Showing 51 results

Dr. Gilbert Blackwell’s House is located on the southwest corner of Barrie and Joseph Streets at 72 Barrie Street. His office faced Joseph Street. The structure was built in 1935 by builder Art Saint in the Arts and Crafts style.
The simple form has an asymmetrical façade and a rectilinear plan. A broad, steeply-pitched, bell-cast roof with a centre dormer extends down to reduce the scale of the building from the street. It also covers the original front porch (which has been enclosed). The structure has wide window openings with low floor to ceiling heights. A wide band of windows across the front of the dormer emphasizes the horizontal lines and massing of this house. Smaller, second-storey windows in the front dormer are offset from the ground-floor windows and have plain, wood sills and trim. The original arched openings in the front porch have been infilled and new windows have been installed. Brackets support the cornice at the roof and there is a central, brick chimney. The house has wood frame construction, stucco cladding and a painted, concrete foundation. A mix of exterior cladding materials is common to this style. The windows, awnings, and the one-storey, rear addition are not original. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is in good condition with some original features. (1, 3)

The Davey House is a large, two-storey house located at 79 Barrie St. (on the northeast corner of Barrie St. and Scanlon Avenue). It was built in the Gothic Revival style around 1880. There was a two-storey, frame barn on the back of the lot originally. Bill Davey and his family - Minto "Scott", Leona, Oswald, Archie, and Margaret - lived here many years ago. Bill was a carpenter’s helper for local builder A.J. Saint. Bill was also a noted lumberman, butcher, and hunter. He owned a slaughterhouse on the west side of Simcoe St. (Picadilly Hill) and a butcher shop at the corner of Holland and Moore Streets. Bill died at his hunt camp in his nineties.
The ‘L’-shaped house sits quite near the street line. It has large window openings with high floor to ceiling heights and a medium-pitched, gable roof. Elaborately-carved bargeboard trim and finials, a coloured glass, arched transom over a main-floor window, and the original wood lug sills remain. The house has wood frame construction and a stone foundation. Deterioration of the brick veneer at the grade level indicates a lack of adequate, subsurface drainage. An original rear, one-storey addition with a simple shed roof (once used as a summer kitchen) still remains. According to the 2000 inventory, the replacement windows, doors, and the two-storey addition at the entrance are unsympathetic with the original building. (1, 2, 3)

The mid-block structure located at 79 John St. East was built around 1860-1890’s in the Gothic Revival style. Originally, there was a shed and garage attached to the house at the rear and a vacant lot on the east side. This building was the home of Charles Aitcheson and his wife Carol for many years. He was a painter and decorator and he worked for Bill Sutton. Cyril Mestagh was the next owner of the house. He and his wife Jennie and their daughters (Vera and Gladys Irene) lived here. Cyril was a small, market gardener and a well-known grower. He hauled vegetables to the Toronto market. The house was sold when Cyril retired.
The 1½-storey structure has an ‘L’-shaped plan with a centre hall, a one-storey, rear, kitchen wing and a medium-pitched, gable roof. The asymmetrical façade has an off-centre, front gable above the façade projection. There is a raised, front porch with a shed roof set onto wood posts on brick. The steps, door, windows, and enclosing walls of the porch are not original. This building has small windows with high floor to ceiling heights. A wide, Regency-style, ground- floor window has a wide, centre opening flanked by narrow lights. It is set into a rectangular opening with a plain, wood frame and sill. An upper window is centred above the lower window in the projecting bay. It is also set into a rectangular opening with a plain, wood frame and sill. Only the 2/2 windows in the structure are original. The building has wood frame construction, vinyl siding (not original), and a parged, stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, some original details still remain. (1, 2, 3)

The former Anglican Church Manse is located at 81 Frederick St. (on the northeast corner of Church and Frederick Streets). The structure was built around 1880 in the Eclectic Neoclassical style. The two-storey, rectangular building has a medium-pitched, hip roof. The line at the front façade suggesting that the building originally had a full-width, front porch is another Regency Revival feature. The symmetrical window openings (with high floor to ceiling heights), a centre hall plan, and a wide entrance with sidelights and a transom are neoclassical features. Dichromatic brickwork at the quoins and window labels, as well as the ‘droopy’ label stops at the windows are Gothic Revival features. The house has solid, brick construction and a stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the existing porch and entrance motif are unsympathetic with the original design. It also notes that, unlike the originals, the replacement windows have no muntins. (1, 2, 3)

The single-family residence located at 84 Barrie St. (on the northwest corner of Barrie and Joseph Streets) was built post-1900 in the Eclectic Edwardian style. The two-storey, ‘L’-shaped building has a hip roof. The projecting, two-storey bay has a wide, projecting gable roof. Edwardian features also include the generous fenestration accentuated by keystones and projecting sills (at the bay windows). Queen Anne features include the variety of textures and materials such as rusticated block on the main building and the wood shingles at the exposed gable. The “wrap-around” nature of the ground-floor verandah and the second-storey balcony are Regency Revival features. Its moulded roof curb is an Italianate feature. This building has load-bearing, block masonry construction and a block foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the replacement balcony and the post supports are unsympathetic with the original design. (1, 3)

