Description: 

1456-1456A Queen Street West is a 3-storey building located on the north side of Queen Street West approximately 40 meters east of Lansdowne Avenue in the Parkdale neighbourhood of Toronto. 1456 Queen Street West was constructed in 1899/1900. 1456 Queen Street West is in a Romanesque Revival style with a prominent arch on the 3rd floor and a 2-storey bay window spanning the 2nd and 3rd floors. The exterior of the building displays a high degree of craftsmanship with many ornate architectural elements, such as stained glass and stamped metal (likely tin).   

A discrepancy exists on the June 1899 building permit (#143) for this building where it is referred to as 1458 Queen Street West. However, an examination of historic City of Toronto Directories and Fire Insurance Plans indicates that this building permit is almost certainly for 1456 Queen Street West, as 1458-1462 Queen Street West was constructed in 1888 and 1456 Queen Street West does not appear in City of Toronto Directories or Fire Insurance Plans until the very early 20th century.

1456 Queen Street West originally contained a ground floor storefront with upstairs apartments. Prior to the 1960s, the shopkeeper and their family often lived in the upstairs residential space of the building. The address was later severed into 1456 and 1456A Queen Street West during the 1960s.  1456 Queen Street West refers to the ground floor commercial unit, whereas 1456A Queen Street West refers to the upstairs residential unit(s). 

1456-1456A Queen Street West was featured as one of the subjects of Amita Sen Gupta's Neighbourhood Memento oil painting series in the early 2020s.  

Architect - James Arthur Harvey: 

The architect of 1456 Queen Street West was James Arthur Harvey who was working on commission for John McIvor. Construction on the building began in late June 1899 and was completed by Spring 1900. 1456 Queen Street West was one of the first buildings designed by James Arthur Harvey in Toronto and is representative of his earliest work in Toronto. 

The Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada: 1800-1950 provides the following biographical sketch of James Arthur Harvey: 

"James Arthur Harvey (1870-1935) was born at Whitby, Ontario and received his early education there. He attended courses at the School of Practical Science at the University of Toronto and commenced his career as an architect by 1893. Many of his commissions for residential works were often carried out as speculative ventures for builders and contractors who lived and worked in Parkdale and the Annex, and he can be numbered among the first of Toronto's architects to develop the prototype for the two and three storey walk-up apartment block. Harvey took an interest in local politics where he served two terms as Reeve for the Village of Swansea and he was the creator of 'Harcroft', one of the first bird and wild flower sanctuaries in Canada located on forty acres of land surrounding his residence on Olympus Avenue adjacent to High Park. He died in Toronto on 6 November 1935." 

As noted by the Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada: 1800-1950, James Arthur Harvey was particularly active in the Parkdale area. Other buildings that he designed in the Parkdale area include the Robert Ross Building (1898) at 1349-1351½ Queen Street West; the Metropolitan Apartments (1914) at 1464 Queen Street West / 1 Lansdowne Avenue; and multiple private residences on other area streets - including Dowling Avenue, Jameson Avenue, King Street West, and Tyndall Avenue - between 1896 and 1914.  

First Owner - John McIvor: 

John McIvor was a dry goods merchant with a neighbouring shop. Between 1888 and 1893, McIvor's shop was based at 1460 Queen Street West, which then expanded into a consolidated storefront at 1458-1460 Queen Street West between 1893 and 1903. 

McIvor commissioned James Arthur Harvey to design and construct a 3-storey building with a ground floor storefront and upstairs apartments at 1456 Queen Street West. As noted above, the building permit for 1456 Queen Street West was issued in late June 1899 and the building was completed by early 1900. 

John McIvor was born in about 1867 in Canada. He was married to Jane (Jennie) C. Hull (born 1866). John and Jane McIvor had 4 children - 3 daughters and 1 son - born between 1888 and 1898. The family were Congregationalists. By 1906, the McIvor family had moved to Winnipeg. John McIvor died in Winnipeg in 1934.

