Description: 

577-579 Church Street are a 2.5 storey, semi-detached house located on the east side of Church Street between Gloucester Street and Isabella Street in the Church-Wellesley Village neighbourhood of Toronto. 577-579 Church Street were constructed in 1872/1873 in an early Bay and Gable style of architecture. The architect of 577-579 Church Street was Henry Langley (1836-1907) and the first owner was William Bain Scarth (1837-1902). 

Constructed in 1872/1873, 577-579 Church Street were the first houses built on the east side of Church Street between Gloucester Street and Isabella Street. As such, 577-579 Church Street are representative of the earliest development of this block of Church Street.  

Originally residential, 577-579 Church Street were modified during the 20th century to allow for both commercial and office use. The storefront addition on 577 Church Street was added between 1925 and 1930 and appears to have also included the removal of a 2-storey bay window and a covered porch. The exteriors of 577-579 Church Street have been painted.

Prior to 1890, 577-579 Church Street was known as 503-505 Church Street. 



Architect — Henry Langley: 

The architect of 577-579 Church Street was Henry Langley (1836-1907). 

The Cabbagetown People: The Social History of a Canadian Inner City Neighbourhood project has provided the following biography of Henry Langley: 

"Henry Langley’s parents emigrated to Canada from Ireland in 1832. He was born in Toronto, and educated at Toronto Academy, where he primarily studied the principles of drawing.

In 1854, William Hay, who was a specialist in gothic architecture took Henry on as an apprentice. Throughout those seven years they worked together on some of the oldest structures and building in Toronto, including St. Basil’s Church, Toronto, two of the original buildings at University of St. Michael’s College, Yorkville Town Hall, and the Oaklands at De La Salle College. These are just a few to mention.

When William Hay decided to leave Toronto in 1861, Henry became partners with Thomas Gundry. From 1872 to 1883, he practiced with his brother Edward and his nephew Edmund Burke as Langley, Langley and Burke. From 1892 to 1907 he practiced with his son Charles as Langley and Langley.

Henry Langley has been referred to as the most prolific church architect for all denominations. His background in Gothic Revival Architecture and architectural theory were key to the success of his firm, which designed large-scale churches across the province. He also designed numerous secular buildings-residential, commercial and public buildings.

Mr. Langley was a founding member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1880 and instrumental in establishing the Ontario Association of Architects in 1889. He was first chair of the Department of Architecture at the University of Toronto where he taught during the 1880s and 1890s.

Henry Langley died of pneumonia at the age of 70 and is interred in an unmarked grave, just beside his parents in the Toronto Necropolis. He designed the beautiful cemetery’s chapel."

An additional biography of Henry Langley is available on the Dictionary of Canadian Biography: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/langley_henry_13E.html



First Owner — William Bain Scarth:

In 1872, William Bain Scarth commissioned architect Henry Langley to design the houses at 577-579 Church Street. By 1873, the houses were completed and occupied. William Bain Scarth initially resided at 579 Church Street in 1872/1873, followed by a later residency at 577 Church Street between 1876/1877 and 1884 (barring a brief hiatus around 1880). In 1884, the Scarth family moved to Winnipeg. Further research is required to determine whether the houses were sold at this point in time. 


Zenon Gawron has provided the following biography of William Bain Scarth in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography:


"William Bain Scarth, businessman, politician, and office holder; born 10 November 1837 in Aberdeen Scotland, second son of James Lendrum Scarth and Jane Geddes; married 27 April 1869 Jessie Stuart Franklin Hamilton, sister of the wife of Alexander Begg, in Hamilton Ontario, and they had at least eight children, including four sons and three daughters; died 15 May 1902 in Ottawa. 

Educated in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, William Bain Scarth, a descendant of the Binscarths of the Orkney Islands, immigrated to Upper Canada in 1855. He immediately acquired a taste for Conservative politics and campaigned for Isaac Buchanan in Hamilton. A young man of promise, Scarth set off for London, to work for Buchanan’s associate, Adam Hope. In 1865 he followed Hope to Hamilton and in 1868 he moved to Toronto to work for him. By 1870 he was manager of A. and C. J. Hope and Company, the Toronto arm of Hope’s hardware business, but he may also have been attempting to branch out on his own as a commission merchant. Hope’s Toronto firm closed the following year. Despite this set-back Scarth had acquired valuable experience. His political activity in London and Hamilton had won him respect and his emerging friendship with Sir John A. Macdonald decisively guided his future.

Scarth had married in 1869 and had settled in prosperous St James Ward. He served as one of the ward’s aldermen in 1879 and 1882, president of its Conservative association, and chairman of the federal Conservative party’s forces in the riding of Toronto Centre. His ruling passion was the welfare of the federal Conservative party and he claimed to have figured prominently in every electoral campaign waged in Toronto between 1875 and 1884. None the less, his bid in 1883 to repeat his modest electoral success failed.

