Architect behind heritage building selling for $4.2 million may as well be called ‘the man who built the city’

TheStar.com
December 10, 2018
Emerald Bensadoun

A piece of Toronto history is on sale for $4.2 million -- not a painting, not a sculpture, but a house, one of the oldest heritage buildings in the Annex designed by the noted architect Frederick Henry Herbert.

Herbert, an architect who built numerous houses and buildings in Toronto starting in the 1890s, has so many heritage buildings to his name that he could very well be called ‘the man who built the city.’ The burnished red house at 145 Madison Ave. is only one example of his work, which ranged from residential homes to city staples such as the Thomas Goldsmith House off of Bloor St. W. and Dalton Rd., and Dineen Building at the corner of Yonge and Temperance Sts.

Madison Ave. was built in 1896 by notable architect Frederick Henry Herbert.

He also designed the Mutual Street Arena on Oct. 7, 1912 -- although it’s better known now as the Maple Leaf Gardens or the Mattamy Athletic Centre. The athletic hub was the largest indoor arena in Canada at the time, boasting 8,000 seats and a 230’ x 95’ sized rink.

A talented proponent of the Queen Anne style, Herbert’s work can often be recognized by the picturesque, asymmetrical free style plan and elevation which incorporates his characteristic circular corner tower, steep roofs and tall chimneys.

Herbert, who came to Toronto in 1887 from Bath, England, excelled in the design of houses for wealthy clients residing in Rosedale, the Annex and Parkdale neighbourhoods and established a new standard for residential architecture in Toronto at the turn of the century.

The Madison Ave. building has been home to the Kruk family for 50 years, was put up for sale by Anne and Joseph Kruk’s children after Joseph’s death in 2003 and Anne’s death in 2017.

“It’s really one of the old, original, grand don’s of the Annex, and one of the few ones that are left,” said Sue Mills, a Royal LePage realtor selling the 7,260 sq. ft. home.

The Madison Ave. home was built by Dancy Brothers for William R. Wadsworth in 1896 and is listed as one of the “finest remaining examples of original Toronto Annex architecture.”

He died in Toronto on September 17, 1914 and was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.