First Commercial Tenant- John J. Ewart:  

The first commercial tenant of 1456 Queen Street West was John J. Ewart. Ewart operated a shoe store at 1456 Queen Street West between early 1900 and 1901.  

The Canadian Shoe and Leather Journal (Volume 13, Number 5) offers the following notice of Ewart's store opening in May 1900: 

"New Shoe Store - Messrs. J. J. Ewart have opened up in the shoe business at 1456 Queen Street West, where they have a handsome store, filled with a brand new stock. This makes four shoe stores west of the subway, but Parkdale is constantly growing, and the Messrs. Ewart will no doubt get their share of the Parkdale trade in footwear. We wish them success." (page 258).  

John J. Ewart appears to have lived above the shop during this period in time. John J. Ewart's shoe business appears to have either shut down or moved out of Toronto around 1901/1902. Unfortunately, no further information is available about John J. Ewart at present.  

Later Occupants and Uses: 

Please note the following list is not exhaustive of all former uses and aims to provide a general overview of former occupants and uses. Dates are also approximate. 

1902-1903: 

In 1902-1903, 1456 Queen Street West housed Miss A. Alderson's Fancy Goods shop. The shop was owned and operated by Annie Alderson. The Alderson family lived above the shop during this period in time. 

1904-1907:

In 1904-1907, 1456 Queen Street West housed E. Armstrong - a fancy goods shop. The shop was owned and operated by Esther Armstrong. The Armstrong family lived above the shop during this period in time. In 1907, J. C. Willis - a jeweler - was also based in the building. 

Circa. late 1900s and early 1910s:

In circa. the late 1900s and early 1910s, 1456 Queen Street West housed a China wares shop owned and operated by William Black.

Circa. mid-1910s to mid-to-late 1920s:

In circa. the mid-1910s to the mid-to-late 1920s, 1456 Queen Street West housed a China and crockery wares shop owned and operated by the Bemrose family. 

Circa. 1930:

In circa. 1930, 1456 Queen Street West housed a branch of The Walker Stores Ltd - a dry goods company. 

Circa. 1935:

In circa. 1935, 1456 Queen Street West housed a candy shop owned and operated by Elton M. Turner.  

Circa. late 1930s_to early 1940s:

In circa. the late 1930s to early 1940s, 1456 Queen Street housed Pollock's Shoes Ltd. Joseph Reycraft - the manager of Pollock's Shoes Ltd. - lived above the shop. In May 1939, Joseph Reycraft was brutally beaten and robbed while at the store. This incident made news headlines in the Toronto area. A copy of one of the articles covering this incident has been included with this entry.

Circa. 1945:

In circa. 1945, 1456 Queen Street West housed Maye's Lingerie and Corsetry. William Eckstein - an employee at Maye's Lingerie and Corsetry - lived above the shop during this period in time. 

Circa. early 1950s to early 1960s:

In circa. the early 1950s to early 1960s, 1456 Queen Street West housed the Mayfair Shop. The Mayfair Shop was a ladies wear shop. Further research is required to determine if the Mayfair Shop was connected to Maye's Lingerie and Corsetry which was based at the property during the 1940s.

Circa. mid-to-late 1960s to late 1990s or early 2000s:

In the mid-to-late 1960s to late 1990s and/or early 2000s, 1456 Queen Street West housed the Northway Restaurant. The Northway Restaurant was a long-term Parkdale restaurant that was established by Thomas Beis and Vasil Bilkas. By this point in time, 1456 Queen Street West had been severed into 1456 Queen Street West (ground floor commercial) and 1456A Queen Street West (upstairs residential). 

2006 to Present Day (2021):

Since 2006, 1456 Queen Street West has housed Mother India - an Indian restaurant.  The owners of Mother India also owned Gandhi Roti and New York Subs, two other restaurants situated along Queen Street West. 

Research by Adam Wynne.