Scarth had set himself up in 1871 as a shipowner and timber merchant. By 1873, with his brother James Lendrum Scarth, he had formed Scarth Brothers, a firm of timber merchants. The following year they joined Alexander McArthur, his brothers John and Peter, and other businessmen to form the Collins Bay Rafting and Forwarding Company. The firm was probably involved in the extensive lumbering operations of McArthur Brothers on Georgian Bay. Scarth’s connection with it continued into the 1880s, but Scarth Brothers may have dissolved around 1875. In that year Scarth, his brother, and Robert Cochran formed Scarth, Cochran and Company, stockbrokers and real-estate agents. Apart from his own involvements in insurance, railways, mining and real estate, Scarth made his mark as an enterprising manager of British capital in Canada. He was instrumental in the establishment of the North British Canadian Investment Company and the Scottish Ontario and Manitoba Land Company, founded in 1876 and 1879 respectively, with boards of directors composed of similar groups of merchant capitalists from Glasgow. The two firms were involved in land speculation and property development. On his advice, they invested heavily in Toronto and the northwest, and in 1880 Scarth established agencies for both in Manitoba. The boom in Manitoba was just in the offing, but he confided to Macdonald in 1880 that he had borne “for five years back . . . continuous worry and trial” over his personal financial situation. He would experience financial difficulties at various times throughout his life.

On 6 June 1882 the Canadian Pacific Railway sold a large portion of its land grant to a consortium of English and Canadian capitalists represented by Scarth, Edmund Boyd Osler, and others. The land was in turn sold to the Canada North-West Land Company, created two weeks later, and Scarth was catapulted into the position of managing director of the company. Through its successive boards of directors, Scarth would associate with members of the British peerage, some of the directors of the Scottish land companies, and notables such as explorer John Raen (his wife’s uncle) and Donald Alexander Smith. In 1884, a year after an agreement had been struck between the CPR, the CNWLC, and the dominion government for the development of the townsites of Virden, Man., and Regina, Qu’Appelle, and Moose Jaw (Sask.), Scarth assumed sole administrative responsibility for the joint venture.

As the excitement of the early 1880s died, Scarth’s three land companies floundered with unrealized investments. Writing to Macdonald from Winnipeg in 1884, he explained that he had moved there with his family to “work my [Scottish] friends well out of the company, or rather the company itself well out if I can.” He had no small task ahead of him. Declining sales forced the CNWLC to reduce the number of its directors and the size of its operations. Power in the company slowly passed into the hands of Canadians and Scarth found the climate inhospitable after the departure of directors who were his friends. His own finances suffered and moved him at times to desperation. His appeals to Macdonald for favours grew progressively less fastidious. “Like many others,” he wrote, “I made losses in the boom and in addition to being cleaned out of money am daily meeting obligations from my income.”

His financial situation did little to damp his political enthusiasm, however. In 1885 he was elected president of the Liberal-Conservative Association in Winnipeg, in spite of complaints from Liberal shareholders in the CNWLC. Although Scarth had a well-deserved reputation for honesty and integrity, his critics deplored his lack of judgement. He often leaned on Macdonald for instruction in situations where subtlety and discretion were required. Notwithstanding his zeal, his attempts to cement together the supporters of Macdonald and those of provincial Conservative leader John Norquay proved ineffective. Although widely known as a leading representative of Macdonald, Scarth could not command unquestioned support for his leader’s wishes even among those who considered themselves Macdonald’s men.

Having obtained Macdonald’s blessing and the grudging consent of the CNWLC, Scarth ran as an independent against William Fisher Luxton in the provincial election of December 1886. Unfortunately he had no organization to speak of two weeks before the vote and was bedridden with bronchitis for much of the campaign. Followers of Macdonald failed to back him, and the Norquayites who supported him did him great injury by denouncing Macdonald’s policy of disallowing provincial railway legislation. Unsuccessful in straddling both wings of the party, Scarth lost by 39 votes.

Long before the election, Scarth had been intimately involved in organizing the campaign for the impending federal election on behalf of Donald Alexander Smith. When Smith withdrew from the race in the riding of Winnipeg the Conservatives were left without a strong candidate there. Macdonald thrice pressed the party’s standard on Scarth, who eventually accepted. Heaven and earth were then moved to win Scarth the seat. Macdonald lured Duncan MacArthur out of contention with the promise of an appointment to the Senate and provided Scarth with the means to attack the other contestant, Hugh McKay Sutherland, promoter of the Winnipeg and Hudson Bay Railway. Scarth won by eight votes on 22 Feb. 1887.

