St. Paul's-Avenue Road United Church

Last updated
The church building around 1891, when it was called St. Paul's Methodist Church St Paul's Methodist, Toronto.png
The church building around 1891, when it was called St. Paul's Methodist Church

St. Paul's-Avenue Road United Church was a church in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded in the 1870s as St. Paul's Methodist Church. Its home on Avenue Road, just north of Bloor Street in the Yorkville community, was built in 1877. With church union in 1925, it became St. Paul's United Church, and in 1930, it merged with the nearby Avenue Road United Church (previously Presbyterian) to form St. Paul's-Avenue Road United Church.

Originally, the congregation included many of Toronto's elite, but the church began to decline during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1980, the congregation merged with Trinity United Church on Bloor Street (west of Spadina Avenue) to form Trinity-St. Paul's United Church. The congregation based itself in the Trinity church building on Bloor Street, while the St. Paul's church building on Avenue Road was sold to developers. An acclaimed heritage property, there were several years of debate over what could be done with the structure. The developers hoped to demolish it, but this was blocked by the community and city council. The building became a gallery for the arts and music for several years.

In 1995, the church building was destroyed by fire, and accusations of arson were made. The destruction of the building, leaving it open for development, tripled the value of the property overnight. The insurance company refused to pay for the damage after it found evidence that the fire was deliberate. The property was subsequently developed in stages. Townhouses were built along Webster Avenue, while the property at the corner of Webster and Avenue Road was surrounded by hoardings. In 2024, a further development was announced on that corner site.

43°40′23″N79°23′44″W / 43.6731°N 79.3955°W / 43.6731; -79.3955

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deer Park, Toronto</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Deer Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is centered on the intersection of Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue and its boundaries are the Vale of Avoca section of Rosedale ravine in the east, Farnham Avenue and Jackes Avenue in the south, Avenue Road and Oriole Parkway in the west, the Beltline Trail in the north on the west side of Yonge Street, and Glen Elm Avenue in the north on the east side of Yonge Street. For the purposes of social policy analysis and research, the Toronto government’s Social Development & Administration division includes Deer Park within the City of Toronto's official "Rosedale-Moore Park" and "Yonge-St.Clair" neighbourhood profiles. The neighbourhood is in Ward 22, represented by Councillor Josh Matlow at Toronto City Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto—St. Paul's (federal electoral district)</span> Federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada

Toronto—St. Paul's is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1935. Before the 2015 election, the riding was known as St. Paul's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avenue Road Church</span> Church in Ontario, Canada

The Avenue Road Church is a former church building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 243 Avenue Road, on the northeastern corner of Roxborough Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bathurst Street (Toronto)</span> Street in Toronto and York Region in Ontario, Canada

Bathurst Street is a main north–south arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It begins at an intersection of the Queens Quay roadway, just north of the Lake Ontario shoreline. It continues north through Toronto to the Toronto boundary at Steeles Avenue. It is a four-lane thoroughfare throughout Toronto. The roadway continues north into York Region where it is known as York Regional Road 38.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of the Redeemer (Toronto)</span> Anglican church in Ontario, Canada

The Church of the Redeemer is an Anglican church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The small church is prominently located at the intersection of Bloor Street and Avenue Road, near the Royal Ontario Museum. The Gothic Revival style building opened on June 15, 1879.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloor Street United Church</span> Church in Ontario, Canada

Bloor Street United Church is a United Church of Canada church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Bloor Street West in the downtown core at the northwest corner of the intersection with Huron Street. It is just north of the University of Toronto, and between the Spadina and St. George subway stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randolph Theatre</span>

The Randolph Theatre is a 518 seat theatre in Toronto, Ontario, that is housed in a former church. The Gothic revival building is located at 736 Bathurst Street at the intersection with Lennox Street. The theatre is in the former church sanctuary, while the 100-seat Annex Theatre is in an adjoining building at 730 Bathurst Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity-St. Paul's United Church</span> Church in Toronto, Ontario

Trinity-St. Paul's United Church and Centre for Faith, Justice and the Arts is a church belonging to the United Church of Canada in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 427 Bloor Street West, just west of Spadina Avenue in the city's downtown core. The church is formed of a mix of three different former congregations and houses a fourth independent congregation within its building.

