House History Scrapbook - Mid-Century Home

Researched and compiled July 2024 by Peter J. Marshall for Hogtown House Histories.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The city of Toronto is located on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. The city is covered by Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit.

THE FIRST SIXTY FIVE YEARS

Ownership of the 60 Farningham Crescent property can be traced back to 1802 when the government of Upper Canada first granted Richard Willson the surrounding 100-acre Lot 15 in the 1st Concession Fronting the Humber. The lot was parcelled off over time with the Etobicoke Land company purchasing the southern thirtyfive acres in 1912. The developer then sold that plot and the 100-acre entirety of Lot 14 to its south to Humbervale Lands in the same year.

Humbervale held on to the 135 acres until 1947 when they were sold to Consolidated Toronto Development Corporation. Consolidated was associated with Home Smith Properties whose earlier developments included the prestigious Etobicoke neighbourhoods of The Kingsway, Baby Point, Old Mill and Humber Valley Village.

Their final project would be Princess Anne Manor and the adjacent Princess Gardens, the latter of which was developed with a consortium of companies. Both neighbourhoods were to feature a mix of modern suburban ranch-style bungalows and split-level single-family homes laid out on large lots along curving roads.

As part of the development, Consolidated Toronto registered subdivision plan 4864 in the summer of 1955 which was centred around a street to be called Farningham Crescent. Most houses in the plan were constructed by 1957 but the developer retained the vacant lots for numbers 60 and 62 until January 1958 when they were

sold to the Valentine Construction Company. The company, owned by brothers Nelo and Eugene Valentine, paid $14,900 for the two properties and began construction on the houses in accordance with specific regulations that defined the number of storeys, minimum square footage, minimum distance from street and property line, style of garage and types of building materials amongst other details.

By August the two spacious ranch bungalows were ready for occupation and 60 Farningham was purchased by 39-year-old nutritionist Wallace Meyer and his wife Jean for $29,500. Wallace died in 1986 but Jean kept the house until selling it in July 2005, forty seven years after moving in.

The house’s second owners were Andrea and Flavia Zuccarini who were seeking a charming bungalow they could make into their forever home. Attracted by the neighbourhood’s architecture and mature trees they purchased number 60 for $639,700 and moved in with their 12-year-old daughter Bianca and 9-year-old son Dante. They would undertake extensive renovations over the next twenty years while maintaining the original exterior character of the house. As a result, while numerous nearby homes have given way to generic McMansions, 60 Farningham continues to evoke the distinctive heritage of the original Princess Gardens neighbourhood.

LAND OWNERSHIP HISTORY Ontario Land Registry offices hold the province’s historical property ownership records as well as abstracts (indexes) of those records. The following are highlights of the abstract books pertaining to 60 Farningham Crescent.

Property history prior to the creation of the house’s subdivision is found in abstracts for Concession 1 Fronting the Humber (FTH), Lot 15 and trace the property’s early ownership back to the original grant of the surrounding lands by Upper Canada in 1802. Ownership since the subdivision’s registration is taken from abstracts for Plan 4862, Lot 133.

Lot

Instrument Number

Concession 1 FTH, Lot 15

Instrument Type

Instrument Date

Grantor

Grantee

Patent

May 17, 1802

Crown

Richard Willson

Concession 1 FTH, Lot 15

446

B&S

Oct 9, 1802

Richard Willson & Sarah his wife

William Chambers

Concession 1 FTH, Lot 15

448

B&S

June 1, 1804

William Chambers

Isaac Chambers

Concession 1 FTH, Lot 15

6069

B&S

Ep 29, 1827

John Chambers devisee of Isaac Chambers

William Kelly

Concession 1 FTH, Lot 15

11076

B&S

Aug 20, 1834

William Kelley

Ann Mercer

Concession 1 FTH, Lot 15: south 50 acres

84577

B&S

Apr 26, 1862

Ann Mercer

Seneca K. Mercer

Concession 1 FTH, Lot 15: 16 acres

88061

Grant

May 18, 1861

Ann Mercer

Seneca K. Mercer

Concession 1 FTH, Lot 15: south 66 acres

88425

Grant

Oct 2, 1865

Seneca K. Mercer & Mary his wife

Matthew Canning

Concession 1 FTH, Lot 15: south 66 acres

6593

F.O.F.

Aug 26, 1897

High Court of Justice

Sarah E. C. Mulock (Plaintiff) Matthew Canning, E. R. C. Clarkson, Assignee, Jennette Canning & Rebecca Geddes (Defendants)

Concession 1 FTH, Lot 15: south 66 acres

6616

Grant

Oct 28, 1897

Sarah E. C. Mulock

George Lyons

Concession 1 FTH, Lot 15: south 66 acres

7394

Grant

Nov 16, 1901

George M. Lyons, Ethel Jane his wife

Edward Coulter

Concession 1 FTH, Lot 15: south 35 acres

11205

Grant

Apr 10, 1912

Edward Coulter

Thomas Delworth

Concession 1 FTH, Lot 15: south 35 acres

13946

Grant

Apr 26, 1912

Thomas Delworth & Fannie M. his wife

R. Home Smith

Concession 1 FTH, Lot 15: south 35 acres Concession 1 FTH, Lot 14 + Lot 15: south 35 acres Concession 1 FTH, Lot 14 + Lot 15: south 35 acres + other land

13951

Grant

May 2, 1912

R. Home Smith

Etobicoke Land Co. Ltd.

13953

Grant

June 30, 1912

Etobicoke Land Co. Ltd.

Humbervale Lands Ltd.

76060

Grant

Dec 22, 1947

Humbervale Lands Ltd.

