Spadina House
Encyclopedia
Spadina Museum, also called Spadina , is a historic manor
on Spadina Road in Toronto
, Canada
that is now a museum operated by the City of Toronto Cultural Services. The museum preserves the house much as it existed and developed historically. The art, decor and architecture of the house used to reflect the contemporary styles of the 1860s through the 1930s, including Victorian
, Edwardian
, Arts and Crafts
, Art Deco
, Art Nouveau
and Colonial Revival
styles. After being closed for a year for restoration work, Spadina Museum re-opened in November 2010 in the inter-war era style of the 1920s and 1930s. The estate's gardens reflect the landscape during the Austin family's occupation of the house.
, however, Spadina Road becomes Spadina Avenue
, which is always pronounced the first way. The distinction between the two ways was once an economic class marker in Toronto with the upper classes favouring the second pronunciation. Now, however, even the official TTC
stop announcements pronounce the i in Spadina as the one in mine.
. He named his 200 acre (0.809372 km²) property and estate Spadina, which derived from the native
word espadinong, which translates as "hill" or "sudden rise of land". Baldwin himself designed the two storey wood frame house. The house burnt down in 1835, and owing to the three mile (5 km) trek from the estate into York
, he moved to a house
on Front Street. He built a smaller country estate on the property in 1836.
The property was acquired by James Austin in 1866, founder of The Dominion Bank
and Consumers Gas. By this time, parts of the property had been sold off, and what Austin purchased covered 80 acres (323,748.8 m²). In the nineteenth and early twentieth century the area was the wealthiest in Toronto, with a number of Toronto's leading families having large estates. Austin subdivided and sold off the land west of Spadina Road in 1889, which amounted to 40 acres (161,874.4 m²). In 1892, James Austin turned over the house, and 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of the property to his son, Albert William Austin. Albert Austin expanded the house in several renovations, including the addition of a third floor in 1912. He sold much of the property to the City of Toronto in 1913 for the construction of the St. Clair Reservoir. Albert Austin died in 1933.
The last member of the family to live in the house was Anna Kathleen Thompson, a daughter of Albert Austin, who lived there from 1942 until 1982. The aged house had outdated wiring and needed a thorough overhaul, that would have been far more expensive than rebuilding it. While the house could have been sold to private interests such as the Keg Restaurant, the family decided instead to donate the house and all of its furnishings to the city. In 1984 it opened as a museum, jointly owned by the city and the Ontario Heritage Foundation and operated by the City of Toronto. The museum is especially known for its gardens.
, on top of Davenport Hill, an escarpment which was the shore of prehistoric Lake Iroquois
. Immediately east was Sir John Craig Eaton and Lady Eaton
's massive Italianate palace and estate, Ardwold
. Just around the corner on Austin Terrace, on the lot adjacent to Spadina House, is Casa Loma
, a stately pile built in 1911 by Major-General Sir Henry Mill Pellatt
.
Spadina Museum was awarded the Ontario Museum Association Award of Merit in conjunction with Dawn Roach Bowen for their Black History Month
programme Meet Mrs. Pipkin in 2002. Mrs. Pipkin was a laundress at the Spadina house in the 1860s, where she came after escaping slavery
in the United States
.
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
on Spadina Road in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
that is now a museum operated by the City of Toronto Cultural Services. The museum preserves the house much as it existed and developed historically. The art, decor and architecture of the house used to reflect the contemporary styles of the 1860s through the 1930s, including Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
, Edwardian
Edwardian architecture
Edwardian architecture is the style popular when King Edward VII of the United Kingdom was in power; he reigned from 1901 to 1910, but the architecture style is generally considered to be indicative of the years 1901 to 1914....
, Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
, Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
, Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
and Colonial Revival
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
styles. After being closed for a year for restoration work, Spadina Museum re-opened in November 2010 in the inter-war era style of the 1920s and 1930s. The estate's gardens reflect the landscape during the Austin family's occupation of the house.
Name
Many Torontonians follow a convention of pronouncing Spadina Road with the i as /aɪ/ as in mine, and Spadina House with the i as in /iː/ as in ski. Occasionally Spadina Road is pronounced the second way. South of Bloor StreetBloor Street
Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct westward into Mississauga, where it ends at Central Parkway. East of the viaduct, Danforth Avenue continues along the same...
, however, Spadina Road becomes Spadina Avenue
Spadina Avenue
Spadina Avenue is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods....
