One of the oldest pieces of Toronto history that we’ve still got left has, at long last, been given the designations it requires to remain a landmark of the city for a long time to come.
The Wheatsheaf Tavern, opened all the way back in 1849, has always generally been considered the oldest bar in the city, although it was technically opened after The Black Bull, which debuted under a different original name — thus, some say, disqualifying it from the title — over a decade earlier (The Bull closed last year, anyhow).
Aside from a brief scare when it shuttered in 2019, which turned out to be only temporarily and for the purpose of completing a stunning facelift, the Wheatsheaf has been pouring brews at King and Bathurst for nearly two centuries.
This is why the Toronto Preservation Board pushed through a motion to designate the property under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act — a recommendation that just passed this week.
A threads post about the decision, which was made on Wednesday.
To be fair, development proposals for the corner have already been taking the historic watering hole into account, designing condos around it in anticipation that it will stay a part of the neighbourhood (much like developers had to do for a new complex adjacent to the legendary McVeigh’s Irish Pub on Richmond Street).
And, 667 King Street was already on Toronto’s Heritage Register, though new legislative amendments mean that it would have been removed from the list if no further action was taken by the City to designate it under the provincial act.
The motion states that “staff have determined that the property at 667 King Street West has cultural heritage value and meets 6 of the Ontario Regulation 9/06 criteria prescribed for municipal designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act,” which gives at least some assurance that the bar won’t be completely razed anytime soon.
But unfortunately, given how lax Ontario’s Heritage rules can be, there are still very extensive changes that could be made — including demolition — so long as owners have permission from city council.
And for what the property is worth, if owners offered the right amount, such iconic spots can very easily change hands, and then change completely, even after so many years.
