Archive for August, 2010

200 Annette Street – Alteration to a Heritage Property and Intention to Designate, Part IV, Section 29, Ontario Heritage Act and Authority to Enter Into a Heritage Easement Agreement

Owner is seeking to have City Council approve the alterations to the property at 200 Annette Street, as designed by their Michael Hatch Designs Ltd.

from the city report…

Background

Annette Street Baptist Church

Description

The property at 200 Annette Street is worthy of designation under Part IV, Section 29 of

the Ontario Heritage Act for its cultural heritage value, and meets the criteria for

municipal designation prescribed by the Province of Ontario under the three categories of

design, associative and contextual value. Located on the northeast corner of Annette

Street and High Park Ave, Annette Street Baptist Church (constructed in 1888, with

subsequent additions) is a single-storey church building. The site was listed on the City

of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties in 1998.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value

Annette Street Baptist Church is an institution of historical importance to the West

Toronto Junction community. The area was developed in the 1880s after the Canadian

Pacific Railway opened its West Toronto freight yard, which attracted industry,

residential subdivisions, and institutions including churches. Following the incorporation

of the Village of West Toronto in 1884 (which became the Town of West Toronto

Junction, the Town of Toronto Junction and the City of West Toronto prior to its

annexation by the City of Toronto in 1909), Annette Street Baptist Church opened in

1889 and served the spiritual and social interests of the community for nearly a century.

While Annette Street Baptist Church incorporates elements of the popular architectural

styles of the late 1800s, particularly features from High Victorian Gothic Revival and

Romanesque Revival, its overall character recalls the Arts and Crafts influences of the

late 19th century. While local builder John Turner is credited with its construction, the

design of Annette Street Baptist Church resembles one developed for small-scale

churches by Toronto architect Edmund Burke and published in The Canadian Baptist

magazine in 1886. The exaggerated pitch and flared eaves of the roof were retained in

the design when the structure was extended to the west (1906), with the west entrance

(1920) displaying complementary Arts and Crafts detailing.

Contextually, as a church placed on a corner lot at a major intersection in the

neighbourhood, Annette Street Baptist Church is a landmark in the West Toronto

community. It is an integral part of the collection of churches that contributes to the

character of Annette Street as an institutional corridor where Annette Street Baptist

Church is historically, visually and physically linked to its surroundings.

Heritage Attributes

The heritage attributes of the property at 200 Annette Street are:

200 Annette Street – Alteration to a Heritage Property, Intention to Designate, Part IV, Section 29,

Ontario Heritage Act and Authority to Enter Into a HEA 10

The church building

Historical photograph of Annette Street Baptist Church, prior to 1906 when the building was extended to the west and altered (Source: The Leader and Recorder (Winter 1996), 8)

The scale, form and massing of the rectangular plan that rises one extended storey

above a stone base with window openings, the application of red brick cladding with

brick, stone and wood detailing

The steeply-pitched gable roof with the flared eaves, gabled dormers and, at the

northwest corner, an extended brick chimney

At the southwest and southeast ends, the corner towers with pyramidal roofs, flared

eaves and, on the west tower, brick finials (which have been altered)

The east tower (1888), which contains the original entrance to the church and has

segmental-arched openings with decorative hood moulds

The round-arched openings, many of which are organized by brick buttresses and

contain leaded glass windows

The distinctive round window on the west façade

On the west façade facing High Park Avenue, the single-storey entrance porch with

its steeply-pitched gable roof with flared eaves, oversized wood brackets, halftimbering,

and monumental round-arched entry

The datestone, labelled “A.D. 1888 & 1906” (at the base of the west tower)

The placement and setback of the building on the corner lot

full report