10-07-2025, 10:17 PM
(10-07-2025, 08:42 PM)Acitta Wrote: How many buildings being built today will people a hundred years from now consider to be a heritage building that should be preserved?
Not many would for various reasons, unless they hold some sort of cultural significance such as historical provenance, anthropological history, architectural history, engineering quality etc. The Kuntz-Labatt House is at least 140 years old and is thus a historically significant part of the local history of this region. It also has a history that has for over a century justified keeping it where it is. Will our contemporary pre-cast condos be standing in 140s years? Probably not.
Quote:David Kuntz founded the Spring Brewery in 1844 on property at the south-west corner of King and William Streets. Later known as the L. Kuntz Park Brewery, it grew to become Ontario's second largest brewery by 1910. The entire plant, which stretched back to Park Street, was sold to Carling Breweries Limited in 1929, though the name Kuntz was retained for another decade. The brewery was demolished in 1993.
The Kuntz-Labatt house, on land adjoining the brewery, was built in the mid 1880s for the Kuntz family. It remained for a time the principal family residence. Colonel Hugh J. Heasley, a former Manager of Carling's, lived in the house from 1944 until his death in 1978. Kuntz had several other houses built in the vicinity of the brewery - see 156 King Street South, almost directly across King Street - but most were eventually demolished to allow its gradual expansion.
The yellow-brick Kuntz-Labatt house was designed in the Italianate style. The façade is asymetrical, with a central projecting bay capped by a gable with return eaves. Paried eaves brackets and the round-headed window in the gable are characteristic of Italianate detailng. A one-storey verandah begins on the front facade and wraps in a graceful curve around to the northwest side. That northern elevation has also a smaller, delicate second-storey verandah. Both verandahs are supported by elegant columns and a railing with turned balusters. In 1973 Carling Breweries undertook extensive renovations which were in keeping with the original form and character of the house.
I think keeping a structure that has managed to last 140~ years and was part of the original history of this area is a good idea. If others think it should be demolished to have an "honest design that actually respects anyone who has to live nearby" or "encourage casual interactions between the property and the streetscape" (whatever the hell any of that means) then they're free to advocate for that, but they'll need a good argument to present to council. Something other than "well if you tear this house down you could pour a HUGE pad of concrete, throw up a couple benches and plant pots that double as trash cans". Or with a new, large residential building that house could be repurposed into some sort of unique third space - a café, restaurant, social club for those at Chartwell - because it's still a perfectly good building with a history that would draw people in.