Notes:
Constructed in 1873, the structure is a surviving rare and early example of a commercial building in Toronto designed by William Stewart (1832-1907), a significant architect who practised in Toronto c. 1872-1885 and later became a leading and prolific architect in Hamilton.
In 1974, City of Toronto Council listed the property on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register. The property has contributed to Yonge Street's historic character for 150 years.
In 2014, the building was demolished and replaced with a new structure behind the original Italianate style façade. As a part of this process, the Italianate style façade of the original building was rehabilitated in situ in 2014.
In July 2022, the City received a Zoning By-law Amendment application related to proposed redevelopment of the subject property with a 76-storey tower along Yonge Street. The proposed development will retain the façade of the historic 1873 building.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The subject property originally comprised of a three-storey building that was commissioned by the grocer and merchant Joseph Bickerstaff, although Bickerstaff never moved in and instead put the building up for sale just seven months after its completion. By September of 1874 the Reverend William Barnhill had assumed ownership of the property from Bickerstaff. According to City Directories, the building was occupied by a large number and variety of businesses throughout its history. This includes the Wing Tai & Company fancy goods store from circa 1888-89 to 1895, whose owner Wing Tai worked with Lee Wing to assist Chinese-Canadians in moving from British Columbia via Toronto to immigrate to the United States during the early 1890s as indicated in reports from the U.S. Senate. Other tenants of the block include the John Wright plumbing shop that remained in the building for about 35 years. In the twentieth century, the building contained various businesses, including restaurants, drug stores, jewellers and grocers.
For the design of his building, Bickerstaff commissioned William Stewart (1832-1907), a significant architect who practiced in the City of Toronto c. 1872-1885, after an earlier career in the Cincinnati area. During this time, Stewart's commissions included substantial commercial, manufacturing and institutional buildings, including the design of two of the city's largest and finest hotels, the Walker House (1873) and the Shakespeare (1875). The Second Empire-style commercial building at 506-514 Queen Street West (1874) designated and located within the Queen West HCD as well as the subject building survive as rare Toronto examples of his commercial works. Partnering with Walter Strickland from 1875 to 1881, Stewart was involved in a similar variety of buildings, including many residences for some of the city's wealthiest citizens, such as the home of the prominent Toronto distiller James Worts located on Trinity Street in 1876. Subsequently, Stewart became a prolific and leading architect in Hamilton, practicing there until 1904. The City of Hamilton has recognized several of the buildings he designed including the Right House (1891), and Victoria Hall (1887), a unique metal-clad commercial building opposite Gore Park which has also been declared a National Historic Site for its architectural significance.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
401 Yonge Street is a fine and early example of the Italianate style of architecture which was a dominant style of design employed for the construction of commercial buildings in Victorian-era Toronto. The style was popular for many of the rows of commercial buildings which lined the city's commercial streets, particularly in the last few decades of the nineteenth century. However, the early date of the building, and the survival of such structures has become increasingly uncommon, making the subject property a rare surviving example of its type.
Characteristic of the style, the building was designed with a polychromatic brick façade of red and buff-coloured-brick detailing and an ornate, metal roofline cornice. Narrow rounded and segmental arched windows with brick hoods contained two-over-two sashes for the larger windows, flanked by one-over-one sashes in the narrower windows. Buff brick detailing forming the building corners and piers, with occasional recessed courses, emulates the rustication of masonry found in more substantial examples of Italianate design. The three original storefronts lining the ground level featured large display windows with transom lights, recessed entries and were surrounded with a metal cornice and outer frames incised with ornamental motifs popular at the time.
Constructed for commercial and residential purposes, the building contained three units, separated vertically, each represented by a distinct bay in the building's façade arrangement. Each unit contained a retail store on the ground level with large display windows and transom lights and a recessed entry. Each unit also contained full residential quarters that spanned all three levels, with a kitchen and dining room on the ground level behind the store, a parlour and four bedrooms on the second floor, and an additional bedroom and manufacturing room on the third storey. Below each unit was a large cellar. Such commodious quarters are notable, and suggest that the building was designed and constructed to a high standard.
