While researching a house in my own neighbourhood of Leslieville I stumbled upon a fascinating story about Alfred R Clarke, a prominent leather manufacturer. Alfred R Clarke, who at the age of 19 with his three brothers, inherited the family’s…
Last month as I began work for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), I ruminated over the fact that often life has a way of coming full circle. Somehow it seemed fortuitous that I should be working for this…
Here is the e-mail that I sent to the current owners of this hotel, which was built by my ancestors John and Alfred Burgoyne who were brickmakers in Little Mill, Wales. If I was doing a house history on this…
Recently while on the internet I came across an advertisement for a J & J Taylor safe for sale. I immediately felt a rush of excitement, not only because it was a beautiful old safe in onto itself, but because…
Today when I met with my writer friend Robert Hoshowsky for our usual coffee and chat, I started to think. It is seldom that most of us stop to reflect upon the history of the buildings that we frequent each…
Last weekend was one of my favorite weekends in Toronto. The occasion was the annual Doors Open. For historians it’s a great opportunity to venture inside some of Toronto’s oldest and most well preserved buildings. This year however, there…
I was recently invited to a gathering at 45 Spadina Rd, once known as the Spadina Gardens Apartments. This impressive building is one of a pair of Victorian apartment buildings, constructed in 1906 by Sir Henry Pellatt, wealthy entrepreneur and builder of Casa Loma. My hostess, when…
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