Toronto sites listed in report on Canada’s neglected historic gems

Two Toronto heritage sites have been singled out in a report on Canada’s neglected historic gems.

The Empress Hotel, which was destroyed by a massive six-alarm fire on Jan. 3, was named this year’s worst loss by The Heritage Canada Foundation (HCF).

Aside from the arsonist, the group claims “neglect, lack of municipal resources and indifferent owners” were also responsible for the building’s demise.

The former red brick landmark at the corner of Yonge and Gould streets was built in 1888 and used to house the popular restaurant Salad King, which has since moved to a new location. The building was also an important part of Toronto’s music scene in the 1950s and 60s with artists such as Cab Calloway, Bo Diddley, Bill Haley and the Everly Brothers performing there.

The building was designated under Ontario’s Heritage Act in 2010 following a demolition request.

Scarborough’s Guild Inn — which served as an artists’ colony in the 1930s — was listed on the HCF’s most endangered list. Click here to see the full list (.pdf)

“This unique site is in imminent danger of demolition by neglect by the very municipality that designated it,” The HCF said. “It is caught up in complicated negotiations involving multiple levels of authority.”

The structure at 201 Guildwood Parkway was built as a private residence in 1914. Rosa Breithaupt Hewetson and her husband Spencer Clark, who bought it in 1932 and turned it into an artists’ colony, placed fragments of demolished buildings on the grounds to create a sculpture garden. One of those pieces — the former façade of the Bank of Toronto — is used as an outdoor stage by various theatre companies.

The building has been boarded up since 2001 and has deteriorated significantly since then, HCF says. The city planned to transform the site into a resort and spa but the plan never moved forward.

Centennial College has said it would like to buy the site and transform it into a hospitality training centre, but that plan appears unlikely to go through.

A Methodist Episcopal church in Picton, Ont. and the Pantages Theatre — Vancouver’s oldest vaudeville house —  also made the worst losses list.

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