His activity in the Anti-Disallowance Association, formed shortly after the elections, was simply a ruse; as the provincial and federal governments moved towards confrontation, he was compelled to maintain the appearance of opposing Ottawa’s unpopular policy. His situation was unenviable. When the Norquay regime entered its final crisis, he was drawn into negotiations to establish a coalition government under David Howard Harrison, based on a proposal to end the CPR monopoly in 1891 in return for the cessation of hostile provincial railway legislation. Scarth’s indiscriminate use of the prime minister’s letters revealed Macdonald to be the real architect of the plan and he faced an open revolt by anti-disallowance Conservatives who wrenched the leadership of the Winnipeg Liberal-Conservative Association from his hands. His identification with Macdonald without open recognition of his services from his mentor had left him severely vulnerable. His political career lay in tatters.

The CNWLC applied enormous pressure in April 1888 to have Scarth abandon political office, since his activity was a dubious asset to the company. Macdonald, alarmed at the prospect of reopening the riding, asked Sir George Stephen, who was president of the CPR and had great influence with the CNWLC, to allow Scarth to retain his seat for the sake of the northwest and the railway. Stephen’s reply was blunt. Scarth was too “ready to sacrifice himself and his family . . . for an ambition that in his case is hollow, he is not and never can be anything politically but a ciffer.” Macdonald apparently ceased to consult Scarth on important political matters, patiently withstanding his periodic outbursts of frustration at the prime minister and the “CPR magnates” who impaired his usefulness.

Just before the election of 1891 the CNWLC attempted, without Scarth’s knowledge, to bargain for his retirement from politics in return for tax concessions from the administration of Premier Thomas Greenway, but the plan failed. Humiliated, Scarth considered exposing the deal, but his sizeable family and his financial straits led him to decide otherwise. Faced with opposition from the CNWLC to his participation in the campaign, he favoured the nomination of Macdonald’s son, Hugh John, and finally prevailed on the prime minister to agree to it.

A leading contender for the position of lieutenant governor to replace John Christian Schultz, Scarth enhanced his qualifications in 1894 by becoming president of the Winnipeg Industrial Exhibition Association and the Winnipeg Board of Trade. He had a serious rival in Arthur Wellington Ross, the champion of the party’s rank and file; Scarth’s support came from the party’s élite. Because of deep divisions in Conservative ranks concerning the appointment, eventually both he and Ross were passed over, notwithstanding some furious angling on their part. Scarth’s final reward came with his appointment as deputy minister of agriculture at Ottawa on 1 Dec. 1895.

Whatever expertise Scarth may have had in agricultural policy was never utilized. During his tenure he was preoccupied with matters of quarantine, and in 1897 he was given additional responsibilities as deputy commissioner of patents. His health began to deteriorate in 1898. He was stricken with diplopia a year later. Shortly afterwards, the Liberal government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier launched an investigation into the accounts of the town-site trust established in 1884 (Scarth had been re-elected to its board of directors in 1895). A commission questioned him at length. Its report criticized Scarth’s involvement in securing refunds for his Scottish friends in 1886. In obtaining the refunds Scarth had requested of Macdonald that the credit for settling the question with the government be given to him rather than to Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, whom the Scottish investors had hired to represent them. Macdonald had pronounced Scarth “worth a dozen Galts.” It was an affirmation that would scarcely survive the prime minister. With Macdonald’s death in 1891 Scarth’s heyday had passed. He stayed in office until his death in 1902, although illness prevented him from discharging his duties during his final years."


Portraits of William Bain Scarth have been included with this entry.

Chronology of Occupants and Uses: 

Please note this chronology of past occupants and uses is not exhaustive of all former occupants and uses and aims to provide a general overview. Dates are also approximate. 


1872/1873:

577 Church Street: James Henderson — barrister.

579 Church Street:  William Bain Scarth — lumber merchant and ship dealer. 

Note: William Bain Scarth was erroneously listed as W. B. Scott in some historical sources for this year. 


1873/1874 - 1876/1877:

577 Church Street: James Henderson — barrister.

579 Church Street: Mary A. Perram — widow of John Perram.


James Henderson: James Henderson (1838-1911) was born in Ontario in 1838. By 1871, he was working as a barrister in Toronto with his younger brother Robert C. Henderson (born 1843). As of the early 1870s, the Hendersons' firm was known as J. & R. C. Henderson and was based at the Royal Insurance Company Building at 1 Wellington Street East. James Henderson also served as the Vice President of the Bishop Strachan School and as a Director of the Consumer's Gas Company. James Henderson was married to Marrian Henderson (born 1841). He died in 1911, aged 73, during an operation at Toronto General Hospital.


