Description:

381 Spadina Avenue is a 2.5-to-3 storey Second Empire building located at the northeast corner of Spadina Avenue and Cecil Street in the Chinatown West - Baldwin Village neighbourhood of Toronto. 381 Spadina Avenue was constructed in c. 1881/1882 and first occupied by c. 1882/1883. 

Constructed in c. 1881/1882, 381 Spadina Avenue was one of the first buildings built on the east side of Spadina Avenue between Cecil Street and College Street and is representative of the early development of this block. The architect of 381 Spadina Avenue is not known at present. However, the builder may have potentially been John Ward (see below for further information). 

During the late 1880s and early 1890s, 381 Spadina Avenue housed a community space known as Cecil Hall and the Spadina Avenue Hall. 

During the 1880s, the Spadina Avenue Skating Rink was additionally located in vacant lots to the immediate north of 381 Spadina Avenue. These vacant lots were also used for the storage of coal and building supplies. The Spadina Avenue Skating Rink closed during the late 1880s when the lots were developed. 

Prior to 1890, 381 Spadina Avenue was known as 323 Spadina Avenue. 

Historical photographs indicate that 381 Spadina Avenue is of brick construction and originally had a slate roof. Post-1984, the exterior of 381 Spadina Avenue was clad with stucco and the slate roof was removed. The Spadina Avenue storefront has been renovated and a former door on the Cecil Street elevation has been sealed off. 

Reportedly, as of early 2022 the upstairs of 381 Spadina Avenue has been in disuse and vacant for many years.

Early Occupants and Uses: 

Circa 1882/1883:

In circa 1882/1883, 381 Spadina Avenue was home to John Ward and his wife Ester Ward. John Ward was a contractor and plasterer. 

John Ward (born c. 1826) and Ester Ward (born c 1841) were originally from England. Both were Wesleyan Methodist.

John Ward first appears on this block of Spadina Avenue in 1879/1880. Ward also had a coal and lumber yard on the block which remained active throughout the 1880s. Further research is required to determine if John Ward constructed 381 Spadina Avenue. 

Circa 1883/1884 to 1887/1888:

From circa 1883/1884 to 1887/1888, 381 Spadina Avenue was associated with Frederick Furnival — a grocer. 

Frederick Furnival (c. 1852/1854-1930) was born in 1852 or 1854 in Lancashire, England to a family of Dutch descent. He immigrated to Canada in 1869. In 1880, Frederick Furnival married Margaret (1859-1950) in Muskoka. Frederick and Margaret Furnival had 3 children — 2 daughters and 1 son — born between 1882 and 1885.

Furnival's grocery business had several names during this period, including:  Furnival and Downey — during a partnership with Stephen Downey; F. Furnival and Company; and Frederick Furnival. Furnival also briefly leased the ground floor to William Denton & Sons — another area grocer that was active on the same block of Spadina Avenue — in 1887/1888. 

In 1889, the Furnival family emigrated to the United States. They initially settled in or near Chicago and then later in Connecticut. Frederick Furnival died in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1930. 

Circa 1888/1889:

In circa 1888/1889, 381 Spadina Avenue contained a grocery shop known as A. W. Adams, as well as residences for the Adams family, their boarders, and Cecil Hall. A. W. Adams was run by Alexander W. Adams. 

Circa 1889/1890 to 1892:

From circa 1889/1890 to 1892, 381 Spadina Avenue housed the grocery shop of Matthew H. Denton and Cecil Hall. 

Cecil Hall (also known as the Spadina Avenue Hall):

During the late 1880s and early 1890s, 381 Spadina Avenue housed a community space known as Cecil Hall and the Spadina Avenue Hall. 

Cecil Hall / the Spadina Avenue Hall was rented for various community purposes, including for use as a school and for meeting space for local organizations. The Hall may have been in the upstairs or rear of the building, as during this period the ground floor Spadina Avenue frontage housed several grocery shops. The landlords of Cecil Hall / Spadina Avenue Hall — named in municipal reports — include Frederick Furnival and A. W. [C. W.] Adams, both of whom were grocers at 381 Spadina Avenue. 

Organizations which met at Cecil Hall / the Spadina Avenue Hall included the Women's Enfranchisement Association; the Woman's Christian Temperance Union; the Loyal Lord Stanley Lodge of the Manchester Unity (of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows); the Canadian Order of Chosen Friends; the Council of Royal Arcanum; and the Central Single Tax Association. 

