Wrecking a Restaurant: The Fate of Crossings

Crossings Pub, one of the few buildings in Hyde Park with any character. Photo by Paul Grabowski.

If you enjoy Crossings, you'd better get there while it's still open. 

The pub at 1269 Hyde Park Road may be demolished by North Development Corp. to make way for a new restaurant and two apartment buildings. See here for an artist's rendering of the proposed development.

The Italianate farmhouse was built in about 1872 by George Nixon. Local folklore says John A. MacDonald used to stay here when visiting the area. While that story sounds like something dreamt up one night after too many pints at the bar, Nixon was a politician, which makes the rumour a bit more plausible. Unfortunately, there's no proof. 

According to Crossings' website, the building became a stationhouse for local train and stagecoach lines. More recently, in 1977, John and Winnifred Kamen converted the home into a restaurant called The Horse & Hound. Later, it became Volker's, and lately it's been Crossings. The building probably holds many fond memories for locals. 

But you know how it is. The property is on a transit corridor, the area is underdeveloped, and we need density. And, gosh, according to this, developer Paul Weigel says he'll "salvage materials to add plaques and storyboard murals framed by the bricks and building trim attached to the parking garage along a public trail next to the rail track." (This tendency to preserve a few bricks to satisfy silly history buffs like myself is also planned by York Developments for Kent Brewery downtown.)  If we're really lucky, maybe Mr. Weigel will hang a lovely painting of the old house in the lobby of one of his apartment buildings. 

A little changed from its original appearance, Crossings still has Victorian charm. (The proposed development, you will note, has no charm whatsoever.) The pub is also one of the few older buildings remaining in Hyde Park, a neighbourhood that bears little resemblance to the quaint country intersection of yesteryear. And Crossings isn't even falling down, so the phrase developers always like to use - "It's too dilapidated to be saved" - doesn't apply here. 

City Hall staff weren't interested in the development and recommended heritage designation for the old house. The city report states the property has three of the nine criteria needed for designation. Unfortunately, City Councillors don't always listen to staff, and on Wednesday afternoon, PEC (Councillors Steve Lehman, Shawn Lewis, Peter Cuddy, Elizabeth Peloza, and Steve Hillier) voted to refuse the heritage designation. Later in the meeting, they voted for rezoning to permit two high-rises. 

My first thought: If this new development is to include a restaurant, how about using the restaurant that's already there - Crossings - and incorporating it into the plan? Of course, the stately mansion would look ridiculous surrounded by high-rises, but as we say in the heritage world, "It's better than tearing it down."

Then I found the Heritage Impact Statement prepared by Stantec for the developer. If you wade through it to the end, you'll learn that they, too, believe Crossings has CHVI (Cultural Heritage Value or Interest). The building is a representative example of an Italianate residence and possesses value as a landmark. Unfortunately, the report also states the home is in the way of the development's proposed fire route and parking area.

One solution might be to move the old house closer to the road, so it's not surrounded by the high-rises and still serves as a landmark. But according to the Stantec report, this would mean moving the building twice: once to a place where it's not impacted by the underground parking, and a second time closer to Hyde Park Road. There's also the question of whether the underground parking garage could support the weight of the former residence. 

Altogether, I wish North Development Corp. would just get lost. Or develop one of our downtown surface parking lots instead. While no demolition permit has yet been issued, the future of this old house looks iffy.  

Only one solution left: could a saviour please buy this old pub and move it to a lot nearby?

The George Nixon house, as it appears in a photo on p. 307 of London Township Families Past and Present, published by The London Township History Book Committee, 2001.

A Talbot Tour

Yes, it's that wonderful time of year again, when it's warm enough to walk through London's older neighbourhoods and soak up traditional architecture. Of course, it's the wrong time of year for photography because there's too much foliage in the way. Long walks are best in early spring and late fall when the weather's not too hot or too cold and the trees are bare, allowing a view of what's behind them.

But when you're enjoying a staycation and it's not raining, it's tempting to take an early morning walk in one of London's 'hoods, even in a summer heat wave. I toured Talbot and Ridout since it's one of London's oldest areas and offers ample food for architectural thought. Once home to many of our most prosperous citizens, it's now a mixture of older homes and apartment buildings. Many of the homes have been subdivided into apartments or converted to office space. Some look good and others not so good.

