If all goes as planned for David Mirvish and Frank Gehry, four century-old buildings along King Street West will be history, demolished to make way for the proposed triple-tower condo development.

During the 19th century, the area between John and Simcoe Sts. was home to the Upper Canada College campus at Russell Square, as well as the York General Hospital, built on the west side of John in the 1820s.

After the Great Fire of 1904, manufacturing facilities moved into the area, giving rise to the Edwardian Classical-style buildings that are standing today. The strip was transformed into a theatre district after Ed Mirvish Enterprises started to buy up these buildings in the 1960s.

Here’s a crash course in the history of the properties that will be demolished if this project goes through as planned:

Eclipse Whitewear Company Building, 322 King St. West

Built in 1903 as an underwear factory, the four-storey building at King and John sits near the site of the old York General Hospital. The Toronto Sun newspaper was housed there during the 1970s.

Today, the building holds a Tim Hortons, some law and architecture firms, and a memorabilia shop called From Hockey to Hollywood.

Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King St. West

First opened in 1993, the Princess of Wales Theatre is the newest building in the zone of the proposed condo development. Architect Peter Smith designed the 2000-seat theatre, adorned with several murals by American artist Frank Stella. Its first showing was a production of the musical Miss Saigon in May 1993.

Anderson Building, 284 King St. West

The Anderson Building, built in 1915, is a “rare surviving example of a commercial warehouse with terra cotta cladding in Toronto,” according to the City of Toronto, which designated the building a heritage site in September 2011.

It was designed by a Scottish-born architect named William Frazer, who was awarded a prize in Glasgow in 1896 for his memorial to the poet Robert Burns.

The building now houses Mirvish Enterprises and the Project Core construction management firm involved with the condo proposal.

E.W. Gillett Building, 276 King St. West

This five-storey brick building went up in 1901 on the former Upper Canada College grounds. The E.W. Gillett Company, which made baking ingredients, moved in after the Great Toronto Fire in 1904.

Built in the Edwardian Classical style popular for industrial buildings at the time, the Gillett Building is notable for the round arched windows on its King St. façade, according to the proposal for the City to designate it as a heritage building.

During World War I, the warehouse was home to the Russell Motor Car Company, and was occupied by the James Morrison Brass Manufacturing Company by the early 1940s.

Currently, it is mostly office space, with a Shoeless Joe’s Sports Grill on the ground floor.

Reid Building, 266-270 King St. West

Situated on the northeast corner of King and Ed Mirvish Way, right next to the Royal Alexandra Theatre, the Reid Building went up between 1904 and 1913.

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The brick warehouse was designed for the Featherbone Novelty Manufacturing Company and named for its manager, Alexander Reid, who financed the building’s construction. The site later held offices for the McLelland and Stewart publishing house, and is currently home to a Golf Land retail outlet and the King West Club fitness centre.

The Reid Building was designated as historic by the City last year.

Sources: Architectural Index for Ontario, City of Toronto Archives, City of Toronto’s Heritage Preservation Services, Toronto.ca

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