Of particular note is that on the evening of 1 April 1889, the first ward meeting of the Women's Enfranchisement Association — an early feminist and suffrage organization active in Toronto — was held at Cecil Hall. The Women's Enfranchisement Association was founded by Dr. Emily Stowe — Canada's first female physician and a prominent women's rights activist — in February 1889. Dr. Stowe presided over the meeting and provided a reading. Sarah Anne Curzon was also in attendance. The meeting was reported to have had a "good attendance."

The names Cecil Hall and Spadina Avenue Hall appears to have fallen out of use in regards to 381 Spadina Avenue by the mid-to-late 1890s. 58 Cecil Street — formerly a religious building now home to the Cecil Street Community Centre  — also had a space that was briefly known as Cecil Hall during the early 20th century. 

Please note that the 1889 City of Toronto Directory lists Cecil Hall at 325½ Spadina Avenue (now 383 Spadina Avenue). However, other historical sources — including municipal reports and newspaper articles — identify that Cecil Hall was in the corner building (381 Spadina Avenue).   

Circa 1894/1895:

In circa 1894/1895, 381 Spadina Avenue housed John Palmer — a furniture business; and the Ontario Academy — a private boys school and business academy. The principal of the Ontario Academy was Robert W. Dillon. Principal Dillon resided several blocks north at 38 Sussex Avenue. 

Later Occupants and Uses: 

Circa 1897 to 1901:

From circa 1897 until 1901, 381 Spadina Avenue housed the Mental Science Institute.

The Mental Science Institute — also known as the Mental and Psycho Therapeutic Institute of Canada — was a spiritual study group with an interest in mental science. Their beliefs were similar to the New Thought movement. 

The Mental Science Institute ran a publication called The Realm and offered weekly lectures (including talks by Charles B. Patterson, free music improvement classes, etc.). The manager and secretary of the institute was Mary McDonell. In 1898, the Mental Science Institute established the Sternaman Fund Committee which offered support to Olive Sternaman during her murder trial.  

A 1900 advertisement for the Mental Science Institute which was published in The Flaming Sword magazine stated: 

"Mental Science Institute, Toronto, Canada: All the woes, ills, and ails of life corrected through the Agency of Mental Science. Absent treatment a specialty. Write stating trouble; immediately vibrations are set in motion for distance is no barrier to the Mental Scientist." 

Circa 1902:

381 Spadina Avenue: R. T. Smith — auctioneer.

Circa 1904/1905:

381 Spadina Avenue: John Smith — restaurant.

Circa 1909/1910:

381 Spadina Avenue: Christian Workers Mission. 

Circa 1919/1920:

381 Spadina Avenue: Frank Wade — billiards hall.

Circa 1929/1930:

381 Spadina Avenue: Hyman Wineberg — billiards hall. 

In 1929, the Young Communist League of Canada reportedly had a convention at 381 Spadina Avenue.

Circa 1939/1940:

381 Spadina Avenue: Joseph Silverman — grocer; and 5 residential apartments. 

Circa 1949/1950:

381 Spadina Avenue: Cecil Groceries; Furuya Trading Company Limited — wholesale grocers; and 5 residential apartments. 

In February 1950, 381 Spadina Avenue was one of several Spadina Avenue properties which were the target of a serial arsonist. The arsonist attempted to light the building on fire via throwing burning papers into the stairwell of the building. 

Circa 1959/1960:

381 Spadina Avenue: Cecil Groceries; Furuya Trading Company Limited — wholesale grocers; and 5 residential apartments.

Circa late 1960s and early 1970s:

381 Spadina Avenue: M. Greber Sales — glassware importers; and 5 residential apartments. 

Circa 1984:

381 Spadina Avenue: Mr. Submarine — restaurant franchise.

Circa mid-1980s to early 2000s:

Further research is required for this period to determine former uses of 381 Spadina Avenue, as well as potential associations with the Chinese and Chinese-Canadian communities. Unfortunately, archival resources - including post-1969 City of Toronto Directories — are inaccessible at present due to COVID-19 pandemic-related closures.

Circa 2000s and Early 2010s:

In the 2000s and early 2010s, 381 Spadina Avenue housed Sun-Lit Trading. Sun-Lit Clothing sold accessories, clothing, and wholesale wares. 

2013 to Present Day (January 2022): 

Since 2013, 381 Spadina Avenue has housed Sizzler Kabab — an Indian and Pakistani restaurant. 

Reportedly, as of early 2022 the upstairs of 381 Spadina Avenue has been in disuse and vacant for many years.

(Research by Adam Wynne)