Description:

555 Davenport Road is a 3-to-4 storey building located at the southeast corner of Davenport Road and Kendal Avenue near the crossroads of the Casa Loma, Castle Hill, and Tarragon Village neighbourhoods of Toronto. 555 Davenport Road was designed in an Art Deco style by the renowned architectural firm Chapman & Oxley in 1929. Construction was completed in early 1930. 555 Davenport Road was originally home to Barker's Bread Limited and was later renovated for office and institutional use during the 1960s. 


Please note that 555 Davenport Road also has the address 175 Kendal Avenue. Historically, it was also known as 559 Davenport Road.


Architects — Chapman and Oxley: 

Chapman and Oxley were a Toronto-based architectural firm consisting of Alfred Hirschfelder Chapman (1879-1949) and James Morrow Oxley (1883-1957). It was active from 1919 until the death of Chapman in 1949.


For more information on these architects and their various projects, please see the following Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada: 1800-1950 entries: 

Alfred Hirschfelder Chapman: http://www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/node/1608

James Morrow Oxley: http://www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/node/139


Chapman and Oxley's original architectural drawings of 555 Davenport Road are held in the Archives of Ontario: http://ao.minisisinc.com/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/ARCH_LISTINGS/LISTINGS_DET_REP/SISN%20347425?SESSIONSEARCH


Alongside Chapman & Oxley, engineer E. L. Cousins and the contracting firm A. R. Holmes Ltd. worked on the construction of the bakery.


Barker's Bread Limited: 

Between 1930 and 1954/1955, 555 Davenport Road was home to Barker's Bread Limited (later known as Barker's Bakeries Ltd. and as Woman's Bakery Ltd.). 


Barker's Bread Limited was founded in 1908/1909 by Harry Charles Barker (1858/1859-1928). The company was originally based at 279-283 Spadina Avenue (at the southeast corner of Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West). Prior to establishing his own bakery, Barker was employed as a foreman and manager at The Harry Webb Company — a catering and ornamental confectionery company based at 447 Yonge Street. 


Following Harry Charles Barker's death in January 1928, the company was sold to Edward W. Bickle of the bond brokerage firm E. W. Bickle and Company for a price in excess of $100 000. Bickle and his associates subsequently reorganized and expanded the company, although Barker's widow — Helen Edith Barker (1868-1944) — remained a major shareholder. 


By January 1929, the new president of Barker's Bread Ltd. was George Burry — formerly the owner of the Toronto-based confectionery shop chain George Burry Ltd., which Barker's Bread Ltd. had bought out around the same time. Barker's Bread Ltd. continued to operate the George Burry Ltd. shops in Toronto. By 1934/1935, Burry had moved to the United States (first Chicago (Illinois) and then Linden (New Jersey), although continued in his role as the president of Barker's Bread Ltd. until 1938. Later presidents of Barker's included Harold B. Manning (1938-1941), James B. White (June 1941-1943/1944), and Earl Lawson (1943/1944-1945/1946). 


In January 1929, Barker's Bread Limited announced plans for two new bakeries — one at Davenport Road and Kendal Avenue and one at Bathurst Street and Fleet Street. The Davenport Road and Kendal Avenue bakery was designed by the architectural firm Chapman & Oxley and the Bathurst Street and Fleet Street bakery was designed by Earle Sheppard. Newspaper articles indicate that the Davenport bakery cost $500 000, whereas the Bathurst bakery cost $300 000. The Davenport Road site contained both bakery facilities and stables. Construction of 555 Davenport Road was completed in early 1930. Further research is required to determine if the Bathurst Street and Fleet Street bakery was ever completed or whether this project was cancelled due to the advent of the Great Depression. 


Modern Baking Science Reaches Perfection in Barker's Bakery — a 30 June 1930 newspaper article in The Toronto Daily Star — noted that the bakery was equipped with the top-of-the-line baking technologies and produced about sixty types of baked goods, including breads, desserts (cookies, cakes, pies, etc.), and various seasonal items. This article additionally noted that Barker's Bread Ltd. had taken over 3000 women on tours of the new factory since it had opened and that they had baked 756 629 loaves of bread in a nine-week period. In 1931, Barker's Bread Ltd. announced plans for a new, three-storey distribution centre to be constructed nearby at 230-234 Walmer Road. Job postings from the 1940s indicate that the plant employed a large number of women in various roles, including as packers, salesladies, etc. 


During the early 1940s, Barker's Bread Ltd. changed its name to Barker's Bakeries Ltd. In July 1945, Canadian Food Products Ltd. — a large food producer with numerous subsidiaries — offered to purchase Barker's Bakeries Ltd. for $506 215. This sale was completed by August 1945. Alongside acquiring Barker's Bakeries Ltd., Canadian Food Products Ltd. also purchased the Manning Biscuit Company and the Federal Systems of Bakeries this same year. These acquisitions were undertaken as part of Canadian Food Products Ltd.'s planned postwar expansion of their Woman's Bakery Ltd. brand and subsidiary. The Barker's name became disused in 1945/1946.


Woman's Bakery Ltd. continued operations at 555 Davenport Road until 1954/1955. In 1954/1955, the building was vacated. 


Later Occupants and Uses: 


Rose & LaFlamme Ltd. and the Canadian Extract and Supply Company Ltd:

From circa 1956 until 1966, 555 Davenport Road was home to Rose & LaFlamme Ltd. and the Canadian Extract and Supply Company Ltd. Both of these companies manufactured food extracts, including flavourings and oils. 


Provincial Institute of Trades and Occupations and George Brown College:

In 1966, plans were announced by the Ontario Department of Public Works to extensively renovate 555 Davenport Road for use by the Provincial Institute of Trades and Occupations (PITO), which was then based at 37 Dartnell Avenue. PITO was absorbed by George Brown College around the time the college opened in 1967. The 1960s renovations of 555 Davenport Road took several years to complete with additional alterations occurring during the mid-1970s. 555 Davenport Road remained in use by George Brown College as the "B Building" of its Casa Loma Campus until the early 2020s. 


Redevelopment Application: 

In April 2022, Zinc Developments announced a redevelopment proposal for an 8-storey condominium building at 555 Davenport Road. This proposal includes demolition of the extant 1929/1930 building. 

(Research by Adam Wynne)