Intention to Designate Under Part IV of the

Ontario Heritage Act - 337 Jarvis Street

(Samuel Platt House) (Downtown)

The Toronto Community Council recommends the adoption of the following report (February1, 1999) from the Managing Director, Toronto Historical Board:

Purpose:

This report recommends that the property at 337 Jarvis Street (Samuel Platt House) be designated for architectural and historical reasons under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

Not applicable.

Recommendations:

(1)That City Council state its intention to designate the property at 337 Jarvis Street (Samuel Platt House) for architectural and historical reasons under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act; and

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

Background:

At its meeting of October 23, 1996, the Toronto Historical Board (now known as Heritage Toronto) adopted a report recommending the designation of the property at 337 Jarvis Street (Samuel Platt House). The designation of the adjoining properties at 337 Jarvis Street (Samuel Platt House) and 130 Gerrard Street East (Jarvis Street Baptist Church) is being brought forward in relation to amendments being made to the Official Plan and Zoning By-law. As part of an agreement between the City of Toronto and the owner, the owner does not object to the designation of the properties provided that the rear portions of the buildings (newer additions) are not included in the designation.

The Board's report was deferred at the November 6, 1996 meeting of the Neighbourhoods Committee of the former City of Toronto Council to allow the Land Use Committee to deal with the Official Plan Amendment and Rezoning Application. On March 27, 1997, the Land Use Committee adopted the report from the Commissioner of Urban Development Services to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law.

At its meeting of January 20, 1999, the Toronto Community Council approved an Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law for the properties. The adoption of these by-laws will be considered by City Council concurrently with this report recommending the designation of the property at 337 Jarvis Street (Samuel Platt House).

Comments:

The Short Statement of Reasons for Designation, designed for publication, follows. The Heritage Property Report (Long Statement of Reasons for Designation) is attached.

Short Statement of Reasons for Designation:

Samuel Platt House, 337 Jarvis Street:

The property at 337 Jarvis Street is designated for architectural and historical reasons. The house was constructed in 1849-1850 for Samuel Platt, a brewer and politician whose family retained the property until 1916. The Toronto Baptist Seminary has occupied the site since 1927.

The Samuel Platt House is a surviving example of the Neoclassical style. Rising two stories beneath a truncated hip roof with extended eaves and four end chimneys, the house is constructed of brick with stone detailing. Important exterior elements are the segmental-headed window openings on all walls, the entrances with transoms and sidelights on the principal (west) and rear (east) facades and, on the west wall, the tripartite window openings and Classical detailing of the window enframements and pilasters. Important interior features are the cornice mouldings in the centre hall and two principal rooms on the first floor.

Located on the east side of Jarvis Street, north of Gerrard Street East, the Samuel Platt House is one of the earliest surviving buildings on Jarvis Street. Its age and Classical appearance reflect the early development of the street as Toronto's most fashionable mid-19th century neighbourhood.

Conclusion:

Heritage Toronto recommends that City Council designate the property at 337 Jarvis Street (Samuel Platt House) for architectural and historical reasons 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

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(Heritage Property Report dated October 1996

Samuel Platt House - 337 Jarvis Street)

Table of Contents:

Basic Building Data

Historical Background

Architectural Description

Context

Summary

Sources Consulted

Attachments:

IShort Statement of Reasons for Designation

IILocation Map

IIIPhotographs

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Heritage Property Report

Basic Building Data:

Address:337 Jarvis Street (east side of Jarvis Street, north of Gerrard Street East)

Ward:6

Current Name:Toronto Baptist Seminary

Historical Name:Samuel Platt House

Construction Date:1849-1850

Architect:none found

Contractor/Builder:none found

Additions/Alterations:porch and one-storey wing added; window sash altered

Original Owner:Samuel Platt

Original Use:residential

Current Use*:educational

Heritage Category:Neighbourhood Heritage Property (Category C)

Recording Date:October 1996

Recorder:HPD:KA

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

Historical Background:

When Toronto was founded as the Town of York in 1793, the area north of Queen Street was divided into a series of park lots which were distributed to government officials. William Jarvis, the first Provincial Secretary for Upper Canada, received a lot directly north of the townsite where his heirs developed a country estate called "Hazelburn". In 1845, architect John Howard was engaged to divide Jarvis's lot into a residential subdivision entered via a tree-lined avenue named Jarvis Street. While the upper reaches of the street attracted the leading Toronto families of the period, the area to the south was developed by successful, but less prominent residents.

In 1849, Samuel Platt acquired a vacant site on the east side of Jarvis Street, one lot north of Gerrard Street East. Born in Northern Ireland in 1812, Platt immigrated to Canada in 1827. After working as a clerk at Enoch Turner's brewery for four years, Platt erected a distillery at Berkeley and Front Streets. Platt served as a councillor for St. Lawrence Ward from 1845 to 1851, followed by a two-year stint as an alderman for St. David's Ward in 1853 and 1854. In 1872, Platt was one of four citizens appointed to the Water Commission, which supervised the construction of the City's waterworks before disbanding in 1877. As a Conservative candidate, Platt was elected to represent the federal riding of East Toronto in 1873 and 1878. During the 1870s, Platt also served as a director of the Consumer' Gas Company. James Austin, president of the gas company, was Platt's neighbour on Jarvis Street (south of Gerrard) prior to constructing a new house, "Spadina", on the Davenport Hill.

