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HomeMy WebLinkAbout346"Article from the Toronto Star, Sunday, November 1,1998 Section C, page C1, written by Stella Yeadon. HISTORIC HOME: Built in 1817, the house once owned by Dora and Mavor Moore was the oldest inhabited home in Toronto. The Dora Mavor Moore house has been dismantled, moved and reconstructed in Claremont The prognosis was good. The 177-year-old hand-hewn logs — dismantled, numbered, stacked and put up for auction — were pest free and in remarkably good condition. So, Catherine and Brian Daley decided to bid on the bones of the reclaimed house. They intended to use the timbers for a one-room cabin retreat for their young family. In 1994, when the couple bought the dismembered logs, doors and windows, they had no of way knowing their simple cabin plan would evolve into a 2,700-square-foot reproduction home on 10 acres of land in Claremont, north of Pickering. They also hadn't considered the responsibility that comes with piecing together a fragment of Toronto's architectural past, log-by-log. ""Now what do we do?"" Catherine recalls asking her husband when the significance of their purchase had sunk in. The dismantled house had a notable past the Daleys couldn't ignore. Before its demise in 1994, it was known as the Dora Mavor Moore house. Mavor Moore, one of Canada's best known directors and theatrical teachers (she is also the ""Dora"" of theatre awards fame) moved into the house in 1938 and lived there until her death in 1979 at the age of 90. Another prominent Canadian woman, Jeanne Minhinnick, a historian known for her work in re- Illustrations: OLD MEETS NEW: Catherine and Brian Daley, above, integrated old and new. The back of the home, including the master bedroom, left, was built using timber frame construction. 'Even all in pieces the house seemed to have so many memories stored there and a presence we couldn't ignore' Catherine Daley, homeowner " "Continued from C1 Historic home is a labour of love constructing the period interiors and gardens at Pioneer Village, lived in the house between 1920 and 1938. Apart from the two well-known women who once lived there, the house had its own history. Built in 1817, it was the oldest inhabited house in Toronto, according to the Toronto Historical Board. Then, in 1994, a developer applied for a permit to tear down the home on the sizable corner lot at Bathurst St. and Ridelle Ave. in north Toronto in order to build ""mega"" houses. Despite the efforts of individuals, including Dora's son Mavor Moore, and the Toronto Historical Board, to save the residence, city council voted not to give it a historical designation. The house was dismantled and donated to Habitat for Humanity. The charity organization then put the catalogued pieces up for auction. Enter the Daleys, who were living in Stouffville with their two young kids and planning to buy reclaimed logs for a modest cabin retreat. Catherine recalls thinking after successfully bidding on the logs, ""people have fought to save this house from the wrecker's ball and now its fate is up to us."" As the history of the house began to exert a personality, it became evident to the Daleys that they were destined to reconstruct the house as a permanent home. But there was one problem: They would have to sell their home in Stouffville to buy a rural property and build. ""The house had always been used as a principal family residence and that history began to have meaning for us. Even all in pieces it seemed to have so many memories stored there and a presence we couldn't ignore. Dora's son is quoted as saying, 'a house is the history of all the people who have lived in it, and the changes they have made,' and it was now time for our family to be part of that history. ""We also knew we wanted the house never to face the possibility of being torn down once it was reconstructed, so we had to find a lot we could build on,"" says Catherine. The timbers were stored in a Stouffville barn for nearly a year while a suitable building lot, at a ""reasonable"" price, was found. After several unsuccessful attempts at purchasing property, the Daleys found the ideal spot, nestled amid 400 acres of reforested conservation land. Armed with a few aging photographs, a summary of the architectural history and the accumulated memories of Minhinnick's sister Mary Denoon, who grew up in the house, the Daleys began piecing together the catalogued and numbered remains. But recycling the past can be an onerous task. At issue was how much of the old the couple wanted to preserve and how the old and new construction should be integrated. Also looming overhead was the bigger question of what preservation really means when a building has never officially been designated a historic site? With an eye toward redesigning and reconfiguring the old to meld with the new, the Daleys have built a contemporary home that is remarkably sympathetic to the exterior of the original house. Framed by brilliant fall colour and sunshine brushing against the rambling front porch and dormered second floor, the exterior lines of the reconstructed clapboard house, painted a rustic maroon, mirror the simple shed dormer cabin facade of the original house. The similarity is just that: a facade-Even though nearly all the reclaimed timber, doors, windows and pine floors have been used, the inside of the house has little in common with the original interior. ""Restoration and reconstruction takes on new meaning when you're faced with decisions about what to retain and what to rebuild new. We wanted to use the old material as faithfully as we could. But we also wanted the new house to be filled with air and light. The original cabin floor plan, with its confined rooms, wouldn't have lent itself to a roomy airy first floor. So we made changes,"" says Brian. For starters, the Daleys did away with the original centre hall plan. They put all the main logs