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Description:
585 Church Street is a 2.5 storey Queen Anne Revival house located at the southeast corner of Church Street and Isabella Street in the Church-Wellesley Village neighbourhood of Toronto.
585 Church Street has associative, historical, and design value through being designed by prominent Scottish-Canadian architect David Brash Dick (1846-1925) in 1883. Subsequently, in the City of Toronto Directories, 585 Church Street appears as under construction in 1884 and first occupied in 1885.
Historical photographs indicate that the ground floor has had a storefront addition since at least 1924. This storefront addition was later expanded during the mid-to-late 20th century or early 21st century.
Prior to 1890, 585 Church Street was known as 509 Church Street.
Between circa. 1913 and 1924, the semi-detached house at 77-79 Isabella Street was constructed on the rear of 585 Church Street's lot. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, this section of the lot contained an outbuilding associated with 585 Church Street.
585 Church Street was identified as a potential heritage asset in the North Downtown Yonge: Toronto Urban Design Guidelines - OPA 183 (September 2013).
David Brash Dick (Architect):
David Brash Dick (1846-1925) built extensively throughout Toronto, designing institutional, commercial, ecclesiastical, and residential buildings.
Designed in 1883, 585 Church Street is representative of David Brash Dick's early architectural works in Toronto. David Brash Dick's first architectural work in Toronto was designed in 1877.
The following biography of David Brash Dick was written by Pauline Walters, a former TO Built Manager and current Heritage Planner at ERA Architects:
"David Brash Dick was a Scottish architect who attended the Edinburgh School of Design before he became a draftsperson in the eminent Scottish firm of Peddie and Kinnear. In 1873, Brash Dick emigrated first to Chicago where he participated in the rebuilding of the Great Fire of 1871.
By 1874, Brash Dick settled in Toronto, where he began working with already established Scottish builder Robert Grant. By 1876, Brash Dick had a sole practice and quickly became the architect of choice for a wide range of buildings throughout Toronto, Hamilton and Guelph.
His work would be prolific, designing commercial, institutional, ecclesiastical and residential buildings, shaping much of the Toronto built landscape in the late 19th and early 20th century. Dick established a longstanding relationship with James Austin, President of The Consumer Gas Company building, for whom he designed many commercial buildings and residences. Dick designed residences and offices for other notable families such as Sir Henry Pellett, William Mulock, W. J. Gage, George Laidlaw E.B. Osler, and S.M. Jarvis. Dick was closely connected to this network of powerful business people which won him commissions for bank buildings across the province for the Canadian Bank of Commerce, Dominion Bank, Bank of Hamilton and Quebec Bank. Dick’s range also included ecclesiastical and institutional buildings, most notably Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto which led to commissions for the Biological Institute, the Library, the Royal College of Dental Surgeons, and the restoration of University College after the fire of 1890 while serving as the appointed University Architect at the University of Toronto.
Dick designed a wide range of buildings in his short time in Toronto; he retired to England in 1902 and died in 1925. An extensive collection of Dick’s drawings and plans are showcased at the Ontario Archives. Much of Dick’s work is designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque and Queen Anne Revival styles.
Dick was an influential figure in the architectural field as a founding member of The Toronto Architectural Guild, alongside Edmund Burke and Henry Langley among other leading architects of the time. Later, Dick sat on the first council of the Ontario Association of Architects and became president of the association in 1893. Dick’s contributions awarded him a post-mortem honour roll from the OAA- an honour given to those who’s quality of work and contribution to the province’s architectural heritage are significant or someone who has influenced the profession through design, education or community development or publication."
For more information on David Brash Dick's architectural works, please see his entry in the Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada: 1800-1950. David Brash Dick's original drawings of 585 Church Street are presently held in the Horwood Collection of the Archives of Ontario.
First Occupants:
Henry George Rutledge and Family:
585 Church Street was first home to Henry George Rutledge (1838/1839-1902). Rutledge was born in County Tyrone, Ireland in 1839. He resided at 585 Church Street (then known as 509 Church Street) between 1885 and 1886. During this period in time, Rutledge was the general manager of M. & L. Samuel, Benjamin, & Company. Alongside his role as general manager, he served as a buyer for M. & L. Samuel, Benjamin, and Company - retiring when the company sold its hardware branch of operations. Henry George Rutledge's 1902 obituary in the Hardware and Metal journal notes that he was "one of the best-known hardware men in Canada."
M. & L. Samuel, Benjamin, & Company was a wholesale metal and hardware company that was founded as M. & L. Samuel Company by brothers Lewis Samuel and Mark Samuel at the Coffin Block near the foot of Church Street in 1856. By 1879/1880, the company was known as M. L. Samuel, Benjamin, and Company after the Samuel family formed a business partnership with Alfred Benjamin. The company is still active as of 2021 and is now an industrial metal processing company known as Samuel, Son, & Company.
