425 Church Street was constructed circa. 1873, originally as part of a row of 4 houses. The first occupants were William St. Croix (1833/1834-1920) and family, who lived here from 1873 until 1882.
William St. Croix was born in Jersey (Channel Islands) in 1833/1834 He arrived in Toronto at age 20 in 1854 with only 1 York shilling as his entire wealth. St. Croix also reportedly did not speak English upon arriving in Toronto and taught himself the language in his leisure time. In 1860, William St. Croix married Anne Kerr - a daughter of James Kerr, prominent, longtime Scottish-Canadian resident of Toronto. The couple subsequently had 9 children - 7 daughters and 2 sons - between 1863 and 1878.
A bricklayer, builder, and plasterer by trade, William St Croix eventually created an empire of construction and real estate activities in Toronto. St. Croix is the eponym of the William St. Croix Houses at 580-582 Church Street, which he built in 1877/1878 and which are presently home to the Storm Crow Manor restaurant.
In the late 1870s through the 1880s, St. Croix began purchasing sections of the Dundonald Estate and Elmsley Estate and undertook residential developments of these areas, which constitute part of the present day Bay-Cloverhill and Church-Wellesley Village neighbourhoods. On St. Mary Street alone, St. Croix constructed at least 40 houses. Elsewhere in Toronto, St. Croix constructed a Court House and Police Station; and the Phoenix Block on Front Street West; among other buildings. Many of St. Croix's buildings have since been demolished. The unfortunately apt named Phoenix Block was lost during the Great Fire of Toronto in 1904.
Following the St. Croix family, 425 Church Street housed a variety of occupants during the 1880s, including Alexander Bleakley - a retired daguerreotype artist; Alfred McDougall - a Toronto barrister; then several widows.
In 1893, 425 Church Street became a boarding house. The boarding house was operated by Miss. Mary J. McDonagh until her unexpected death on a trip to Picton in 1907. Then between 1908 and 1911, the house had a yearly changeover of occupants.
In 1912, John Wright and Edmond Wright opened a plumbing and steam fitting business at the property. Fire Insurance Plans indicate that at some point between 1913 and 1924, the storefront addition was added on the Church Street (west) elevation of the property. The Wrights also initially lived above their store. Around the end of World War I, the upstairs sections of the house appear to have been converted to additional apartment space(s) - which later became known as 425A Church Street. The Wrights operated their plumbing and steam-fitting business from 425 Church Street until 1948. Edmond Wright appears to have moved next door to 427 Church Street in 1950.
Between 1949 and 1953, 425 Church Street housed the Mercedes Ceramics Studio. This studio was operated by Dudley Button as of 1951.
In 1954, the Le Baron Steakhouse opened at 425 Church Street. In 1960, the Toronto District School Board attempted to expropriate 425-431 Church Street during the expansion of the Church Street Public School property. This expropriation saw the demolition of neighbouring 427-431 Church Street. However, the owners of 425 Church Street fought the expropriation and retained ownership of their building, ultimately saving it from demolition. Le Baron Steakhouse was in operation until around the time the Maple Leaf Gardens stadium closed in 1999.
Since August 2000, 425 Church Street has been home to the Hair of the Dog neighbourhood pub.
The building is now wholly used as commercial space. Interestingly, both the interior of the Le Baron Steakhouse and the Hair of the Dog restaurants were designed by the same Dutch-Canadian designer: Jouke van Sloten (1921-2004).
