The Wychwood streetcar repair barns were once a major hub of the Toronto Civic Railway, the forerunner of the TTC. The site of the five attached brick structures — between Wychwood Avenue and Christie Street in what was then the city’s north end — also became a sort of mini Union Station in the decades after the buildings were completed in 1921.
According to Joe Mihevc, city councillor and current vice-chairman of the Toronto Transit Commission, local lore has it that on weekends and holidays, residents carrying picnic baskets took a tram to the Wychwood stop to catch streetcars to greener places.
Today, the barns are again a hub of activity — but of a different sort. They have been reincarnated as the Artscape Wychwood Barns, an impressive 60,000-square-foot complex incorporating rental housing and studios for artists, a covered street, a greenhouse, outdoor bake oven, theatre space and offices.
It’s also the first converted heritage building to be certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Vacant since the mid-1980s, the barns were inspected by a group of city officials in 1998. One of them was Mr. Mihevc (Ward 21, St. Paul’s West).
“We were struck by their beauty,” he recalls, noting the barns’ high ceilings, the soft light filtering through skylights and the massive girders.
“Now the barns have been restored and reincarnated, and they own their history. Rather than drywall and plaster over everything, the majestic features are celebrated,” he says.
The project was launched in 2001, and involved a team of architects, consultants and community activists. One of those involved, Joe Lobko of du Toit Architects Ltd., says the team had to grapple with many different expectations.
“We were challenged to retain the memory of the railway and build on the great work that was done before,” he says. “There are a lot of sharp contrasts. … The challenge of a renovation like this is to incorporate what was done and give it fresh but still sustainable use — to take the feisty old character of the buildings and make them come to life.”
No one seems to know the identity of the original designers, but their work has captivated and impressed many of today’s architects. One of the project’s historical architects, Edwin Rouse of ERA Architects Inc., says the original barns, which were started in 1913, are considered prime examples of early industrial architecture.
“As historical architects, we have a lot of knowledge of traditional building styles,” Mr. Rouse says. “These barns are old treasures that by virtue of how they have survived have demonstrated their sustainability. They are part of our industrial heritage.
“We didn’t want to treat them with kid gloves,” he adds, but “we know a lot of excellent [tradespeople] who could repair brickwork, for example, and give an acceptable result.”
The historical preservation work is evident in features such as the brick walls, which have been carefully repaired in a way that respects the past.
“It isn’t that the repair work should be invisible,” Mr. Rouse explains. “But in 20 years, when everything has weathered, you won’t be able to see it.”
ERA colleague Jeff Hayes adds: “Where we cleaned the brick and blocks, the work was done so that a patina of paint still remained. In Canada, restoration doesn’t mean getting everything squeaky clean and Disneyfying it. The bricks we used are from England, made with subtle variations, not some type of fake ‘ye olde bricks.’”
Mr. Rouse notes: “Our architectural specifications read like old recipes. They focus a lot on colour and texture and placement. There are some terra cotta blocks that are part of the original barns and they look wonderful.”
With the complex completed, artist-residents can now do their own creating. Nadia Tasci, for instance, designs and makes glass beads and jewellery in one of the live-work studios, which she shares with partner Uros Jelic, a painter.
They left behind more costly and far less desirable premises to move into the one-bedroom unit.
“It is very exciting to be a part of this community,” Ms. Tasci says. “There will be a lot of opportunities for us, in meeting other artists and helping one another. The fact that the rent is geared to income means we can pursue our crafts full time.” I love seeing older parts of the city revitalized to this kind of awesome use!
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