The Dr. Ellis House is located mid-block on the west side at 84 Church Street. It was built pre-1900 in the Gothic Revival Cottage style. Dr. Ellis owned the house in 1900.
The 1½-storey, three-bay structure has a medium-pitched, gable roof and a rectangular plan with a centre hall. The building originally had a symmetrical façade with a centre gable over the front entrance. There are single windows (to the primary rooms) with high floor to ceiling heights on each side of the entrance. The covered, open porch has a flat roof supported on a simple, wood entablature and four ‘half columns’ set onto brick piers on a stone foundation. There is a single door with ¾ height, glass sidelights set above recessed, wood panels and a glass transom at the entrance. The second-storey window above the porch is set halfway into the centre gable in a full, arched opening with brick voussoirs. This window is a full-height casement with a fanlight above the opening onto the roof of the porch and is not original to the house. Double-hung windows at the ground floor are set into segmented, arched openings with brick voussoirs. The 2/2 windows appear to be original. Wood frame construction is clad with brick siding and there is a stone foundation. A single, brick masonry chimney is set in from the exterior north wall. An enclosed, brick-clad extension has been added to the front of the house (adjacent to the porch). Access to the open porch appears to have been changed to the side with new, precast stairs added. According to the 2000 inventory, the front addition has destroyed the original symmetry of the façade and it is not in keeping with the character of the house. (1, 3)

The Nesbitt House is located mid-block on the west side at 88 Barrie Street. The two-storey, ‘L’-shaped building with a hip roof was built around 1920 in the Eclectic Edwardian style. The shallow, two-storey bay with a wide projecting gable roof is a classical, pediment-like form. The porch roof and balcony above are supported by rectangular colonnettes on brick piers. Other Edwardian features are the large, double-hung windows with shorter, upper-sash windows that are proportioned to resemble rectangular transoms. The wood-shingle texture at the exposed gable is an Italianate feature and the roof curb is reminiscent of an Italianate motif. There are precast lug sills and column bases. The house has load-bearing, brick masonry construction, a stone foundation, and painted-wood porch details. According to the 2000 inventory, the house has been maintained well. (1, 3)

The mid-block building located at 90 Church St. was built pre-1900 in the Gothic Revival style. The 1½-storey, five-bay ‘farmhouse’ has a modified ‘L’-shaped plan with an off-centre hall, an asymmetrical façade, and a medium-pitched, gable roof. The open, covered porch with a hip roof is raised above grade. It is a replacement. The house originally had a full-width verandah supported by wooden posts. The upper-floor windows are offset from the ground-floor windows. There are small window openings with low floor to ceiling heights and plain, wood trim and sills. The double-hung windows and shutters are not original. The house has wood frame construction, vinyl siding, and a parged, stone foundation. Originally, the cladding was probably wood cove siding. According to the 2000 inventory, few remaining features are original other than the somewhat atypical form. It appears (by its size) that the portion of the house where the entrance is located is original and that the side wing was added later. That could explain the slight setback in the façade wall where the two join. It also notes that this modest house probably had few decorative details originally. (1, 3)

The Methodist Manse is located at 96 Barrie St. on the southwest corner of Barrie and Frederick (formerly known as Letitia) Streets. It was built around 1885 in the neoclassical style. The building was used as the Methodist Manse until 1970. It later became a nursing home.
The two-storey, rectangular building has a symmetrical façade, a centre hall plan, and a medium-pitched, gable roof. The two-storey, rear portion is a modern addition. A broad entrance has sidelights and a transom. There are large, 6/6 double-hung windows with wood sills and high floor to ceiling dimensions. Eaves and cornice returns are found at the end gable walls. The porch, as well as the stepped-cornice moulding with quatrefoil decoration and drop finials (a Gothic Revival detail), appear to be twentieth-century additions. Colour variations are seen in the solid-brick construction because of the different batches of brick that were used. The building has a stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, additions to the rear of the building over time have been somewhat ad-hoc and are stylistically inconsistent. (1, 3)

The William Melbourne House is located at 97 Church St. (at the corner of Church and Frederick Streets). It was built in the Gothic Revival style in the 1870-80’s by Bill Curry. The 1½-storey, three-bay ‘cottage’ has large window openings with high floor to ceiling heights and a steeply-pitched, gable roof. There is a centre gable over the entrance. The building has a rectangular plan and a centre entrance hall. A ‘Regency Style’ entrance has arched tracery in the multi-paned transom and sidelights. The shallow pediment, entablature, and pilasters framing the entrance indicate a neoclassical influence. The bay windows at the ground floor have three-sided, angular projections and a hip roof. A semi-circular, arched window with a transom of multi-paned fanlights is located fully within the centre gable at the second floor as well as decorative gingerbread along the eaves and verges. There is a wood ‘drop’ or pendant suspended from the mid-point of the centre gable. The finial was originally above the gable. The cornice around the roof of the bay windows is decorated with dentils. Paired brick chimneys (with stacks set on the diagonal) are found at each side of the house. The house has wood frame construction with painted stucco cladding (1933) on the original wood cove siding. It has a stone foundation. The double-hung windows and storm entrance door are not original. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is in excellent condition with many original features. The gingerbread trim was removed and the stucco was replaced with vinyl siding after the inventory. (1, 3)