182 Queens Avenue
courtesy Google Streetview
This rather plain house at 182 Queens Avenue was built probably in 1902 by Robert Murray Herod a bricklayer and builder on Lot 162, Plan M77. (Note that my earlier post indicated a date of 1898 for the house however subsequent research has indicated he didn't purchase the lot until June 1902).
It was one of the earliest houses in Mimico, and on this stretch of the street. Given his occupation as a bricklayer and builder he most likely built it himself.
Robert was the son of William Herod and Ann Murray, born in Hagersville, Ontario in 1855.
Robert married his first wife Mary Baird in Haldimand County in May 1882 and had two children - James and Margaretta - before her death in 1886. After his move to Mimico Robert married his second wife Martha Ritchie, also from Mimico, at the Methodist Parsonage at 125 Dunn Avenue in Parkdale on August 13, 1889. They would go on to have six children - William, Herbert, Archibald, Eleanor, Robert and Peter.
He first appears in Mimico in the 1899 Toronto City Directory (pg 58) living on Queens Avenue (hence the original posting that the house was built in 1898) and he and his family were enumerated there in the 1901 and 1911 census.
However, though he was living on Queens Avenue by 1898 (since the information for the 1899 City Directory would have been assembled in late 1898), it was not until June 13, 1902 that Robert Murray Herod acquired a number of lots on the west side of the street from Mr. R. H. Guthrie. The purchase included lots 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167 and 168. The house was built on lot 162. He would later build a house for his son Archibald on lot 163 in 1912.
This raises the question of exactly when this house was built. If he didn't buy this lot until June 1902 would he have built a house on it in 1898? Seems unlikely. Or was he renting another house on the street from 1898 which would explain the 1899 entry in the Toronto City Directory and then built this house in 1902 when he purchased the lot? A more likely scenario. The definitive answer most likely lies within the assessment records for the Township of Etobicoke. However, given the current conditions, it is not possible to visit the City of Toronto Archives to check them.
Mimico is covered by Plate 83 of the 1910 Goad's Fire Insurance Plan however it is wildly inaccurate for the Mimico area. One only needs to look at the number of inhabitants in the city directories for Mimico to see that the few dozen houses shown on the 1910 plan could not house all the people living there.
182 Queens Avenue (#418)
1913 Goad's Fire Insurance Plan for Mimico and New Toronto (Sheet 4)
It is also clear from looking at the excerpt from Sheet 4 of the 1913 Fire Insurance Plan for Mimico and New Toronto above that there is a mistake on the 1913 Fire Insurance Plan for the City of Toronto (below). The 1913 Mimico and New Toronto Fire Insurance Plan is much more accurate and clearly shows the shape of the houses. 182 Queens Avenue is clearly rectangular in shape while 180 Queens Avenue is square matching the shape of the houses.
In contrast Plate 83 of the 1913 Fire Insurance Plan for the City of Toronto (below) uses simple generic shapes, and while it clearly shows the two houses together they are on the wrong lots. On Plate 83 they appear on lots 161 and 162 when they should be on lots 162 and 163 as confirmed by the land transaction records.
1913 Goads Fire Insurance Plan for the City of Toronto, Plate 83 with 180 and 182 Queens Avenue on the wrong lots.
During the First World War three of Robert Herod's sons - William, James and Herbert - enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Of these three only two would survive.
James Herod was wounded in August 1918 as described in the August 24, 1918 edition of the Toronto Star.
William Herod, their eldest child, was killed on September 3, 1918 a few months before the end of the war. According to the Canadian Expeditionary Force burial register "he was killed by shrapnel and concussion on the night of September 3, 1918, whilst acting as driver on an Ammunition convoy in the vicinity of Cagnicourt." and his "body was left by the side of the Arras-Cambrai Road." His name appears on the Vimy Memorial which contains the names of over 11,000 Canadian soldiers who were posted as "missing, presumed dead" in France.
courtesy Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Toronto Star, September 19, 1918
Robert and his family were well known contractors and builders in Mimico and built many homes and other buildings there and in the district. While not a comprehensive list by any means he worked on the following building projects:
1917: Connaught Hall, Mimico. Herod Construction was paid $7,500 for the foundation and brick work of the building.
