707 Yonge Street / 1-15 Hayden Street: 

This is a 3-storey commercial building designed in the early 20th century and situated at the southeast corner of Yonge Street and Hayden Street. Heritage Planning (City of Toronto) identify a date of construction c. 1914. Comparatively, the Heritage Impact Assessment for 699-707 Yonge Street / 1-17 Hayden Street (ERA Architects, September 2022) estimates its date of construction as c. 1920-1924. Historical photographs confirm that the extant building had likely been built by 1924. 


707 Yonge Street / 1-15 Hayden Street is considered a contributing property within the Historic Yonge Street Heritage Conservation District (presently under appeal). The HCD provides an alternative date of construction: 1939. 
 
The entire exterior of the 2nd and 3rd storeys has been over clad with corrugated metal siding since at least the 1980s. Historical photographs indicate that a rounded cornice has also since been removed. The building contains textured brown brick with buff (yellow) brick accents. The large windows were reflective of its use as factories, showrooms, and studios (see below). These window openings originally contained multi-pane windows. Further research is required to determine whether the window openings have been expanded over time. The current storefront design dates to the late 20th or early 21st century.


Around 1923, the building became known as the Wilson Building. Research is ongoing to determine whether this was when the extant building was built. However, there is a carryover of commercial tenants both pre-/post-name change in c. 1922/1923 — most notably The Jaeger Company Ltd. (merchants of wool products). The developer of the extant building may have been Urban Improvement Ltd.  


By the 1950s, the building had been renamed the Walker Building after Walker Stanley Ltd. (furriers and ladieswear) moved in. 


In late 2022, 707 Yonge Street / 1-15 Hayden Street was proposed for demolition as part of the redevelopment of 699-707 Yonge Street / 1-17 Hayden Street. This redevelopment proposes a 64-storey mixed use (primarily condominium) building. 


I also encourage a more thorough examination of the current building (particularly what is underneath the corrugated metal siding). The heritage consultants only removed a small amount of siding during their investigation.


A rear addition (near 17 Hayden Street) was added post-1951.  


Historical Uses:


707 Yonge Street / 1-15 Hayden Street is situated within Toronto's historic Automobile Row. Automobile Row emerged along downtown Yonge Street and Bay Street during the rise of the automobile in the early 20th century. Automobile Row consisted of blocks of automotive-associated businesses, including garages, salerooms/showrooms, and accessories businesses all in close proximity to each other. Automobile Row remained a visible streetscape element until the 1950s/1960s and is referenced in period newspaper articles. 


Automobile Row associations of 707 Yonge Street include: 


c. 1910: The Gibson Electric Carriage Company — one of Canada's first electric car companies. The 707 Yonge Street sold products of Babcock Electric Carriage which was advertised to medical practitioners due to its associated conveniences. Babcock was based out of Buffalo and was active from 1906 to 1912.  


c. early 1920s: The Premier Tire & Rubber Company, which also facilitated a popular motor touring organization.   


c. late 1920s: The architectural office and studio of Douglas Kertland. Douglas Kertland is a renowned Ontario architect (and former Olympic athlete) who designed the Automotive Building at Exhibition Place in 1928/1929. 






Other notable associations (both pre/post 1923) include:  


Ontario Society of Artists: The organization's headquarters was based at 707 Yonge Street during the 1900s through the early 1920s. 


c. 1918: Adanac Film Company: One of Toronto's first movie production companies was based at 707 Yonge Street during the end of World War I (c. 1918). For more information see Canadian Moving Picture Digest (1918, Volumes 4-5) and Government Bureaucracy in Action: A History of Cinema in Canada by Juliet Thelma Pollard (1979).  During this time, the Adanac Theatre — where the company held screenings — was based in Parkdale at 1398 Queen Street West.


c. 1920s: Craig & Madill: During the 1920s, the architectural firm Craig & Madill was based in the building. The influential firm consisted of James Henry Craig and H. Harrison Madill. Craig trained under J. Wilson Gray. Research is ongoing to determine if James Wilson Gray is the eponym of the Wilson Building and whether he had any role in its design. 


c. early 1920s: Arthur Heritage: During the early 1920s, the studio of sculptor Arthur Heritage was based in the building.   


c. early 1930s: During the early 1930s, Creed's Ltd. (furriers) was based in the building.


c. mid-1930s: During the mid-1930s, the building was home to the Verge School of the Dance. 


c. 1940s: By the 1940s, the building was home to Madame Hudson School which trained estheticians and hairdressers. Madame Hudson also operated a beauty parlour from the building. The upper floors had been converted into a series of smaller apartments and offices by this point in time.  


c. 1930s/1940s to early-to-mid 1970s: By the mid-1940s, Stanley Walker Ltd. / Walker Stanley Ltd. (furriers) had moved into the building. By the 1950s, the building had been renamed the Walker Building.  (Note: there is a discrepancy in the directories and newspaper advertisements: directories indicate that Stan Walker Ltd. had moved into the building during the 1940s, whereas newspaper advertisements indicate that Stan Walker Ltd. had moved into the building by 1934.) 


c. mid-1970s to 1980s: By 1980, the building was home to Classic Bookshop.


c. 2000s: Since the 2000s, the ground floor of the building has been home to several small and franchise restaurants. 

(Research by Adam Wynne)