The Historic Mary Reid House was built in 1939 and the low stone fence and gateposts have to be removed for a Metrolinx Royal York-Eglinton Station.
It’s the old versus the new.
Developers are calling for for the frontage of a historic Etobicoke heritage home to be demolished to make way for Metrolinx’s Royal York-Eglinton Station.
The station is part of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension rapid transit line, a new underground station on the north-west corner of Royal York Road and Eglinton Avenue West.
The demolition will be considered by City council at its meeting October 8, 9 or 10 to determine if a low stone wall with gateposts outside the home will go.
The stone fixtures are to be reconstructed in their exact location after the station is built in its original stone, according to a City report.
The low fence and gateposts in front of the stately home will be removed and replaced after the station is completed.
“This property remains as a reminder of the intended appearance of this part of Etobicoke,” according to a City report. “It is a well-crafted example of a Period Revival style house that was designed and set in landscaping that was inspired by the English Garden City Movement.”
The low-stone wall with gate posts along the southern frontage reflects the style and character of the house as well as the intended relationship that the landscaped gardens were planned to have had with the roads in this part of Etobicoke.
The 2.5 storey Mary Reid House at 4200 Eglinton Avenue W., is owned by the City of Toronto.
The house was constructed in 1939 as a country residence in what was intended to be a small residential enclave similar to those in the Kingsway Park area. However, the remainder of the subdivision was not developed as envisioned and this property is a reminder of the intended appearance of this part of Etobicoke.
The home was built by local gardner Mary Reid in 1939.
“It is a well-crafted example of a Period Revival style house that was designed and set in landscaping that was inspired by the English Garden City Movement,” according to City documents. “
It said the ‘low -stone wall with gate posts along the southern frontage reflects the style and character of the house as well as the intended relationship that the landscaped gardens were planned to have had with the roads in this part of Etobicoke.’
Documentation and photographs regarding the dismantling, storage specifications and the salvage, storage, reconstruction, landscape are to be kept to re-construct the heritage site.
In 1925, local gardner Mary Reid bought the property for $3,000 as an investment to give in future to her son. In 1937, she transferred half the land to her son, Randolph Calvin. In 1939, an unfinished house valued at $1,300 stood there. In 1941, she transferred the rest of the lot to Calvin, and the entire east half to her other son, Leonard Roger.