Looking northwest at the corner of Gerrard St E and Jarvis St in Toronto’s Garden District.
The archive photo shows the streetscape over fifty years ago, and while it has changed, there are several places to point out that stand today. From left to right, these include the Neill-Wycik Student Housing Co-operative/Hostel, a car repair shop, Harvey’s, the two heritage homes with turrets topped by octagonal roofs, and the Carriage House Motor Hotel, which currently operates as a Hampton Inn & Suites.
Harvey’s was established in 1959 by Richard Mauran. While trying to come up with a name for his restaurant, he learned that (John) Harvey’s car dealership at 2300 Danforth Ave was closing down. He purchased the sign and installed it outside the first Harvey’s restaurant, which was once located at Yonge St and Observatory Lane in Richmond Hill.
The two heritage homes to the right of Harvey’s were built in the early 1890s by contractor William Carlyle, who also designed the Romanesque Revival style homes. The 2½-storey semi-detached homes, of which there were once three (the centre one was demolished in 1966), were included in the city’s inaugural heritage list in 1973.
Then and Now
SOURCE
- City of Toronto Heritage Register
- Heritage Toronto
- Ontario Heritage Trust
- Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada
- The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Feb 13, 1959, pg 16
- Harvey’s: About
- City of Toronto: Inclusion on the Heritage Register: 280 and 288-290 Jarvis St, report dated Apr 16, 2019
- Photo: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- Vintage Photo: City of Toronto Archives
- Vintage Photo: Toronto Public Library
- City of Toronto: Maps
- Toronto City Directory courtesy of Toronto Public Library
