Notice of intention to designate - 255 Douglas Avenue

On September 11, 2023, Oakville Town Council resolved to pass a Notice of Intention to Designate the following property under Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.18, as amended, as a property of cultural heritage value and interest:

Grace Ivey House
255 Douglas Avenue
Lot 154, Plan 113; Town of Oakville

Description of property

The property at 255 Douglas Avenue is located on the southeast corner of Douglas Avenue and Sheddon Avenue in the Brantwood neighbourhood. The property contains a circa 1916 one-and-a-half storey brick and frame house.

Statement of cultural heritage value or interest

Design value or physical value

The subject house has design and physical value as a representative example of an Ontario vernacular Edwardian Classicism style home with Period Revival—specifically Tudor Revival and English Cottage style—influences. The home was built in 1916 with characteristics of Edwardian Classicism such as square massing, red brick cladding, and porch columns resting on brick piers. The projecting and exposed first storey eaves are supported by wooden elongated blocks, an element of Arts and Crafts houses. The house has a variety of multi-paned wooden windows and wooden siding on the upper storeys. The covered porch has elegant and curved pickets with grooved detailing, as well as vertical wooden slatted skirting. These elements, along with the prominent jerkinhead roof, are representative of the Period Revival styles, including both Tudor Revival and English Cottage styles.

Historical value or associative value

The home has cultural heritage value for its direct associations with the development of the local residential area known as ‘Brantwood’. The property still retains exterior heritage aspects that have lent to the neighbourhood’s character over the last 100 years and its presence contributes to the relatively intact Brantwood neighbourhood. Developed in the early 1900s, this subdivision was designed with large lots and mature trees, and was sold to city dwellers as a secluded, beautiful, and modern neighbourhood in which to construct their own cottage or stately home. The property is also associated with Albert Frederick Ford, the home’s builder who constructed homes in the Brantwood survey and contributed to the early house styles of the neighbourhood that have persisted through the decades. Many Oakville homes were not designed by well-known architects but rather were built by local builders and carpenters in vernacular styles. Albert Frederick Ford is an important example of a rather prolific local builder by Oakville standards, who helped to create the architectural character of the neighbourhood.

Contextual value

The subject property has contextual value because it supports and maintains the historical residential character of the Brantwood neighbourhood. It was one of the earliest buildings in the neighbourhood and is physically, functionally, visually, and historically linked to the surrounding residential neighbourhood and places the Brantwood area’s origins in a specific timeframe. The house is on a corner lot and its presence adds to the character of the streetscape. This makes its presence even more important for the protection of Brantwood’s historic character.

Description of heritage attributes

Key attributes of the property at 255 Douglas Avenue that exemplify its cultural heritage value as an Ontario Edwardian Classicism style home built with Period Revival influences, as they relate to the original portion of the one-and-a-half storey house and the one-storey porch, include:

• The massing and form of the one-and-a-half storey building with front gable jerkinhead roof and of the one-storey flat-roofed porch;
• Wooden soffits and fascia on second storey roof and porch roof;
• Exposed wooden eaves with elongated wooden eave supports on first storey roof and porch roof;
• Red brick Flemish style bond cladding on first storey;
• Horizontal wooden cladding on upper storey;
• Stone window and door lintels and sills;
• One-storey front porch on west elevation with wooden beams, curved wooden railing with grooved detailing, vertical wooden slatted skirting, and square, and panelled wooden pillars on brick plinths;
• Fenestration on the west elevation and the first storey on the south elevation; and
• Multi-paned wooden windows with wooden storm windows and wooden trim.

Any objection to this designation must be filed no later than October 13, 2023.  Objections should be directed to the Town Clerk, 1225 Trafalgar Road, Oakville, Ontario L6H 0H3.

Further information respecting this proposed designation is available from the Town of Oakville. Any inquiries may be directed to Carolyn Van Sligtenhorst, Supervisor of Heritage Conservation at 905-845-6601, ext.3875 (TTY 905-338-4200), or by email at carolyn.van@oakville.ca.