Mary Ann Perram: Marry Ann Perram (1817-1888) resided at 579 Church Street between 1873/1874 and 1876/1877. The Perram family were originally from London, England. Mary Ann Perram (née Williams) was the daughter of a ship owner. In 1843, she married John Perram (1816-1861) in Hackney (England). The Perrams emigrated to Canada between 1847 and 1850. Mary and John Perram had at least 5 children. Prior to the death of John Perram (1816-1861), the family lived in Tecumseth where they had a farm. Mary Ann Perram appears to have moved to Toronto during the early 1870s. She is the eponym of the heritage Mary Perram House (1877) at 4 Wellesley Place, where she resided until 1879/1880. Mary Ann Perram died in Kent, England in 1888. 


1877/1878:

577 Church Street:  William Bain Scarth.

579 Church Street: Samuel C. Duncan-Clark — a senior agent of the Lancashire Insurance Company (operating under S. C. Duncan-Clark & Company). 

1879/1880:

577 Church Street:  577 Church Street appears to have been used as a rooming house during the Scarth's family brief hiatus from the property around 1879/1880. Residents as of this point in time included: Thomas Stewart — a bookkeeper; George Dean — a clerk; H. Skinner — a clerk; and Colin Gordon. 

579 Church Street: M. J. Kelaly — a widow. 


Early-to-mid 1880s to early 1900s:

577 Church Street: Amy Moss and family — between 1883/1884 and 1894/1895; and the Church of England Training House — between 1895 and 1899.  This Church of England Training House trained deaconesses, missionaries, and Sunday School teachers. 

579 Church Street: James Macdonald and family — between 1881 and the early 1910s.  James Macdonald was a retiree for most of the time that the Macdonald family resided at 579 Church Street. 


1899/1900:

577 Church Street:  Charles H. Bailey — a stock keeper at the Miln-Bingham Printing Company.

579 Church Street: James Macdonald. 


1901/1902:

577 Church Street: Rabbi Solomon Jacobs (1861-1920) — Rabbi Jacobs was an influential Jewish rabbi. He moved from Kingston, Jamaica to Toronto in 1900 and became rabbi of the recently completed Holy Blossom Synagogue. 

579 Church Street: James Macdonald.


1909/1910:

577 Church Street: Daniel A. Peacock — a decorator. 

579 Church Street: James Macdonald.


1919/1920:

577 Church Street: Catharine Peacock — widow of Daniel A. Peacock.

579 Church Street: Luthera Bolton — widow of Hugh Bolton. 


1924/1925:

577 Church Street: James Hillis 

579 Church Street:  Luthera Bolton — widow of Hugh Bolton. 


1929/1930:

577 Church Street:  Branch of Dominion Stores Ltd. (grocery store); C. A. Wilder; and George Flack. 

579 Church Street: Edward A. Bunting. 


1939/1940:

577 Church Street: Branch of Dominion Stores Ltd. (grocery store); and two residential apartments. 

579 Church Street:  Frank McCutcheon. 


1944/1945:

577 Church Street: Isabella Grocery; and two residential apartments, home to F. E. Smith and Alice Jones. 

579 Church Street: Wilfred Oliver and William Percival. 


1949/1950:

577 Church Street: Isabella Grocery; and William Buccy. 

579 Church Street:  Rooming House. 


1959/1960:

577 Church Street: Isabella Grocery; and Frances Bucci. 

579 Church Street: Rooming House. 


1964/1965:

577 Church Street: Isabella Grocery; and Frances Bucci. 

579 Church Street: Rooming House. 


1968/1969:

577 Church Street: Food Fair — grocers; and Frances Asselin. 

579 Church Street: Confederation of National Trade Unions. 


1970s-1990s:

During the early 1970s (c. 1973), 579 Church Street became home to Abelina's Solution. Abelina's Solution is notable — per its advertisements in The Body Politic — for being the first boutique in Canada to offer products and services tailored specifically to drag queens, male homosexuals, and transvestites. 
 

During the 1970s-1990s, 577 and 579 Church Street also housed various companies associated with the film and theatre productions, including Dermet Productions Ltd. (c. 1970s-1990s); the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (c. 1991); and Metropolis Motion Pictures Inc. (c. 1996). Bermuda Tan Inc. — a tanning salon — was based at 579 Church Street during the early 1980s. The New Leaf florist has been based at 577 Church Street since 1990 (see below). 


Present Day:

577 Church Street:  The New Leaf — flowers and gifts. The New Leaf was established in 1962 and has been based at 577 Church Street since 1990. 

579 Church Street: Downtown Animal Hospital. The Downtown Animal Hospital was established on Hayden Street in 1986 and moved to its current location at 579 Church Street in 1996. 

The upstairs of 577-579 Church Street appear to contain residential units as of early 2022.

(Research by Adam Wynne)

• Architect - Henry Langley  <-- More buildings by this architect.