Protein Therapy

Located on a 50 acres estate, along the hills and valleys overlooking the Don River, is “Bay View”, once the home of Canadian businessman, J.S. McLean.

A magazine article in 1935 called McLean, “A butcher with a poet’s soul”. During the day, he ran the largest slaughterhouse operation in Canada at that time, Canada Packers (now Maple Leaf Foods).

Ruthless cost cutting, dealing with fierce competition, while keeping farmers, housewives and politicians happy, keeping all the balance of power at play at the same time must have been tiresome.

At night, the butcher spent his time in his flower gardens, listening to classical music and mingling with Canadian artists. This Scottish style stone manor, designed my Eric Arthur, used to house the largest painting collection in Canada.

Whereas most houses in Canada made use of “warmer” materials like, bricks, wood and stucco, “Bay View” is built of granite fieldstone with stone walls encircling the house.

However, like the owner, there is a twist in the design. Within the cold ruggedness, Georgian proportions such as an arched top entrance, 3×5 grided sash windows and two layers of hip roofs with dormers, help inject a bit of “poetry” in the butcher.

130 Armistice Drive, Toronto
Alternative Address, 2225 Bayview Avenue, Toronto