Notes:
Thomas J Wilkie Block
Located at the south-east corner of Queen St E and George St, the properties at 167-185 Queen St E, are part of the original ten-unit block, constructed in 1886-7 for Thomas J. Wilkie. Its design is attributed to the architect Richard Ough. The three-storey, brick-clad block originally contained commercial units at the ground floor level with residential accommodation above.
The Thomas J. Wilkie block is representative of a late-19th century commercial and residential block in the High Victorian style with elements of the Richardsonian Romanesque style. The High Victorian style is evident in the massing of the building which included a corner tower, in the combination of materials, window types, and the sculptural relief of brick and wood surfaces, shopfronts and cornices and pierced wood headers - all of which indicate a high degree of originality and craftsmanship. The Richardsonian Romanesque style is present in the original corner tower elements including the large arched openings.
The Wilkie block has historic value for its association with Thomas J. Wilkie (d.1916) who is renowned for his leadership in the YMCA in Toronto and ultirmatley throughout the United States and Canada. With his brother, John N. Wilkie, he contributed to the planning and development of Long Branch as a summer resort which has since become a vibrant lakefront community in the west end of Toronto.
The block is valued as it represents the late 19th-century community which developed around this section of Queen Street as an urban townscape combining commercial, residential and industrial functions, lining one of the city's major cross-town routes. It is valued for its historic association with Queen Street, the original boundary between the Town of York to the south and the Park Lot estates to the north and with George Street, one of the original streets of the ten-block Town of York, established in 1793, and for its association with the King-Parliament neighbourhood in the late 19th century.
Contextually, this three-storey Victorian brick commercial block maintains the scale, form and massing, materiality and patterns of use of this section of Queen St E. Located on the north edge of the King Parliament Secondary Plan Area which contains the historic Town of York, it supports the character of the area as it represents the late 19th century development of the neighbourhood with consistent street walls, typically 3 storeys in height with commercial uses at the ground floor and residential above. Industrial uses were frequently located at the rear of these properties as here. It is located at the south-east corner of Queen and George Street which was the original western boundary of the Town of York.
The property at 167 Queen St E was designated in 2020. By-law 77-2020.
The properties at 167-185 Queen St E were listed on the City's Heritage Register in 2019.
The properties were also identified through the King Parliament Secondary Plan Review (2019) adn are part of the King-Parliament Historic Context as a Main Street Commercial Row Building Type.
Please see the attached report for a more complete history with historic photographs and maps and sources.
- Marybeth McTeague, October 2024
