Mike Mastromatteo –
Wellesley Street rowhouses face uncertain future
(Part one of two columns)
A string of boarded-up, decaying structures on the south side of Wellesley Street East just west of Parliament Street – numbers 265–275 – is a sorry sight for the nostalgic and the wistful.
These six adjoining, elegant but imperiled rowhouses are of the “Second Empire” architectural style, mostly from the late 1870s or early 1880s. They have mansard roofs, round-headed doors and windows with moulded window heads, and decorative details at the eaves and corners of the building.
After sheltering dozens of families over the last 140 years, the homes were converted into rooming houses in the early 1960s, and slowly began to deteriorate.
However, in 2016, the Toronto Community Housing Corporation acquired the properties as part of the city’s Tenants First initiative to create affordable living spaces. THC has since partnered with the Dixon Hall community services organization to administer the properties and to determine whether they will be demolished or rehabilitated.
Faisel Ikram, communications director for Dixon Hall, told the bridge that while the service organization will soon assume full responsibility for the properties, ownership remains with the Toronto Housing Corporation.
“Through our housing and shelter programs, we continue to provide safe, affordable housing, and wraparound services to those who need them most,” Ikram said. However, “no transition work [on the Wellesley properties] has begun.”
A rowhouse project on Parliament Street, the bridge reported in August, has been plagued by delays and significant cost overruns. Will the Wellesley Street houses suffer a similar fate?
265 Wellesley Street East
The western-most building, number 265, came into being about 1885 and went through a host of owner/occupants over the next 15 years. One of the earliest was Richard Corrigan, who resided there with wife Agnes and son Harvey until 1895.
Another distinguished family, the Heebners, lived there from 1905 until 1924. Professor Charles Heeber became dean of the Ontario College of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto. The pharmacy college told the bridge that the Heebner’s life and times preceded their record-keeping.
The Toronto Daily Star of October 5, 1918, reported that Lt. Carl H. Heebner, son of Charles, was reported missing in action with the 103 RAF Squadron in France during World War I. Carl had died on September 24 in a bombing mission – less than two months before the war ended.
For the next 36 years, no. 265 was owned or occupied by the Anderson family. Sales agent Albert Anderson resided there from 1928 until the early 1950s. His son Elgin took over from 1955 until 1970.
267 Wellesley Steet East
The property to the east, number 267, went through several owner/occupants from the late 19th century until about 1930. Newspapers of 1909–10 contained several references to the Robertson family’s travels and social receptions. Head of the family was Hercules Robertson, described in municipal books as a “builder.”
Robertson’s wife Maude and son John resided at the home until 1922. It was taken over by Sterling Bedding Company employee John Patterson in 1928, and by widow Katherine Johnson from 1930 until 1933.
George Emery, a mechanic with trucking companies, lived at no. 267 from 1945 until 1964.
269 Wellesley Sreet. East
Judging from municipal directories, no. 269 was one of the first Wellesley Street properties to become a rooming house. From 1940 to 1960, occupants who stayed on for only two to three years resided there. Municipal directories of the 1960s and 70s say little about its tenants, with plentiful listings of “Vacant” or “No return”.
The Dawkins family, mother Jane and daughters Florence and Edith, resided there from 1889 to 1910. The Dawkins sisters gained renown as teachers at local elementary schools.
Cooks, livery stable workers and travel agents occupied the home from 1910 until 1925, giving way to the Whitfield Tennyson family. A carpenter, Whitfield Tennyson resided there until 1938. He and his wife Maude had three children, including son Alfred Tennyson.
Canadian National Railway employee William Brewer lived at no. 269 from 1946 to 1948, and another carpenter, Joseph F. Harper, lived there in 1953. Albert Jury, whose occupation is not listed in the municipal books, resided there from 1955 to 1963.
(Next issue: 271–275 Wellesley Street East).
