Description: 

16 Dundonald Street is a 2-storey plus basement house located on the north side of Dundonald Street approximately 90 meters east of Yonge Street in the Church-Wellesley Village neighbourhood of Toronto. 16 Dundonald Street was constructed in 1906/1907 and is in the Edwardian Classical style of architecture. 

Constructed in 1906/1907, 16 Dundonald Street was one of the very first houses built on Dundonald Street and is representative of the earliest development of the street. 

The architect and/or builder of 16 Dundonald Street are not known at present. However, further archival resources — presently inaccessible to members of the public due to COVID-19 pandemic-related closures of the municipal archives — may be able to identify these parties. 

Of design interest is that 16 Dundonald Street contains the only extant example of a crenelated bay window within the Church-Wellesley Village neighbourhood of Toronto. 

Dundonald Street — A Brief History: 

Dundonald Street runs east-west between Church Street and Yonge Street in the Church-Wellesley Village neighbourhood of Toronto. 

Dundonald Street is situated on former Park Lots 7 and 8. Park Lot 7 was granted to Commissary John McGill on 4 September 1793, whereas Park Lot 8 was granted to George Playter on 4 September 1793. In the late 1830s or early 1840s, William Proudfoot — the Governor of the British American Assurance Company and the Bank of Upper Canada — purchased a portion of the park lots which was approximately bounded by present-day Yonge Street, Church Street, Wellesley Street East, and Gloucester Street. In 1843, Proudfoot commissioned John Howard to design an estate house for the property. This estate house was originally known as Kearsney House (also spelled Kearnsey House in some sources). At the time of its construction in the 1840s, Kearsney House was considered one of the finest houses in Toronto and was surrounded by countryside and orchards.  


During the late 1850s, the Bank of Upper Canada was in a dire financial situation. By 1858, portions of the Kearsney House estate had been sold for development. In 1861, Proudfoot stepped down from his governorship and the Bank of Upper Canada obtained ownership of Kearsney House. The Bank of Upper Canada subsequently sold the estate in 1862 to Robert Cassels — a prominent businessman who had been appointed the new general manager of the Bank of Upper Canada after Proudfoot's departure. A few years later, in either 1867 or 1869 (sources vary), Kearsney House was sold to Donald MacKay (1815-1909) — an industrialist manufacturer of dry goods and fabrics — who renamed it Dundonald. MacKay began further subdividing the estate for development from the 1870s onward. In 1903/1904, Mackay — then known as one of Toronto's "chiefs of commerce" — sold the Dundonald estate and moved to 5 Queen's Park, where he died at age 94 in 1909. 


The Dundonald estate house was demolished in 1903/1904 and Dundonald Street was created. Dundonald Street runs directly through the former site of the estate house. Of additional note is that Dundonald Street was one of the last streets to be created in the Church-Wellesley Village neighbourhood, as most area street date to the mid-to-late 19th century. 


The first houses were constructed on Dundonald Street in 1906/1907. As of 1906/1907, the houses on Dundonald Street were numbers 2, 4, 6, 16, 29, 34, 40, and 42. Development rapidly increased in the following years. By 1913, all of the lots on Dundonald Street had been built on. Subsequent waves of redevelopment have included the addition of apartment buildings during the early-to-mid 20th century; commercial, office, and institutional buildings during the mid-to-late 20th century; park space during the mid-to-late 20th century; and condominium high-rise developments during the early 21st century onward. 



First Occupants:  

Between its construction in 1906/1907 and late 1925, 16 Dundonald Street was home to Francis William Johnston and his wife Maria Island Johnston.


Francis William Johnston — also known as Frank Johnston and/or F. W. Johnston — was born in Ontario in 1861 or 1863.  Maria Island Johnston — his wife — was born in Ontario in 1861 or 1863/1864. Both Francis and Maria were from Irish-Canadian families. The Johnstons were Congregationalists. The Johnstons did not appear to have had any children. 


By the 1880s, the Johnstons were running a grocery shop at 82 Davenport Road. The Johnstons appear to have retired from this business around the time they moved into 16 Dundonald Street (c. 1906/1907).  


By the early 20th century, Francis William Johnston became actively involved in municipal politics. He ran as an aldermanic candidate for Toronto's Ward 3 in multiple municipal elections during the 1900s through early 1920s. Johnston's electoral campaigns noted that he was a "successful businessman in Ward 3 for over 30 years" with supplementary newspaper articles also identifying him as an active Orangeman. Johnston was elected to office as the Alderman for Ward 3 in 1918, 1919, and 1920. During his time as alderman, Johnston served on several municipal committees, including the public works committee and the parks and exhibitions committee. In 1919, Johnston was involved in a municipal investigation that examined high rent prices and extreme rent increases in Toronto. An element of this investigation included addressing landlords who were "war profiteers" that exploited tenants due to an increased demand for housing as a result of a large number of soldiers returning to Canada after the Armistice of World War I. In response to the investigation, Mayor Thomas Langton Church recommended legislation enacting a ban on rent increases for a 12-month period and noted that the "government had for four years been sleeping on a volcano which would one day blow up."  Unfortunately, the suggestion to "appoint a Commission to investigate rents and introduce legislation to protect tenants" was voted down. In July 1920, Johnston introduced a motion to ban taxis from the vicinity of the King Edward Hotel as taxi companies were clashing with each other while competing for fares and causing major traffic congestion. 


Maria Island Johnston passed away suddenly on 16 June 1924. In December 1925, Francis William Johnston sold 16 Dundonald Street at public auction. Unfortunately, limited information is available about Johnston's activities after 1924/1925. By the 1930s, Johnston resided (potentially with his sister) at 48 Asquith Avenue in Yorkville. Francis W. Johnston died at 48 Asquith Avenue in June 1949. 


Please note that Johnston is spelled Johnstone and Johnson in various historical sources. Please also note that in 1918 there were two Toronto aldermen with extremely similar names: F. W. Johnston (Ward 3) and F. M. Johnston (Ward 1). Another individual with the name F. W. Johnston was also active in the early activities of the Canadian National institute for the Blind during the late 1910s and early 1920s.


Later Occupants and Uses:  

Please note that this list of former occupants and uses of 16 Dundonald Street is not exhaustive of all former occupants or uses and aims to provide a general overview. Dates are also approximate. 


Circa. 1926:

16 Dundonald Street: Andrew Percival.

Unfortunately, no further information about Andrew Percival is available at present.

Circa. 1929/1930:

16 Dundonald Street: Andrew Percival. 

Circa 1939/1940:

16 Dundonald Street: Andrew Percival. 

Andrew Percival was listed as owning the house as of 1939/1940.


Circa 1949/1950: 

16 Dundonald Street: Edward Verner — then the Secretary-Treasurer of the Trent Valley Baking Company Limited — and his family. Edward Verner was listed as owning the house as of 1949/1950.

Circa 1959/1960:

16 Dundonald Street: Edward Verner — then the Secretary of Consolidated Bakeries — and his family. 


Circa 1968/1969:

As of the late 1960s, 16 Dundonald Street was used as a rooming house. Notably, the 1969 City of Toronto Directory lists at least 11 rooming houses on Dundonald Street as of that point in time.  



Land Assembly and Sale (Early 2022): 

16 Dundonald Street is part of a land assembly which includes the neighbouring townhouse complex at 23-29A Gloucester Street. In late January or early February 2022, 16 Dundonald Street and 23-29A Gloucester Street were listed for sale for $49 230 000. As of early 2022, neighbouring 21 Gloucester Street is also for sale for $12 800 000, albeit is not part of the aforementioned land assembly. 



(Research by Adam Wynne)