St. James-Bond United Church, at 1066 Avenue Road in Toronto, Ontario, was a United Church of Canada congregation from 1928 to 2005, when it merged with Fairlawn Heights United Church in the Yonge Street and Lawrence Avenue area. The "St. James-Bond" name derived from the merger of St. James Square Presbyterian Church with Bond Street Congregational Church in 1928. Prior to the merger, they were separate congregations downtown, of the Presbyterian and Congregational traditions respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deer Park United Church</span> Church in Toronto, Ontario

Deer Park United Church is the name of a United Church of Canada congregation, and also the name of this congregation's former church building at 129 St. Clair Avenue West in the Deer Park neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was one of two United Church of Canada buildings in the area and along St. Clair Avenue, the other being Timothy Eaton Memorial Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joy Gas Stations</span>

Joy Gas Stations operated uniquely designed stations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the 1930s for the Joy Oil Company Limited. The stations are examples of the Château style of architecture, a style that was promoted as a uniquely Canadian architectural form in the 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yorkville Town Hall</span> Demolished town hall in Ontario, Canada

Yorkville Town Hall was the municipal building for the Village of Yorkville before its annexation by the City of Toronto. Built in 1859-1860 by architect William Hay and his apprentice Henry Langley, the three-storey building also served as an omnibus stop. The hall was located north of Bloor Street on Yonge Street, along the west side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palmerston Boulevard</span> Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Palmerston Boulevard is a residential street located in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, two blocks west of Bathurst Street, between Koreatown and Little Italy. The street is bounded by stone and iron gates both at Bloor Street and College Street. Notably, it is lit with symmetrically placed cast-iron lamps and canopied by mature silver maple trees. The name Palmerston continues south as Palmerston Avenue from College Street to Queen Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yorkminster Park Baptist Church (Toronto)</span>

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church is a Baptist church located in Toronto's Deer Park, Canada. It is affiliated with Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Park North</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

High Park North, or often simply High Park, after the park, is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded on the south by Bloor Street, on the west by Runnymede Road, on the north by Annette Street, and on the east by the GO Transit Weston Subdivision rail tracks. It is located in the Parkdale—High Park provincial and federal electoral districts. The area east of Keele Street is also known informally as the "West Bend" neighbourhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Paul's, Bloor Street</span> Anglican church in Toronto, Ontario

St. Paul's, Bloor Street, is an Anglican church located at 227 Bloor Street East in Toronto, Ontario. The present church building, completed in 1913, was designed by E. J. Lennox in the Gothic Revival style. At 10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft), it is the largest church in the Diocese of Toronto. The building is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act as being of cultural heritage value or interest. It is the regimental church of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enoch Turner School</span> Ontario Heritage Trust historic site and museum in Ontario, Canada

Enoch Turner Schoolhouse is a historic site and museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a former school owned by the Ontario Heritage Trust. The school was built in 1848 when it was known as the Ward School. The building is located at 106 Trinity Street between King Street East and Eastern Avenue. It is the oldest school standing in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Andrew's United Church</span> Church in Ontario, Canada

St. Andrew's United Church is a historic congregation of the United Church of Canada in Toronto, Canada. Located in the city's downtown core near the intersection of Yonge and Bloor streets, it is a combination of five other downtown Toronto congregations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harbord Village</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Harbord Village is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It lies just to the west of the University of Toronto, with its most commonly accepted borders being Bloor Street on the north, Spadina Avenue on the east, College Street to the south, and Bathurst Street to the west. Areas west of Bathurst, as far as Ossington are also sometimes included, though they are not covered by the residents' association. The area was previously known as Sussex-Ulster, after two of the major east west streets in the area. In 2000 the residents' association decided to rename itself and the area Harbord Village, after the main street running through the middle of the community. The street's name origin is unclear but could be named for abolitionist Edward Harbord, 3rd Baron Suffield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markham Street, Toronto</span> Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Markham Street is a north–south residential street located in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, one block west of Bathurst Street. Its northern end starts in the Seaton Village neighbourhood and it passes through Mirvish Village, Palmerston–Little Italy, Trinity–Bellwoods and ends at West Queen Street West at its south end.

References