Consolidated Toronto Development Corpn Ltd

SUBDIVISION PLAN 4864 REGISTERED IN 1955 Plan 4864, Lots 1-226

159868

Grant

Oct 17, 1955

Consolidated Toronto Development Corpn Ltd

Home Smith Properties Ltd

Plan 4864, Lots 132, 133

193754

Grant

Jan 8, 1958

Home Smith Properties Ltd.

Nelo A. Valentine & Eugene Valentine in partnership viz: Valentine Constn. Co.

HOUSE BUILT 1958 Plan 4864, Lot 133

203601

Grant

Plan 4864, Lot 133

AT856340

Transfer

Aug 19, 1958 Reg. July 8, 2005

Nelo A. Valentine & Eugene Valentine viz: Valentine Constn. Co.

Wallace K. Meyer & Jean V. his wife as Joint Tenants

Jean Vivian Meyer

Flavia Zuccarini

Interpretation Guide Instrument

The unique record number that the abstract entry is summarizing

Inst. Type

“B&S” (Buy & Sell), “Grant” and “Transfer” all refer to deeds of sale. F.O.F. indicates a foreclosure.

Inst. Date

Abstracts include dates of instrument creation and dates of registration with the registry. This chart shows only the former unless otherwise noted.

ETOBICOKE LAND GRANTS 1856 Map of the township of Etobicoke by Charles Unwin.

INSET: Lots 12-16 in the 1st Concession Fronting the Humber are now bordered by Kipling Ave., Martin Grove Rd., Rathburn Rd. and Eglinton Ave. and home to the Princess Gardens neighbourhood. The future location of 60 Farningham is indicated on Lot 15, which was owned by Ann Mercer at the time the map was created.

PRINCESS GARDENS DEVELOPMENT

Globe and Mail ad March 9, 1957

Globe and Mail ad April 27, 1957

Globe and Mail April 27, 1957

An aerial timeline of the Princess Gardens neighbourhood bound by Kipling Avenue, Rathburn Road, Martin Grove Road and Eglinton Avenue West.

16

1953: The 1st Concession lots that will make up the future Princess Gardens development are primarily farmland with some wooded areas.

1956: Work is well underway on most of the subdivisions that will make up the neighbourhood.

1957: The initial phase of Princess Gardens is nearly complete.

1967: After a decade-long pause, the northern subdivisions have been recently constructed and all of the area’s original residences are now in place.

SUBDIVISION PLAN NO. 4864 .

Subdivision plan 48684 was registered in September 1955 and consisted of 226 lots that were typically 120 feet deep with 60- to 65-foot frontages. Lot 133 would become the future 60 Farningham Crescent

1956: The subdivision is just beginning development in one of the few wooded areas of the Princess Gardens neighbourhood.

1957: Development is largely complete but a number of houses including 60 Farningham have yet to begin construction.

1959: The subdivision has finished construction in the year prior.

ORIGINAL CONSTRUCTION RESTRICTIONS The builder of 60 and 62 Farningham was subject to construction restrictions intended to maintain a uniform appearance amongst the neighbourhood’s homes. These legal limitations remained in force until 1994.

(Ontario Land Registry instrument no. EB193754)

ORIGINAL DEED The August 1958 deed of sale for 60 Farningham by the builders to the first owners. (Ontario Land Registry instrument no.

EB203601)

1958 deed page 2 of 4

\ 1958 deed page 3 of 4

1958 deed page 4 of 4

1959 & 1960 ASSESSMENT ROLLS Assessment rolls were compiled annually by municipalities for property tax purposes. They provide basic information about a house, lot and the owner and can be used to determine the year that a house was built.

1959 assessment roll, compiled in 1958

1960 assessment roll, compiled 1959

In the spring of 1958 the lot was still owned by builders Eugene and Nelo Valentine who lived on Carmichael Ave. in Toronto. The land was valued at $1,550 and the unfinished house at $4,000. The Valentine brothers supported both the public and the Catholic school board with their taxes.

One year later the house is completed and now valued at $9,950. It has been purchased by nutritionist Wallace Meyer and his wife Jean who is listed as a housewife. Wallace was born in 1919 and Jean in 1921. The couple’s religious denomination is listed as United Church and they resided at the house with two other people, likely their children Robert and Deborah.

Values can be converted to 2024 dollars by multiplying them by a factor of 10.

1958 & 1959 CITY DIRECTORIES City directories were published annually and were similar to phone books except that they also listed the heads of household by street address. This information identifies a house’s occupants rather than most other sources that typically identify only the owner. An asterisk next to a name indicates that the person was both occupant and owner.

The 1958 city directory was compiled in 1957 and marks the first appearance of Farningham Crescent. Number 60 is not yet included in that listing.

The 1959 directory has the first appearance of 60 Farningham. Walter Meyer is listed as both occupant and owner and his phone number is BElmont 1-2662.

HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS Taken by Andrea Zuccarini at the time he purchased the home in 2005.

The house’s exterior as it appeared in 2005.

Original dining room/living room, now converted into the house’s kitchen.

Original living room with fireplace that’s still in use.

Original dining room/living room/ kitchen entry way, now converted into the house’s kitchen.

The original kitchen, now converted into the updated kitchen and laundry room.

Another view of the original kitchen.

Original mud room, now converted into the laundry room.

This spare bedroom was initially converted into Bianca’s bedroom and later into a guest room.

The primary bedroom has since been renovated and the ensuite bathroom updated.

The main floor bathroom has also been subsequently renovated.

The original basement, now converted into a second living room / media room.

The original entry way to the house, opening into the living room.

Subsequently renovated to create more of an open concept.

Another view of the original basement.