Toronto: Victorian residential architecture (~135 pics... check it out!)

The purpose of this thread is to explore some of Toronto's victorian housing. And there's lots of it, actually... from large fancy estates to tiny worker's cottages. The focus here is mostly on the middle-class dwellings of the era.

The styles include Gothic Revival, Georgian Revival, Queen Anne, Second Empire, Romanesque, and the unique-to-the-area style of Toronto Bay & Gable. What's unique about the Gothic-inspired Bay & Gable is the strong vertical emphasis. This is pronounced by a finely angled gable. Red brick is used most often with yellow accents (or sometimes vice versa). They're also typcially very narrow.

Some features found in most styles include stained glass just above the door or on the upper part of the main window, wrought iron fence out front, gable ornamentation, and often, if a half-bay is present, it is capped by a quasi-Mansard roof and/or a dwarf parapet. The Queen Annes typically have some terra cotta ornamentation and patterned masonry. The Gothic style is characterized by pointed arches and highly ornamented gables usually consisting of trefoil carvings. Actually, most houses have Gothic elements.

Anyway, enough with the lesson...


some obligatory stuff:
photos by: Bob Krawczyk (whose website, TOBuilt was very helpful), KGB (of SSC fame), southofbloor, jan1ce, fellene and me. All photos are hosted by ImageShack.



and on with the pics...













a great example of the Toronto Bay & Gable:





bow bays:


Georgian Revival with a twist:




















notice the cobblestone out front:























very narrow... and lots of stained glass:








nice doors on this one:




















some nice Queen Anne details:





























former houses go mixed-use:











more examples of former residences converted to commercial use:






































a great Queen Anne house located in Cabbagetown:








































































































































































































































hope you enjoyed!!>