together, reconstructing the entire front of the cabin as it originally was, and marked the pieces accordingly. Then it was taken down. The full foundation was poured and the cabin rebuilt, but this time without the hall and the main stairs leading to the second floor. The new front entrance opens directly into a spacious living room with 10-foot ceilings furnished with antiques. The original pine floorboards were marked and grooved to use as they were. Determined to use the unique 1 3/8-inch-deep planks, the Daleys flipped them around, sanded and stained them a deep honey, re-cut the groves and used them in the living room and study. Hearths warm the soul and in the Daleys' living room and study they are given the prominence they deserve. Local craftsmen built the two Rumford fireplaces from reclaimed deep red brick and, although unobtrusively elegant, they are the focal point of the two rooms. The Rumford fireplace, designed by Count Rumford about 200 years ago, has a timeless grace and simplicity. But the real beauty of a Rumford is inside. Designed with tall, shallow fireboxes with rounded streamlined throats, they are a marvel at reflecting heat and minimizing the loss of heated air to the outside, says Catherine. On the outside there are no thick, chunky joints to break up the form and the mortar can be coloured to achieve an antique effect. The couple, long-time antique collectors, are still searching for a period mantle for the living room fireplace and are ""making due"" with one that is 60 years old. A second entrance, off the wraparound veranda to the side of the house, is used as the main entrance to the new house. Stairs go up to the second floor, where three rooms and a bathroom with a vintage claw-foot tub have been fashioned using the hand-hewn logs from the original upstairs rooms. A carved, decorative newel post from the original stairs adorns the simple stairway, a constant reminder that ""the old and the new are going to co-exist for at least another 200 years."" The back of the house, built using timber frame construction, has a lofty contemporary look. The master bedroom, which has a sitting area, and the country kitchen/dining room combination form L-shaped spaces adjoined by an outside deck accessed through French doors. Gothic, stained-glass windows in both rooms highlight the lofty ceiling heights and unify the two very separate areas. The kitchen cupboards, made from reclaimed wood, are designed to look like vintage farmhouse pieces. Brian, who took timber-framing courses and did much of the work himself, says he is pleased with how the different styles have meshed. ""What we've done is not straightforward house construction. We've incorporated many architectural disciplines and three different construction techniques,"" he says. ""The front of the house is log construction, the rear timber frame and the rest standard wood frame. As well, we had to meet today's bylaws and building codes using material that's nearly two centuries old. We wanted the house to reflect the original old cabin, while also providing all the conveniences of a modern home. ""From a building point of view, the challenges were a logistical nightmare. But now that it's all taken shape, I do feel a personal satisfaction in finding a way for an old house to live on,"" he says. Restoring the past can become all-consuming and for three years the Daleys, including their children, Nicole, 12, and Austin, 9, found themselves devoting all their free time to getting the house built. ""For a while, all we thought about was what needed to be done at the house. All our spare time was used up here,"" says Catherine. ""Then, one day, I just said to Brian, 'You know we have other things in our life.' And since then we've paced the work out a bit. We're not so fixed on getting it all done as much as enjoying the doing part"". Proof positive of her relaxed approach about ""the things that still need doing"" is the missing trim around windows and storms that needs to go up before chilly winter nights arrive. Illustration: FIRST STEP: In 1994, Catherine and Brian Daley bought the dismembered logs, doors and windows of the Dora Mavor Moore house. COUNTRY CHARM: The Rumford fireplace in the living room, left, has a timeless grace and simplicity. The bathroom, below, was fashioned using the hand-hewn logs from the original home. Mavor Moore a theatre Legend By Stella Yeadon SPECIAL TO THE STAR Dora Mavor Moore, a teacher and director of theatre arts, is considered the founder of English-speaking indigenous theatre in Canada. Our national theatre awards, the Doras, are named after her, recognizing her 70-year contribution to the development of Canadian theatre. For 40 years, from 1938 to her death in 1979 at age 90, Mavor Moore's home at 8 Ridelle Ave. was where much of Canadian theatre history was made. Her home was a magnet for Toronto's theatre community. Dozens of plays were rehearsed and staged in the old barn on the property, originally an airplane hangar. Mavor Moore organized the New Play Society, which spawned Canadian talent such as Don Harron, Gordon Pinsett, Bill Needles, Barbara Hamilton, Jane Mallet and many others. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, she was 4 years old when her family immigrated to Canada. She attended the University of Toronto, where her father taught political economics. After landing a role in a university production, Mavor Moore knew her future was in the theatre and she soon won a scholarship to London's prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Returning to Canada when World War I began, Mavor Moore had already established herself as an actress. She married Francis Mavor Moore and had three sons before she and her husband separated in 1928. By 1938, she had founded the Toronto Shakespearean Society and launched the Village Players, an amateur theatre trained to put on plays in high schools across southern Ontario. "