Description:  

439 Queen Street West is a 2.5 storey building located near the southeast corner of Queen Street West and Spadina Avenue. 439 Queen Street West was constructed in circa 1860/1861 in the Georgian Revival style.  

439 Queen Street West is a heritage designated building and a contributing property within the Queen Street West Heritage Conservation District.

Historical photographs indicate that by 1910, the second floor masonry has been covered in stucco. By 1972, the second floor windows had also been covered over with stucco.

439 Queen Street has historically been known as 343-343½ Queen Street West (pre-1873), 365 Queen Street West (1873-1889), and 433-435 Queen Street West (1890s to 1930s). Since approximately the late 1910s, the property has been known as 439 Queen Street West.


History of Building: 

Please note this section aims to provide a general overview of the history of 439 Queen Street West. Dates are approximate. 

1860/1861 to 1862: 

439 Queen Street West was vacant. During this point in time, the ground floor of 439 Queen Street West was divided into two storefronts.

1863/1864:

In 1863/1864, the ground floor of 439 Queen Street West was divided in two storefronts — known as 343 and 343½ Queen Street West. The east storefront (343) was home to William Hodgins' grocery shop, whereas the west storefront (343½) was home to Alexander Preston's grocery shop.

1865/1866: 

In 1865/1866, 439 Queen Street West was divided into two storefronts — known as 343 and 343½ Queen Street West. The east storefront was home to William Hodgins' grocery shop, whereas the west storefront was vacant.  


1866/1867 to 1868:

In 1866/1867, the storefronts were consolidated together as 343 Queen Street West. The storefront became home to Archibald McMullen's grocery shop.

1869/1870:

In 1869/1870, 439 Queen Street West was vacant.

1870/1871 to 1872:

In 1870/1871 to 1872, 439 Queen Street West was home to William Dickie's grocery and liquor shop.  


Circa 1874/1875:

In circa 1874/1875, 439 Queen Street West was home to David Hewitt's hardware store. 

1879/1880:

In 1879/1880, 439 Queen Street West — then known as 365 Queen Street West — was home to Gerhard Heintzman's piano manufacturing and retail business. Gerhard Heintzman (1845-1926) was a nephew of Theodore Heintzman. 

The Canadian Encyclopedia notes that Gerhard Heintzman "established the Heintzman Piano Manufacturing Co in 1877 on Little Richmond St and built 10 pianos by himself. In 1879 he moved to 365 Queen St.  He began making pianos - almost a third of his output - for A. & S. Nordheimer in 1881, and by 1885 he was employing 50 to 60 people who produced eight pianos a week. The two companies merged ca 1886 as the Lansdowne Piano Co. After Heintzman withdrew from that partnership in 1890, he established the Gerhard Heintzman Co. The factory was located at 63-75 Sherbourne St in Toronto, and in 1892 it produced a dozen upright pianos each week from seven different designs. A grand piano was introduced in the 1890s. The factory was enlarged in 1900 and a recital hall was added. Showrooms were opened at 97 Yonge in 1905 and at 41-3 Queen St in 1909. After Gerhard's death the business was purchased by Heintzman & Co. The Gerhard Heintzman Co produced over 39,900 instruments." 
 

1884/1885: 

In circa 1884/1885, 439 Queen Street West was home to the Toronto Co-Operative Association. 

Active from 1877 to 1888, the Toronto Co-Operative Association was one of Toronto's first consumer and producer co-operatives.

1889/1890:

In 1889/1890, 439 Queen Street West was home to Sidney Hofland's laundry company. 

1894/1895:

In 1894/1895, 439 Queen Street West was home to the T. R. Stafford marble company. 

1899/1900:  

In 1899/1890, 439 Queen Street West was home to Brenton & Company — upholsterers.  


1909/1910: 

In 1909/1910, 439 Queen Street West was home to S. Levinter — a stove company.

1914/1915:

In 1914/1915, 439 Queen Street West was home to a Chinese restaurant. Unfortunately, the name of the restaurant is not known at present.

1919/1920: 

In 1919/1920, 439 Queen Street West was home to the New Paris Café. The proprietor of the New Paris Café was Harry Chew. Chew's restaurant was one of the first Chinese restaurants in the Spadina Avenue area. Chew also had restaurants in three other towns in Ontario: Galt, Guelph, and Paris. During World War I, Harry Chew attempted to join the Royal Canadian Air Force, but was rejected. He later bought his own airplane in 1919. 

1927:

In 1927, 439 Queen Street West was home to the Adanac Café. The Adanac Café was struck by tragedy on 3 March 1927 when a customer fell down the stairs and died after experiencing a heart attack. 

1928/1929:

In 1928/1929, 439 Queen Street West was home to the Chew Brothers' café. The café was closed by Toronto Police in late January 1929 for "not conforming to regulations."  


1929/1930:  

In 1929/1930, 439 Queen Street West was home to a Chinese restaurant. Unfortunately, the name of the restaurant is not known at present. 

1934/1935: 

In 1934/1935, 439 Queen Street West was home to Universal Auto Parts.  

1939/1940:

In 1939/1940, 439 Queen Street West was vacant. 

Circa 1949 to late 1970s or early 1980s: 

From circa 1949 to the late 1970s or early 1980s, 439 Queen Street West was home to Collis Furniture. By the 1970s, the company had become known as Murray Collis Furniture. 


1988:

As of 1988, 439 Queen Street West was home to the Computronix Data Centre — a computer store.

2000s: 

During the 2000s, 439 Queen Street West was home to City of Angels — an apparel store. 

Circa 2010-2019/2020: 

From circa 2010 to 2019/2019, 439 Queen Street west was home to a branch of Ardene — a value fashion retailer. 

2019/2020 to Present Day: 

Since 2019/2020, 439 Queen Street West has been home to a branch of the Love Shop — an adult novelty and sex toy shop. 

At Risk:  

In October 2022, Toronto Building issued an "Order to Remedy Unsafe Building" for 439 Queen Street West. The order noted "the north face of the building has severe structural cracking on both inside and outside. Cracks are resulting in the front exterior wall to detach from the rest of the building." 

(Research by Adam Wynne)