Le plus beau du quartier

The roaring 20’s gave us some of the most extravagant apartments in Toronto. The Balmoral, Claridge and Clarendon are all within a block from each other in South Hill.

While designing Clarendon, the same architect Charles Dolphin was just finishing up this Summerhill masterpiece, Crescent Road Apartments.

While the beauty of Clarendon stems from its traditional Anglo-Saxon Tudor revival character, tasty yet heavy like a traditional English bangers & mash, Crescent Road is like a charming Parisian apartment, light and delightful, like a chocolate soufflé.

From the outside, the bay windows are trimmed with stone and terra cotta details. The central Juliette balconies are paired with floral & abacus style wrought iron patterns. The cornice with corbelling dentils helps decorate the flat roof.

Behind the wrought iron gate is a beautiful communal courtyard. The U-shape block lets in plenty of natural light while minimizing city noise for each unit.

The cashmere creamy stucco is a refreshing departure from the yellow / red bricks commonly used in the same period. The entrances are marked by Art Deco wall light fixtures. The building has a sense of distinguished elegance about it.

Newer Toronto apartment designs can come across as a bit mundane and sanitized. To lure potential buyers from detached houses, developers poured their heart and soul into these early apartments.

They really tried to make their 1920’s new developments like Carla Bruni’s song, “Le plus beau du quartier”, the best looking on the block.

Look at me,
I am the best looking on the block.
As soon as you take a look at me,
You feel bewitched,
Charmed really.
I don’t even have to try, I really don’t.
I am the best looking on the block.
I am the king of desirability.

1052 Yonge Street, Summerhill