Draper Street (Toronto)

Draper Street is a street in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a north-south street located to the west of Spadina Avenue, from Front Street West north to Wellington Street. Draper Street is notable for its collection of 28 19th Century Second Empire-styled row cottages. The houses were designated by the City of Toronto government in the 1990s to have heritage status. The entire street is designated as a Heritage Conservation District as a way to preserve its heritage for posterity.

The street is named after William Henry Draper, a lawyer, judge, and politician in Upper Canada later Canada West.[1][2] The street was laid out in an 1856 plan of subdivision by J. Stoughton Dennis[3] of lands that were part of the 1794 Garrison Reserve.[4] Draper and Charles Jones are listed as the property owners of the lots to be subdivided for development.[3] The street is narrow; it is only 32 feet (9.8 m)-wide.[3] The lots are all 88 feet (27 m) deep and vary in width from 22 feet (6.7 m) to 32 feet (9.8 m) wide.[3]

28 rowhouses are found on Draper Street.[5]

Construction did not begin immediately after the sub-dividing of the properties. In 1857, an economic depression started which may have delayed construction.[6] The one-and-a-half-storey cottages were built from 1881 to 1889 by developer Jonathan Madell. First, seven cottages were built on the east side of the street in 1881, then four cottages on the west side from 1881–1882. These were designed by architect J. A. Fowler.[7] In 1886, two houses were built on the corners where Draper met Front Street West. In 1889, the row cottages of #20–32 were built on the west side of the street.[8]

In 1997, the residents of Draper Street requested the Board of Heritage Toronto to designate the properties under the Ontario Heritage Act. The Board voted to designate the properties, and Toronto City Council approved the designation on February 4, 1999 under By-law 026-99.[8] Of the original cottages, #19 and #21 had been torn down, #27's facade was replaced and #29's facade was remodelled. The two houses on the north-west corner of Front and Draper were torn down to make a commercial building facing on Front.

The areas to the north and east of the street are the site of redevelopment. The condominium project "The Well" is to be constructed on the industrial lands to the east vacated by The Globe and Mail headquarters. It will convert a vacant lot on Draper Street into a parkette connecting to the project lands. A 16-storey condominium is proposed for the corner of Wellington Street West and Draper.[9]

A narrow park is being built, connecting Draper with a nearby development east of the street.[10][11] The park is just 11 metres (36 ft) wide and 15 metres (49 ft) long. A property developer received permission to redevelop that 7.8 acres (3.2 hectares) property, if the compensated for the higher density, if they purchased nearby properties, and turned them into parkspace.[10] This short walkway is part of the developer's deal.