The former Ideal Bread Company Factory, now the Argyle Lofts, is located at 183-193 Dovercourt Rd (at Argyle St on the northeast corner) in the Beaconsfield Village neighbourhood of Toronto.
Built in 1919 in the Edwardian Classical style, the Ideal Bread Company Factory was designed by Sydney Comber, a Montreal architect. He also designated the two additions done in 1923 and 1933. The historic building is constructed of steel and concrete with brick cladding, brick, artificial stone and metal detailing. The baked goods factory was owned by William and Charles Curruthers (brothers) and Robert McMullen; however, the company was founded in the early 1910s.
On each level, the windows were uniquely designed to show the separation by factory floors of the processes that went into making the bread.
Bread Making Process by Floor
- 5th Floor: The Penthouse level originally had an assembly hall, stage and seating for 400.
- 4th Floor: Mixing.
- 3rd Floor: Dough shaping and baking. This level had an extending ceiling to accommodate the gas-fired travelling ovens (slides 4 & 7). The ovens produced 7,000 loaves of freshly baked bread each hour.
- 2nd Floor: Bread was conveyed to this floor for packaging.
- 1st Floor: The finished baked goods were moved to the ground floor, loaded through the arched doors onto delivery wagons and, later, trucks.
The factory was a working bakery until 1957, and the building was given heritage status in 2002. Today, it’s home to the Argyle Lofts. The historic building was converted to over 80 lofts in 2007. The bakery’s original clock is still above the front door.
Did you know?
- Argyle St was once called Cedar St.
- In the 1800s, the Denison family owned land in the area and built an estate called “Dover Court.” It was named after their ancestral home in Essex, England.
Ideal Bread Company Factory Photos
Ideal Bread Company Factory 1919
“Montreal architect Sydney Comber designed this factory building in Edwardian Classical style. Its facades feature stone detailing and are divided into distinct bays by brick pilasters. Window design is unique to each level and reflects the original separation by factory floors of the processes of bread production. In the final stage, bread wagons were loaded from the ground-level archways on Argyle Street. In use as a bakery until 1957, this building was converted to residential lofts in 2007. The factory clock remains above the front entrance.” Designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, 2003
Heritage Toronto 2008
SOURCE
- City of Toronto Heritage Register: 183 Dovercourt Rd
- Ontario Heritage Trust: 183 Dovercourt Rd
- Heritage Toronto
- Photos: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- Vintage Photos: City of Toronto Archives