Victorian Architecture in Canada

Monday, February 11

Properties are often described as Victorian, but that isn't exactly a style. ?Victorian? architecture describes all homes built from 1835 to 1900 even though they were actually built in various forms and fashion. Many buildings combine the components of several different styles and are not easily identified as one particular style or another, but there are some common elements to look for. The buildings are constructed in brick, stone, and timber, using a sometimes-eclectic combination of Classical and Gothic motifs.

If you want to see a lot of Victorian structures in British Columbia or Ontario, you have to look at the homes. All types of residences - from the urban townhouse to the large country farm have been touched by this indicative ?style? and sturdy craftsmanship. When builders considered the design of such buildings, they looked? at patterns, frills and swirls to create that Victorian feel that we are used to know. Some European groups did not like the design of the Victorian home, seeing it as fussy and overly complex. Though there was undoubtedly a huge mixing of the architectural styles throughout the period, the final product always appeared to have a unity of design that made everything work.

Unlike today's subdivisions where many homes are built by the same builder in not-too-subtle variations on the same idea, the builders of what was Toronto's first suburb were a very varied and imaginative bunch. These builders began looking north of Queen Street for building areas in the 1830's, and saw that the land north of Queen and west of Parliament had been logged and cleared for farming. The homes of Toronto's (or York as it was originally called) prominent officials were built on these vacant "park lots".

Farm buildings and cottages, even though only a few, were the earliest pieces of Toronto Victorian architecture to be erected in Cabbagetown. Sherbourne Street saw the original building lots sold in 1845, a grid plan of streets was created by John Howard who was the city surveyor at that time. The most practical housing style of the era was the row or attached home as the plots of land were largely narrow, only 15 to 20 feet wide.
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There is a home on Sherbourne street which didn't conform to the usual house build; that was Allandale which is found at number 241 and is a rather elaborate Victorian example. The property has a large rustic porch, with an fancy trim and two-toned decorative brick work; the owner being Enoch Turner, the brewer, who had it built in the late 1840's. Another example of early Victorian design in the area is 424 Ontario Street, in which the ornate gingerbread trim on peaks and porches threatens to dominate the delicacy of the overall design.

The area known as? (originally named Gassy's after Gassy Jack Deighton a notorious saloon proprietor) is the original founding site for the City of Vancouver. Village was later renamed Gastown and while it expanded westward, it changed its name to Vancouver and Gastown became known as Old Vancouver. As a historic centre consisting of buildings built mainly during the 19^thand beginning of the 20^th century, Gastown is the best place to look for Vancouver's Victorian architecture although a large part had to be renovated in order to regain its function.

One of the more famous buildings is Victorian Hotel with its central building, Victoria, built in 1898? and the second building Victoria Block, built in 1908. It's primary purpose was to house all the new comers searching for gold in British Columbia during the great Gold Rush and real estate offices for the Vancouver real estate boom at the turn of the centuries. The two buildings are now known as the renowned Victorian Hotel, standing at the corner of Homer and Pender Streets.

Source: http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/3448/blog_posts/26300-victorian-architecture-in-canada

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