The “Hogtown” House

This is a classic Rosedale gem. In 1876, Lorne Hall was one of the ten houses in all of Rosedale.

To illustrate the original size of its 3-acre land, the owner, William Davies once wrote…

“We have a beautiful place here. It is part table land, part hill side with a sunny slope and a valley. We have an abundance of fruit, grapes, pears, strawberries, raspberries, currants and gooseberries, about 150 apple, pear, plum and cherry trees!”

Although now reduced to a city sized lot, it has retained some of the “fruitful” charms.

Purple may be a love or hate color, but I adore the purple accents sprinkled around the house.

The use of dark mulberry purple and olive green on the front porch, upper balcony, and the mansard roof is refreshing yet elegant. The curved moldings around the top floor dormer windows and centered cupola tower also have that olive / mulberry color.

Built 1876, this Second Empire house must be the 5^th or 6^th oldest house in Rosedale still in existence.

Aside from its architectural charm, Lorne Hall also has historical pedigree. William Davies’ (the owner) meatpacking business was so successful, the whole city of Toronto was nicknamed, “Hogtown”, after his meat packing empire.

The house was named after husband of Queen Victoria’s daughter, Lord Lorne, who visited Toronto in 1879. It is hard to comprehend houses around it, like the Gooderham House has recently been listed for sale at $12 million.

The price of Lorne Hall in 1876? $3,000.

They say everything has a price. Lorne Hall was once sub-divided into apartments. The house was restored and converted back to a single-family home. The historical charm to the owner must be priceless.

3 Meredith Crescent, Toronto