Contractor/Builder: Gordon Brothers
Additions/Alterations:#262: dates unknown, 1st-floor casement window altered; slate roof replaced; interior alterations
#264: 1946, garage doors replaced; dormers added
Original Owner:Dr. Alexander Davidson, physician
Original Use:residential (single-family dwelling)
Current Use*:#262: commercial and residential (medical offices and apartment)
#264: residential (single-family dwelling)
Heritage Category:Notable Heritage Property (Category B)
Recording Date:August 1999
Recorder:HPD:KA/PD report
* this does not refer to permitted use(s) as defined in the Zoning By-law
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Property Research Summary
Description:
The properties at 262 and 264 St. Clair Avenue West are identified for architectural and historical reasons. The house and
adjoining coach house were constructed in 1911-1912 according to the designs of Toronto architect J. Wilson Gray. The
property was developed for Dr. Alexander Davidson, a surgeon at Toronto Western Hospital. In 1925, Dr. William Belfrey
Hendry, Chief of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Toronto General Hospital and a professor of medicine at the University of
Toronto, acquired the site. The house was named the Hendry Building following its conversion to medical offices in 1946.
The Alexander Davidson House is designed in the Edwardian Classical style favoured for residential and commercial
architecture in the early 20th century. Rising 2½-stories, the house is constructed of red brick and trimmed with artificial
stone and wood. The rectangular plan with a stepped facade is covered by a steeply-pitched gable roof with extended eaves
and a single brick and stone chimney. Wood dormers with Classical detailing are placed on the south and north slopes. The
principal (south) facade is organized into a 2½-storey main block flanked by a two-storey west wing. In the centre of the
symmetrically-organized main block, a projecting entrance bay rises 2½ stories beneath a shaped pediment with stone
quoins, coping, and brackets with Classical detailing. A single-leaf oak door with bronze hardware is placed in an elaborate
stone surround with quoins and exaggerated keystones. The door is flanked by separate half-length sidelights with stone
sills. A recessed stone porch with Classical columns and pilasters supporting an entablature protects the entry and three sets
of French windows in the first floor. The porch has stone steps, a clay tile floor, and a slatted wood ceiling. Period glass
light fixtures flank the door and are mounted along the porch ceiling. Above the entrance, two rows of flat-headed window
openings with continuous stone sills are trimmed with brick voussoirs, stone keystones and, in the attic level, quoins and
lintels. In the remainder of the main block, flat-headed window openings have double-sash wood windows, brick
voussoirs, and stone sills and keystones. The east wall facing Russell Hill Road rises 2½ stories beneath a truncated gable
with stone coping. A recessed entrance porch has stone steps, clay tile floor, slatted wood ceiling, and elaborate brick and
stone detailing. The porch protects a stone-trimmed entrance containing a single-leaf wood door. On this wall, single and
two-storey bay windows display stone detailing. The second-storey window openings are set in stone surrounds, while
those in the attic level have brick and stone detailing. The rear (north) elevation displays a 2½-storey projecting centre
section, a tripartite stairwell window, and flat-headed window openings set according to the interior plan. The west wing
has a gable roof with returned eaves and, on the south and west walls, bands of casement windows with Classical wood
detailing and stone sills.
Significant interior elements are found in the main-floor entrance hall and drawing room and the second-floor hall and
foyer. The entrance hall displays oak panelled walls, moulded plaster cornice, panelled plaster ceiling, and panelled oak
doors. A fireplace with Arts and Crafts detailing features a brick hearth, tile face and floor, hammered metal hood,
brackets, and oak mantle. The mantle is surmounted by wall lamps inspired by Art Nouveau styling, and the ceiling has a
period glass light fixture. A dog-leg oak staircase with a Classically-detailed newel post, turned balusters, posts and
handrail rises to the second-floor foyer and hallway. The foyer has oak wainscotting, cornice and doors as well as a ceiling
glass light fixture. The foyer leads to a hall with oak wainscotting and doors and a vaulted plaster ceiling. The first-floor
drawing room, located west of the entrance hall, displays panelled mahogany walls with a dentilled cornice and
entablatures below a plaster cornice and ceiling. On the west wall, a fireplace is distinguished by its elaborate mahogany
surround with Classical detailing, tiled floor and face, metal hearth, mahogany mantle and wall lamps.
Northwest of the house, the brick-clad coach house rises 1½ stories under a gable roof with decorative downspouts and, on
the south slope, a truncated gable. The windows and door on the south wall are trimmed with brick voussoirs and stone
keystones and sills.
The properties at 262 and 264 St. Clair Avenue West are located on the northwest corner of St. Clair Avenue and Russell
Hill Road on lands subdivided from the Baldwin Estate. The house and adjoining coach house are set back from and
elevated above St. Clair Avenue in a landscaped setting with mature trees. The property is indicative of the residential
properties that lined St. Clair Avenue West in the Forest Hill neighbourhood. The property has long associations with the
Toronto medical community as the residence of two doctors and, during the last half century, as medical offices. The
architectural design is highlighted by intact interior period elements.
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The Toronto Community Council reports, for the information of Council, having also had before it during consideration of
the foregoing matter, the following communications, and a copy thereof is on file in the office of the City Clerk:
-(September 30, 1999) from Mr. Gary Switzer, Great Gulf Homes Limited; and
-(Undated) from Mr. Paul Dilse, Heritage Planning Consultant
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The following persons appeared before the Toronto Community Council in connection with the foregoing matter:
-Mr. Paul Dilse, Heritage Planning Consultant;
-Mr. Gary Switzer, Toronto, Ontario;
-Ms. Joan Miles, Toronto, Ontario; and
-Ms. Susan Ainley, Toronto, Ontario.
Insert Table/Map No. 1
262 and 264 St. Clair Avenue West
Insert Table/Map No. 2
262 and 264 St. Clair Avenue West