First, I noted the double houses in the area. 593-595 Talbot, an Italianate built in the 1880s, clearly had a verandah across it at one point. Note the bargeboard in those pointy gables.

Farther north is 651 Talbot, built in 1905 for C. A. Whitwam, V.P. of Hobbs Hardware, but sold soon afterwards to the McCormick family of biscuit fame. I 'm fond of the cute dormer with curved glass and cone-shaped roof. The typical Edwardian Palladian window to its right is surrounded by shingle bargeboard. Note the grand arched front entrance matching the trio of lower-floor windows at right. Also the lovely verandah with balcony above, tall chimneys on either side, and modillions (small brackets) under the roofline. This is a home that says "We're successful and proud of it." Remained in the family until about 1970. Love it.

Next door at 653 Talbot is a home of equal size and quality but built only a few years later in a very different style.  One could be forgiven for thinking it was much more recent than 1908. But this 2.5 storey red brick Georgian Revival was indeed built that year for Thomas W. Baker, lumber merchant and president of London Box Company. According to recent realtor ads, it was "gutted to the studs" and converted to a triplex in 2018. Pity about that ugly cement wall but the house still looks great. The garage is later, of course. 

Below is an example of why it's the wrong time of year to take photos. Sorry. This is a nice 2.5 storey  ca. 1868 home covered with stucco. Note the elaborate enclosed entranceway behind the trees. Not to mention the string course separating the first and second storeys. This was once the home of Josiah Blackburn's daughters, Grace and Susan, both well-known writers. Grace wrote under the name "Fanfan." Susan was the first woman to graduate from Western.**  

Besides grand mansions, I notice there are Ontario cottages in the area, some delightfully preserved. This one has a graceful curved porch and still has its (original?) finial and pendule in the gable. Built in the 1870s, it was for many years the residence and studio of  Albert Templar who often painted scenes of London. 

No. 601, next door to the above, was built in about 1873 and first occupied by David Bruce, a fire department engineer. Cute bull's-eye window in the gable. Fieldstone entrance porch likely later, ca. 1920s, replacing an earlier. Who's that peeking over the roof?

Other cottages are in good condition, but require some work:

This apartment building stands where Talbot Street School used to be. I know we need highrises and this one isn't particularly ugly but the Gothic schoolhouse with belfry built in 1892 must have been adorable. Unfortunately, it was demolished in 1981 so I never saw it.

An Italianate with the typical double brackets appears at no. 611 ...

... and it has a nice solid London Doorway. According to London Doorways by Julia Beck, published by ACO London, this home was built in 1868. The top arch, here slightly hidden by a light, touches the frame of the doorway above. The smaller matching arches over the sidelights extend to the height of the door. This style is mainly found here in London and in a few surrounding communities.

This is where Locust Mount (demolished in 2008 after a fire) used to be. There's a lot I could say about this, but most of it has already been said, ad nauseum, by others. A typical London heritage disaster.

Just along the street, though, at no. 585, is this well-preserved stately home which is not unlike L.M. It has the same symmetry, slightly projecting central portion and triangular pediment. According to an early ACO London booklet, this house was built in 1869 by Joshua Dalton, possibly from a design by William Joanes.* I have to admit this is one of my favourite buildings in the area, if not in London. An Italianate, it has the typical double brackets under its deep overhanging eaves. The windows have heavy stone semi-circular headings with ornamental keystones and stone lintels. It looks like it might have its original panelled door with sidelights and transom.  

Across the street is another example of a projecting entrance and pediment. Not quite as grand or well preserved but simple and neat. 

I also walked by First Christian Reform Church, built as Talbot Baptist Church in 1881. Constructed in the Gothic style popular at the time, it has gorgeous buff brick, red brick trim, and ten years ago had matching red doors. I couldn't get a decent picture of it today (too much sun reflecting off the glass), so I've substituted a picture I took back in 2015. It looks virtually the same as it did then anyway, except they've painted the doors black (which is OK but not as stunning). And yes, I really do like that glass addition. It totally works. 

Another lovely, simple building is 76 Albert Street, built in the Georgian style for London Free Press publisher Josiah Blackburn. Note the historic plaque. Part of the London Squash & Fitness Club property, it's well maintained by them. This is another house, by the way, that once had a verandah, now removed. While many would call the building plain, its simplicity is stately and attractive. 