Henry George Rutledge married Louisa Rutledge (née James) (1844-1912) on 12 April 1865 in Yorkville. Henry and Louisa Rutledge had 1 daughter: Ada Louise Rutledge (born 1866).
Use as Physician Residences and Practices:
Between 1887 and 1923, 585 Church Street was home to various physicians' residences and practices.
Dr. Alfred Bennison Atherton:
585 Church Street was home to Dr. Alfred Bennison Atherton, his family, and his practice between 1887 and 1895.
Dr. Atherton (1843-1921) was an eminent Canadian physician and surgeon. Dr. Atherton was originally from Queensbury, New Brunswick. His entire family - including his parents John Atherton (1800-1881) and Charlotte Atherton (1811-1900) and all of his siblings - are listed as being Native (First Nations) in the 1851 and 1861 Census of New Brunswick. However, in the 1881 Census of Canada, the Atherton family are listed as "English" origin. A later biography published in Rev. William Cochrane's The Canadian Album: Men of Canada or Success by Example - Volume 1 (1891) further notes that Dr. Atherton's parents were of "Puritan stock" that arrived in New Brunswick via New England in about 1760. It is possible that the family may have been mixed race and/or opted to omit information in later years pertaining to First Nations ancestry.
Dr. Atherton's father - John Atherton - was a hotel keeper in York, New Brunswick. Dr. Atherton was the 2nd youngest of 6 children (3 daughters and 3 sons).
Dr. Atherton obtained his B.A. from the University of New Brunswick in 1862 and his MD from Harvard Medical School in 1866. Dr. Atherton then moved to Edinburgh (Scotland) for further studies with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1867. Dr. Atherton then returned to New Brunswick and served on the Senate of the University of New Brunswick from 1867-1884 and on the Medical Council of New Brunswick from 1881-1884.
In 1868, Dr. Atherton married Sarah Wiley. The Atherton family were Methodist. Further research is required to determine whether Dr. Atherton and Sarah Atherton had any children.
Around the mid-1880s, Dr. Atherton moved to Toronto. In Toronto, Dr. Atherton practiced in the fields of gynaecology, obstetrics, pathology, and surgery. He lectured at Trinity College, the Women's College Hospital, and the St. John's Hospital for Women. One of his particular expertise was surgical treatments of hernias.
Dr. Atherton also served as the President of the Toronto Medical Association and Vice President of the Canadian Medical Association while living in Toronto. He was later a founder of the American College of Surgeons.
Despite his background, Dr. Atherton was unfortunately an advocate for eugenics and sterilization.
After Dr. Atherton's retirement, the Atherton family moved to California in 1916. Dr. Atherton died in San Diego in 1921.
Dr. George Perry Sylvester:
Between 1896 and 1920, 585 Church Street was the residence and practice of Dr. George Perry Sylvester.
Dr. Sylvester (1854-1924) was originally from Durham County (Ontario). Dr. Sylvester graduated from Toronto's Trinity Medical College in 1874. He spent time working in Galt (Waterloo) prior to moving back to Toronto. In 1894, Dr. Sylvester took up employment at Toronto's Grace Hospital. He worked for Grace Hospital for more than 20 years.
By the late 1910s, Dr. Sylvester was sharing his practice with Dr. William E. Mason. Dr. Mason later assumed the practice after the retirement of Dr. Mason in 1920/1921.
Note: Grace Hospital in this instance may refer to an earlier name of Toronto's Women's College Hospital and/or an early iteration of the Salvation Army's Grace Hospital at 650 Church Street.
Dr. William E. Mason:
Dr. William E. Mason (c. 1874-1944) was associated with 585 Church Street between the late 1910s and 1923. Dr. Mason initially shared a practice with Dr. George Perry Sylvester, but later assumed the practice after the retirement of Dr. Sylvester in 1920/1921. Dr. Mason's practice and residence had moved elsewhere by 1924. He later became the medical inspector for the Aetna Life Insurance Company.
Later Occupants and Uses:
Warrell's Grocery:
Between 1924 and 1959, the Warrell family operated Warrell's Grocery at 585 Church Street. During this period, the Warrell family lived above the shop, although also rented the space out to various tenants over time. Members of the Warrell family associated with the grocery shop included husband and wife Thomas Warrell and Mabel Warrell (1890-1951); and their daughter Audrey Simpson (née Warrell) and son-in-law Hugh Simpson. A 1924 photograph showing the Warrell's Grocery sign on the south elevation of 585 Church Street has been included with this entry.
