127-129A Yonge Street is a 2.5 storey building situated on the east side of Yonge Street between Adelaide Street and Richmond Street in the Financial District and St. Lawrence neighbourhoods of Toronto. 127-129A Yonge Street may potentially date to as early as the 1840s/1850s, although the property has been altered over time (including renovations and modern exterior cladding). 

This block of Yonge Street was one of the first to be developed with all the lots having been built on by 1851. Early occupants and residents of 127-129A Yonge Street — as of the 1850s through early 1870s — include Neil C. Love - who operated a drugstore; and Thomas Robinson - who operated a clothier and dry goods business.

127-129A Yonge Street may have a significant connection to the history of the Jewish communities of Toronto. S. J. Birnbaum identifies in Pioneers of Toronto's Jewish Community (1912/1934) that in June 1856, Toronto's first regular Jewish congregation was formed in a room above Neil C. Love's shop on Yonge Street near Richmond Street. Similarly, Allan Levine in Seeking the Fabled City: The Canadian Jewish Experience (2018) has identified that the space above Neil Love's Yonge Street shop was the first home of Toronto's first Jewish congregation (the Toronto Hebrew Congregation) and provides its date of founding as September 1856 (page 49). Through examining historic City of Toronto Directories, this location does appear to be 129 Yonge Street, as Neil C. Love operated a drugstore here from the mid-1850s until the early-to-mid 1870s.

However, Erin Sylvester in The Story of Toronto's First Jewish Congregation (2017) has identified that Toronto's first Jewish congregation (known as Holy Blossom from 1871 onward) was founded on Rosh Hashanah on 29 September 1856 in a hall located above Coombe's Drugstore, located a few buildings further north (155 Yonge Street) at the nearby southeast corner of Yonge Street and Richmond Street. The 1856 founding above Coombe's Drugstore is additionally named specifically by the Holy Blossom Synagogue on their website and Heritage Toronto has also erected a historical plaque in front of the former site of Coombe's Drugstore.

Further research as to this history may be beneficial as to determine whether 127-129A Yonge Street may have associative historical value through early associations with Toronto's early Jewish communities and first Jewish congregation(s). 

Of further historical note is that the property located immediately north of 127-129A Yonge Street was the former site of the Yonge Street Arcade (constructed 1882-1884, demolished 1954). The prominence of the Yonge Street Arcade within Canadian history - namely as Canada's first indoor shopping mall - has resulted in 127-129A Yonge Street being captured in a number of photographs during the late 19th and early 20th century. The extant office building to the north of 127-129A Yonge Street dates to 1960 and is known as the Arcade Building (137 Yonge Street, Toronto). Several buildings to the south - at the northeast corner of Adelaide Street East and Yonge Street - is the Lumsden Building (1909), which is one of Toronto's earliest skyscrapers. 

127-129A Yonge Street also backs onto Ching Lane, which was named for Sam Ching - Toronto's first recorded Chinese resident and merchant - who had a laundry business at 9 Adelaide Street East as of 1878. Interestingly, the 1885-1895 photograph depicts a China Bazar operating on this block (potentially at 125 or 127 Yonge Street) as of this point in time. 

While 127-129A Yonge Street has been renovated and reclad with modern materials which obscure the underlying structure, it is possible that a 19th century building might still be extant underneath. However, it is important to note that the ground floor storefront has been modernized and the 2nd floor windows on its primary (Yonge Street) elevation have been expanded. Similarly, the 3rd floor dormer windows - visible in historical photographs - appear to have been altered during the early 20th century and since overclad with siding. These alterations may have been done by the long-time commercial occupant W. T. Pembers Ltd. which operated a hair salon; a shoe store; and a Victorian Russian/Turkish bathhouse spa facility from the property between the late 1890s and 1950s. These alterations may have also allowed for advertising panels to be mounted onto the structure at various times. The rear of the structure - accessible from Ching Lane - appears to have been extended in the early 20th century and is presently of a mixed brick and cement block construction. The remnants of old brick firewalls and/or potentially chimneys are visible along the roofline at the north and south elevations of the building.  

127-129A Yonge Street is presently home to Mamma's Pizza and Subway restaurant franchises on the ground floor, with Softron Taxes' offices in the upstairs spaces. 

Research by Adam Wynne.