According to London's Heritage Register, 618 Talbot is a Neo-Classical building from 1881. I would have thought it was much earlier, one of the earliest buildings in the area, in fact. I'm going by the oval window up in the gable which typically appears in earlier buildings. It reminds me of the doctor's house at Upper Canada Village as well as a picture you'll see if you scroll down on this page. I know they're on the other side of the province but the shape is similar. 

Over on Ridout Street, I paused at no. 565. Built in 1910 for Judge Talbot Macbeth, it has many Georgian Revival features, such as symmetry, small-paned windows and a brick string course between the first and second storeys. Unfortunately, it's now a frat house, and nobody can wreck a building like students. Windows currently boarded.

Another attractive Queen Anne residence is at no. 530 Ridout North. Built in 1903, probably for wholesale milliner John C. Green, it's almost a mirror image of the McCormick house at no. 651 Talbot. The arches on the lower windows and doors are a nod to the Romanesque Revival style. In early 20th century, this house had other mansions on either side; together, they would have made an impressive streetscape and their residents would have had a pleasant view of the Thames River. Now there's an apartment building on one side, a parking lot on the other, and the view is mainly obstructed. 

The trim in the gable of no. 472 caught my eye. At first I thought it might have been added later but now I think it's similar to the trim on the gable of the Charles Sommerville mansion shown here.

I've captured some of the best of this neighbourhood but much of it is run down and in need of sympathetic refurbishment. I say "sympathetic" because there's lots that isn't:

A close-up of the trim in the house above. Our society either does not have the materials and craftsmanship necessary to preserve an older building, can no longer afford them, or we no longer care. I suspect a combination of all three.

Then there's the fake heritage. Like when developers build a highrise with a nod to the neighbourhood's history at street level. Apparently having the lower floors in red brick is supposed to make it fit in. 

Thank goodness there's still Eldon House. I don't expect every property to be a museum, but I think we could do much better with the older homes we have left.

* The Talbot Tour. Geranium Walk IV. Sunday, June 5, 1977. ACO London.

** Brackets & Bargeboards: Walks in London. ACO London, 1989, p. 13.

London Architecture: Italianate

A walk through London's older neighbourhoods provides fans of Victorian buildings with some true architectural delights. One of the more commonly found housing styles is the Italianate which must have been a favourite among London's builders.

The term Italianate stems from the Italian villas, particularly those of Tuscany, that inspired the style. The villas were built for the Florentine elite during the Renaissance but English architects, searching for a new look, went for it in a big way in the 1800s. The fact that Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, designed Osborne House in the Italian villa style helped popularize the look.

It's a giant leap from Renaissance villas and royal palaces to the Italianate homes of London, Ontario. The square towers didn't appear here at all. Nevertheless, an extremely scaled down version of Italianate become popular throughout the province from about 1860 to 1890 and London has numerous examples.

23 Peter Street, built about 1873, could be a textbook illustration of an Italianate house. The low-hipped roof, wide eaves, double brackets, and elongated windows are typical of the style. Bricks form segmental arches over the windows and doorway and there are brick pilaster strips at the corners of the building. A blue historic plaque has been placed on this house and a sign to the right of the door tells us this was once the home of Rowland Dennis, Ironmonger, in 1875. Mr. Dennis owned Forest City Wire Works, specializing in fencing, railings, crestings, finials, and stable fixtures. By 1895, his company had been renamed Dennis Wire & Iron Works.

On the other hand, 505 Talbot, now dwarfed by the apartment building behind it, might be described as an Italianate mansion. Still the low-hipped roof, wide eaves (in this case with a frieze), large paired brackets, and elongated windows, but on a much grander scale with a two-storey central projection and nice trim above the second-storey windows. This one was built for James Owrey, a director of Agricultural Savings and Loan Co., about 1881. The brick has been painted and dormer windows added. Houses such as this one indicate this stretch of Talbot Street must once have been a prestigious neighbourhood. 

Update, September 2015: Go look at 505 Talbot while there's still time. Sadly, even though it was listed as a Priority 1 on London's heritage inventory, this is one of the buildings scheduled for demolition by Tricar to make way for a 30-storey tower.

Update, January 2021: 505 Talbot is now the site of Azure Condominium tower.