Description:

5 Elm Grove Avenue is a 2.5-to-3 storey Victorian house located on the east side of Elm Grove Avenue approximately 50 meters north of King Street West in the Parkdale neighbourhood of Toronto. 5 Elm Grove Avenue was constructed in 1884/1885. 

Prior to the annexation of Parkdale by the City of Toronto in 1889, 5 Elm Grove Avenue was known as 75 Elm Grove Avenue. Parkdale's Queen Street was the zero line for address numbering in the village. 

5 Elm Grove Avenue has undergone various modifications over time, including additions to the building and interior renovations. 


First Occupants: 

5 Elm Grove Avenue was first home to the recently widowed Jessy (Jessie) Georgina Thompson (1835-1926) and several of her children. The Thompsons resided here from the construction of the house in 1884/1885 until 1889/1890. 

Jessy Georgina Thompson (née McCallum) was born in Toronto on 13 April 1835.  She was married to Christopher Joseph Thompson (1817-1884), an early master at Upper Canada College.  Further research is required to determine if the house was commissioned before or after the death of Christopher Joseph Thompson.

Several of the Thompsons' (young) adult children resided at the property with Jessy during the 1880s. Members of the Thompson family later lived at 100 Spencer Avenue in Parkdale. 

Jessy Georgina Thompson died in Toronto on 22 February 1926.


Later Occupants and Uses:  

Please note this list is not exhaustive of all former occupants and uses of 5 Elm Grove Avenue and aims to provide a general overview. Dates are also approximate. 


John Shilton:

Following the Thompsons, 5 Elm Grove Avenue was home to John Shilton during the early 1890s. John Shilton was a lawyer. One of his specialties was mining-related law. Shilton & Wallbridge — a two-man law firm consisting of John Shilton and William Wallbridge — were the first and only law firm to hire Clara Brett Martin (1874-1923) — the British Empire's first female lawyer — after she graduated from the bar in 1897. Clara Brett Martin worked for Shilton until 1906. 


Cecil Brunswick Smith:

During the mid-to-late 1900s and early 1910s, Cecil Brunswick Smith (1865-1912) and his family resided at 5 Elm Grove Avenue. Cecil Brunswick Smith was a prominent engineer.

Find a Grave has provided the following biography of Cecil B. Smith:


"Cecil Smith served in various capacities on several railways in Canada and the United States, he was successively Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at McGill University and Assistant City Engineer of Toronto.

From 1901 until his death, Mr. Smith was engaged in the design, construction and direction of large hydro-electric power installations at Niagara, Winnipeg, Calgary, Portland, and elsewhere on the North American continent."


Similarly, Smith's 1912 obituary in The Winnipeg Tribune reads as follows: 


"Cecil Brunswick Smith, one of the best known railway and hydro-electric engineers in the world, died on Saturday night at his residence, from malignant cancer. Although Smith was only 48 years old, he had gained a reputation second to none in the world for the particular line of work in which he had been engaged since his graduation from McGill University. Nearly every hydro-electric plant in America either was designed or built by him, and in Canada, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, his work stands as monuments to his memory.

Smith was a member of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers and for some time was president. He was the author of text books on railway engineering. He was a member of the institute of civil engineers of Great Britain and of the American Society of Engineers. He was president of the Engineers’ Club of Toronto.

Smith was born at Winona, Ontario, and was educated in Hamilton and at McGill, Montreal. He won the Governor-General’s medal on his graduation. He was a brother of Ed. Smith, of Winona. He was head of the firm of Smith, Kerry & Chace [Curry & Chase].

Mrs. Smith and two small sons survive him."


The Hon. Peter Ellis:

Following the death of Cecil Brunswick Smith in 1912, The Hon. Peter Ellis — a justice of the peace — resided at 5 Elm Grove Avenue. 



Current State:

As of early 2022, 5 Elm Grove Avenue has been vacant and increasingly derelict for approximately a decade. 

(Research by Adam Wynne)