1921: Masonry contract for a residence costing $4,500 for Horace Standsfield. In the 1926 Toronto City Directory he was living at 72 Superior Avenue which is most likely the house built.
1921: Masonry contract for a residence on Central Street for W.J. McClintock, a local builder and developer.
1923: Masonry work for a residence on Primrose Avenue and for a residence for W. J. McClintock, a local builder and developer, on Eastbourne Crescent.
1923: General contractor for a $10,000 theatre in Mimico. It was built for W. J. McClintock but by 1926 it was the Lakeside Theatre owned by Alva Barnette. Later it would be renamed the Rex Theatre. The theatre's owner - Mr. Walton - and the theatre would get mixed up in the judicial inquiry into overbuilding in Mimico in the 1960s.
1929: An addition to the High School in Bowmanville at a cost of $86,000. The article in the May 2, 1929 edition of the Canadian Statesman states "The company is well known in and around Toronto, having done considerable building in recent years." It then goes on to indicate that the company had built a major portion of the Goodyear Tire Company factory in New Toronto.
1930: Laundry Building, Ontario Hospital at Mimico (New Toronto) at a cost of $50,000.
1931: Post Office & Public Building, Port Credit at a cost of approximately $35,000. The building is on the City of Mississauga's Heritage Registry.
1931: Harry McGee Vice President of Eaton's who had a summer estate in Mimico retained the company to build 11 houses and duplexes at Stanley Avenue and Albert Street as a relief project for the unemployed.
Robert lived in the house for the rest of his life dying there at the age of 88 on February 17, 1944 and was buried in Park Lawn Cemetery. His death registration listed his occupation as a retired contractor. His obituary appeared in the Globe on February 19, 1944:
His wife Martha Jane died in the house on December 4, 1945 and was buried with him in Park Lawn Cemetery. Her obituary appeared in the Globe on December 5, 1945.
Upon her father's death in 1944 the house passed to his daughter Elenor married to Chester Turley, however she didn't register herself as the owner of the property on title until November 21, 1951. They last appear in the 1954 Toronto City Directory living in the house.
This early 20th century Mimico house is now in jeopardy as a developer has recently purchased it and has applied to spit the lot it sits on in order to build two new houses. If that application is granted a demolition permit will be soon to follow, if not already applied for. A hearing before the Committee of Adjustment is scheduled for February 23, 2021. The agenda can be found here. See items 28A, 28B and 28C.
Update February 23, 2021
Update March 23, 2021
Heritage Planning has determined that the house does not qualify for designation under the Ontario Heritage Act. In part the report reads as follows:
"Robert Murray Herod is identified in Mimico directories as the Head of Herod Construction. The company was responsible for the masonry work on a number of buildings in the western suburbs of Toronto during the early-20th century, including the house directly south of the subject property at 180 Queens Avenue (c.1912) which was built for Herod's son and business partner, Archibald.
The Herod family's contribution to their community and to their country with the enlistment of three sons in the First World War and the tragic loss of one, whose sacrifice is included on the Vimy Memorial, all have historical and associative value; however, this intangible heritage alone does not make the existing house form building at 182 Queens Avenue a significant heritage resource or worthy of designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.
There are, however, other historical properties associated with Robert Herod and Herod Construction, including Connaught Hall (1917) at 23 Superior Avenue (identified in the City's Mimico 20/20 Revitalization Study), as well as the Port Credit Post Office (1931) at 31 Lakeshore Road East, Mississauga (Designated under the Ontario Heritage Act) that are good representatives of Herod's contribution to the history and development of Mimico.
Heritage staff have undertaken an evaluation according to Ontario Regulation 9/06 (the provincial criteria to determine cultural heritage value or interest and prescribed for municipal designation that the City also applies to properties being assessed for its Heritage Register) and determined that there is insufficient
evidence to meet the criteria for designation under the provisions of the Ontario Heritage Act or inclusion on the City's Heritage Register.
The policies in the City's Official Plan and within Provincial planning policy require that significant heritage resources are conserved. As the subject property does not comply with the criteria for designation it does not constitute a significant heritage resource. The proposals therefore do not affect significant heritage resources and as such Heritage Planning have no comments with regard to the proposed minor variance and consent applications."
Update March 24, 2021
Yesterday the Committee of Adjustment approved the requested applications to sever the lot in two and construct two new houses with conditions.
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