, which is always pronounced the first way. The distinction between the two ways was once an economic class marker in Toronto with the upper classes favouring the second pronunciation. Now, however, even the official TTC
Toronto Transit Commission
-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
stop announcements pronounce the i in Spadina as the one in mine.
| Building | Year Completed | Builder | Style | Source | Location | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spadina House Spadina House Spadina Museum, also called Spadina , is a historic manor on Spadina Road in Toronto, Canada that is now a museum operated by the City of Toronto Cultural Services. The museum preserves the house much as it existed and developed historically... |
1866 | James Austin | including Victorian Victorian architecture The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and... , Edwardian Edwardian architecture Edwardian architecture is the style popular when King Edward VII of the United Kingdom was in power; he reigned from 1901 to 1910, but the architecture style is generally considered to be indicative of the years 1901 to 1914.... , Arts and Crafts Arts and Crafts movement Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s... , Art Deco Art Deco Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and... , Art Nouveau Art Nouveau Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"... and Colonial Revival Colonial Revival architecture The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own... |
W | Near Casa Loma | |
History
The first house constructed on the site was built in 1818 by Dr. William Warren BaldwinWilliam Warren Baldwin
William Warren Baldwin was a doctor, businessman, lawyer, judge, architect and political figure in Upper Canada....
. He named his 200 acre (0.809372 km²) property and estate Spadina, which derived from the native
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
word espadinong, which translates as "hill" or "sudden rise of land". Baldwin himself designed the two storey wood frame house. The house burnt down in 1835, and owing to the three mile (5 km) trek from the estate into York
York, Upper Canada
York was the name of Old Toronto between 1793 and 1834. It was the second capital of Upper Canada.- History :The town was established in 1793 by Governor John Graves Simcoe, with a new 'Fort York' on the site of the last French 'Fort Toronto'...
, he moved to a house
Mackenzie House
Mackenzie House is a historic building and museum in Toronto, Canada that was the last home of William Lyon Mackenzie, the city's first mayor....
on Front Street. He built a smaller country estate on the property in 1836.
The property was acquired by James Austin in 1866, founder of The Dominion Bank
The Dominion Bank
The Dominion Bank was a Canadian bank based in Toronto and incorporated in 1869 that merged on February 1, 1955 with the Bank of Toronto to form the Toronto-Dominion Bank. -History:...
and Consumers Gas. By this time, parts of the property had been sold off, and what Austin purchased covered 80 acres (323,748.8 m²). In the nineteenth and early twentieth century the area was the wealthiest in Toronto, with a number of Toronto's leading families having large estates. Austin subdivided and sold off the land west of Spadina Road in 1889, which amounted to 40 acres (161,874.4 m²). In 1892, James Austin turned over the house, and 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of the property to his son, Albert William Austin. Albert Austin expanded the house in several renovations, including the addition of a third floor in 1912. He sold much of the property to the City of Toronto in 1913 for the construction of the St. Clair Reservoir. Albert Austin died in 1933.
The last member of the family to live in the house was Anna Kathleen Thompson, a daughter of Albert Austin, who lived there from 1942 until 1982. The aged house had outdated wiring and needed a thorough overhaul, that would have been far more expensive than rebuilding it. While the house could have been sold to private interests such as the Keg Restaurant, the family decided instead to donate the house and all of its furnishings to the city. In 1984 it opened as a museum, jointly owned by the city and the Ontario Heritage Foundation and operated by the City of Toronto. The museum is especially known for its gardens.
Location
The house is at the southern end of the northern section of Spadina RoadSpadina Avenue
Spadina Avenue is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods....
, on top of Davenport Hill, an escarpment which was the shore of prehistoric Lake Iroquois
Glacial Lake Iroquois
Glacial Lake Iroquois was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed at the end of the last ice age approximately 13,000 years ago.The lake was essentially an enlargement of the present Lake Ontario that formed because the St. Lawrence River downstream from the lake was blocked by the ice sheet...
. Immediately east was Sir John Craig Eaton and Lady Eaton
Flora Eaton
Flora McCrea Eaton, Lady Eaton was the wife of Toronto department store president and heir Sir John Craig Eaton.- Life and career :...
's massive Italianate palace and estate, Ardwold
Ardwold
Ardwold was the residence of Sir John Craig Eaton and Lady Eaton of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Sir John was the youngest son of Timothy Eaton, the founder of the T. Eaton Company Department Store, or Eaton's, and he inherited the business and became its president upon his father's death in 1907...
. Just around the corner on Austin Terrace, on the lot adjacent to Spadina House, is Casa Loma
Casa Loma
Casa Loma is a Gothic Revival style house in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that is now a museum and landmark. It was originally a residence for financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. Casa Loma was constructed over a three-year period from 1911–1914. The architect of the mansion was E. J...
, a stately pile built in 1911 by Major-General Sir Henry Mill Pellatt
Henry Pellatt
Major-General Sir Henry Mill Pellatt, C.V.O. was a well-known Canadian financier and soldier....
.
Awards
Spadina Museum was jointly awarded the Peggi Armstrong Public Archaeology Award along with the Ontario Heritage Trust in 2004.Spadina Museum was awarded the Ontario Museum Association Award of Merit in conjunction with Dawn Roach Bowen for their Black History Month
Black History Month
Black History Month is an observance of the history of the African diaspora in a number of countries outside of Africa. Since 1976, it is observed annually in the United States and Canada in February, while in the United Kingdom it is observed in October...
programme Meet Mrs. Pipkin in 2002. Mrs. Pipkin was a laundress at the Spadina house in the 1860s, where she came after escaping slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.