The Platt House was completed in 1850 and occupied by Samuel Platt until his death in 1886. His widow, Elizabeth Lockett Platt, resided there until 1916 when the property was acquired by Frank D. Read, a clerk for the Canadian National Railway. The Toronto Baptist Seminary began its continuing occupancy of the site in 1927. The Samuel Platt House is significant as one of the oldest remaining buildings on Jarvis Street.

Architectural Description:

The Samuel Platt House displays features identified with the Neoclassical style, which was prominent in Ontario residential architecture during the mid 19th century. Incorporating forms based on Antiquity, the style was inspired by the archaeological finds in 18th century Italy and the adaptation of Roman motifs in the architectural pattern books of English architect Robert Adam.

The Samuel Platt House rises two stories above a stone foundation with a brick base course. Constructed of brick and trimmed with stone, the building is covered by a low-pitched truncated hip roof with extended eaves and four end chimneys. The principal (west) facade is symmetrically organized with three bays. In the lower storey, the central entrance features a flat-headed opening with a flat multi-paned transom and three-quarter-length sidelights. The Classical porch, with a gable roof, columns and a name band, is a later addition. On either side of the entrance, a single three-part flat-headed window opening has a sliding sash window, lintel and corbelled sill. The windows and doors are decorated with banded Classical pilasters. In the upper floor, three windows are set in segmental-headed openings with moulded enframements and a continuous sill.

The side walls (north and south) have segmental-headed window openings. On the rear (east) wall, a large semi-circular window opening is centred above a ground-level entrance with a transom and sidelights. The other window openings are flat-headed. A two-storey addition is attached to the northeast corner of the building (this addition is not included in the Reasons for Designation).

Important interior features are the cornice mouldings in the centre hall and two principal rooms (north and south) on the first floor.

Context:

The Samuel Platt House is located on the east side of Jarvis Street, directly north of Gerrard Street East. On the south, Jarvis Street Baptist Church (1874-1875) occupies the northeast corner of Jarvis and Gerrard Streets. To the east, Allan Gardens fills most of the block bounded by Jarvis, Gerrard, Sherbourne and Carlton Streets. North of the Samuel Platt House and beyond the park, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (1878) stands at the southeast corner of Jarvis and Carlton Streets. All of the above-noted properties are listed on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties.

On the opposite (west) side of Jarvis Street, between Gerrard and Carlton Streets, the semi-detached house form buildings at No. 280 (1891), No. 288-290 (1890) and No. 314 (1865) and the Frontenac Arms Hotel (1930) at No. 300 are also included on the Inventory of Heritage Properties.

Summary:

The property at 337 Jarvis Street is identified for architectural and historical reasons. Completed in 1850 for Samuel Platt, a brewer and politician, the former residence is one of the earliest surviving buildings on Jarvis Street. Located on the east side of Jarvis Street, north of Gerrard Street East, the Samuel Platt House is distinguished by its Neoclassical design.

Sources Consulted:

Assessment Rolls, City of Toronto. 1849 ff.

City of Toronto Directories. 1850-1851 ff.

Goad's Fire Insurance Atlas. 1894.

History of Toronto and the County of York. Vol. II. C. Blackett Robinson, 1885.

MacRae, Marion, and Anthony Adamson. The Ancestral Roof. Domestic Architecture of Upper Canada. Clarke Irwin, 1963.

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

Middleton, J. E. The Municipality of Toronto. Vol. II. Dominion Publishing Company, 1923.

Thompson, Austin Seton. Jarvis Street. Personal Library Publishers, 1980.

Kathryn Anderson/October 1996

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Attachment I

Short Statement of Reasons for Designation

Samuel Platt House

337 Jarvis Street

The property at 337 Jarvis Street is designated for architectural and historical reasons. The house was constructed in 1849-1850 for Samuel Platt, a brewer and politician whose family retained the property until 1916. The Toronto Baptist Seminary has occupied the site since 1927.

The Samuel Platt House is a surviving example of the Neoclassical style. Rising two stories beneath a truncated hip roof with extended eaves and four end chimneys, the house is constructed of brick with stone detailing. Important exterior elements are the segmental-headed window openings on all walls, the entrances with transoms and sidelights on the principal (west) and rear (east) facades and, on the west wall, the tripartite window openings and Classical detailing of the window enframements and pilasters. Important interior features are the cornice mouldings in the centre hall and two principal rooms on the first floor.

Located on the east side of Jarvis Street, north of Gerrard Street East, the Samuel Platt House is one of the earliest surviving buildings on Jarvis Street. Its age and Classical appearance reflect the early development of the street as Toronto's most fashionable mid-19th century neighbourhood.