The Thomas Goldsmith House has design value as a well-crafted example of a late 19th century house form building executed in the popular Queen Anne Revival style. While the structure displays the typical features of the style in its irregularly-shaped plan, mixture of materials, variety in the shape and placement of the fenestration, and classical detailing, the Thomas Goldsmith House is an important surviving example of residential architecture on Walmer Road in the West Annex that retains its architectural integrity. The property at 6 Walmer Road is also associated with the career of Toronto architect Frederick H. Herbert, one of the city’s best-known practitioners specializing in residential architecture at the close of the 19th century. Herbert designed houses for clients in the city's prominent residential neighbourhoods, including the West Annex where Arthur Boswell Houses at 69-71 Spadina Road are among those designated under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act. With the changes in the West Annex, the Thomas Goldsmith House remains an important surviving example of Herbert’s portfolio in the West Annex. Contextually, the Thomas Goldsmith House is historically linked to its surroundings on Walmer Road in the West Annex neighbourhood. The dwelling dates to the period when the area was a sought-after residential enclave where the Walmer Road Baptist Church (completed 1892) at 38 Walmer Road is another extant recognized heritage building.

Following the opening of the Annex, the subject property on the west side of Walmer Road between Bloor Street and Lowther Road was first sold in 1883, but remained undeveloped. George and Isabella Faulkner commissioned a house on the north end of Lot 14 that was in place by September 1888 when the tax assessment rolls were compiled. The latter residence is outlined on Goad's Atlas in 1890. That same year, Sarah A. Page acquired the property and, with her husband William P. Page, subdivided the tract in September 1896, selling the south 35 feet of Lot 14 to Alfaretta and Annette Goldsmith. Two days after the transaction, a building permit was issued for the house form building at present-day 6 Walmer Road.

The dwelling at 6 Walmer Road (originally numbered as #2 Walmer) was first recorded on the tax assessment rolls in August 1897 when it was occupied by Reverend Thomas Goldsmith (1823-1902), a Presbyterian minister. Goldsmith began his career as a minster with the Wesleyan Methodist Church and worked as an agent for the Upper Canada Bible Society, a Methodist organization that printed and circulated affordable Bibles. After joining the Presbyterian Church, Goldsmith served as the minister of several congregations in Ontario before returning to Toronto in the late 19th century. He assisted with services at St. Andrew’s Church on King Street West until retiring due to poor health. It was during this period that his family commissioned the Walmer Road residence where Goldsmith died in early 1902. Alfaretta and Annette Goldsmith retained the property until 1912, selling it to Rosa Marie Biggs who was the long-term owner up to 1954.

For more information on the Thomas Goldsmith House (6 Walmer Road), please see this report: https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-42809.pdf