Our old neighbourhood in Toronto was actually a pretty historic area of the city. A lot of the houses and buildings standing were very old, including a building that was once a hotel frequented by farmer's heading into the city to sell their produce, and a mental hospital which is now used for some really cool things.
Yup - the history was really part of what I loved so much about the neighbourhood. Then of course, there were a lot of the older historic homes that lined Lakeshore itself. Sadly, many have been torn down and turned into huge modern homes. They are beautiful in their own way, but it breaks my heart to see all of those gorgeous older homes disappear. One home in particular sat empty the entire time we lived there, and every time we passed I would always tell B how much I loved it. The outside always had so much potential to be more than it was, and I can only imagine that the interior was just as unloved and in need of some TLC.
(All below pictures were found on this real estate website, which I assume may be from the previous time it went on the market in 2008)
The view from the yard
When I was back in Toronto in March, I drove past this old house and saw a for sale sign on the lawn. I couldn't believe it. After doing some research I read that it had previously been scheduled for demolition, but it never happened as there was no building permit to put a new building in it's place. I was unable to find a current listing for it, but I assume it was probably listed around the same price point, if not higher. Of course, $2.5M+ is way out of our price range, so the beautiful 1930's mansion on the water would always be just a pipe dream for me (unless some investor fell out of the sky and gave us the money to love this place back to life).
Well, last week I started researching again to see what was to become of the beautiful house. While using Google as my weapon of choice, I came across a meeting agenda for the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority from this past September.
Now, I know that the "For Sale" sign is a lot more recent than the meeting agenda, but for all I know the house went on sale last year after we left and it just never came down. The new owners could be working out plans for the new construction as I type this... or even worse, the house could be gone already.
It just makes me so sad that people need to rip down these beautiful old homes. I look at this house and think it's a great size in a great location and could be something really beautiful. Does this break anyone else's heart as much as it does mine?
I used to rent an apartment in the bayview/york mills area ($$$ houses). You could tell it used to be a lot of bungalows and large trees but sooo much has been torn down and giant mcMansions have gone in (on small lots too! so its even more "in your face"). I know the owners of those bungalows must be seeing rising property taxes and maybe that and old age are driving them out.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite houses were always the smaller, older ones. Those are the ones that would feel like home to me!
I love this house you found and I hope it is still standing!!
Kerry did you live close to this house? This is RIGHT around the corner from my house (I'm at Lakeshore and RY). Thanks for the cool post and the info!
ReplyDeleteoh yes and just to let you know the house IS still there and there is a MASSIVE new house (tear down and up) beside it... basically Oakville Lakeshore style) so you can imagine the plans for this one :(.
DeleteEven though we don't live in this neighbourhood anymore either, this breaks my heart too! I admired it every time I passed it, and always thought it had so much potential (that sun room?! COME ON!).
DeleteAt least it's still standing, and hopefully someone will swoop in to save it. (Thanks for keeping watch, Stephanie!)
It makes me so mad when people tear stuff down, especially when it is keeping up with the Jones. Plus, craftsmanship just isn't the same anymore.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful home and a perfect location. It is so sad that people don't feel like they can work with what's there and would rather build new. I bet the new house won't have the same charm as this one. Thanks for sharing, I love day dreaming about a great old house!
ReplyDeleteThat is happening in Vancouver ALL over. Tracy Ayton, has created a Facebook page called: Vancouver Vanishes https://www.facebook.com/VancouverVanishes
ReplyDeleteSo sad to see such fabulous homes disappear!
This is a gorgeous home from the outside. If there's one thing about Torotno that makes me mad is that nobody has any sense of vision when it comes to neighourhoods.
ReplyDeletePeople indiscriminently tear down perfectly good homes with amazing bones simply because they don't have the massive rooms everyone seems to want now, and then put up huge McMansions with no attempt to make them fit into the style of the neighbourhood.
What's worse is the homes are usually put up by contractors with no apparent input from anyone with any design training, so the homes look dated incredibly quickly.
It's so sad when people tear down perfectly good homes to build a modern McMansion. Very sad indeed. :/
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