Notice of Intention to Designate

The Corporation of the City of Richmond Hill 

Re:       Notice of Intention to Designate
             124 Richmond Street
             City of Richmond Hill ON L4C 3Y4
             City File No.: D12-07368

Take notice that the Council of the Corporation of the City of Richmond Hill (“Council”) intends to designate the above noted property as a property of cultural heritage value or interest under part IV and pursuant to section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990,c.0.18.

And take notice that the Council of the Corporation of the City of Richmond Hill stated their intention to designate said property under the Ontario Heritage Act on March 27, 2024.

A statement explaining the cultural heritage value or interest of the property and a description of the heritage attributes of the property is set out below.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest:

Dating to 1888, the Leslie Innes House at 124 Richmond Street has design and physical value as a representative example of late-Victorian Gothic Revival residential architecture in Richmond Hill. The building has retained its original scale, form, massing and orientation on the south side of Richmond Street. The building has also retained many original architectural details that are representative of the late-Victorian Gothic Revival style including an asymmetrical L-shaped plan, steeply-pitched cross-gabled roof, buff-brick cladding with red-brick quoins and voussoirs/hood molds, segmental-headed windows and doors, projecting bay windows on its north and east elevations, date stone, and east-facing wooden storm door with scroll trim and colored glass accents.

The Leslie Innes House has historical value for its direct association with Leslie Innes, who constructed the dwelling in 1888, and resided there until his death in 1919. Leslie, along with his two sons William and John, founded the construction company L. Innes & Sons when they moved to Richmond Hill around 1885, and were prolific builders and carpenters in the village from the 1880s to the 1910s. The Innes family also owned a lumber and planing mill at the west end of Richmond Street from the 1880s to the 1930s, which was a key part of the industry that developed around Mill Pond in the late 19th century, and was one of the last lumber mills to operate on the west branch of the Don River. Leslie Innes was an important local business owner and employer, and significantly contributed to the built form character of Richmond Hill village around the turn of the 20th century through his construction projects, as well as the wooden finishes manufactured in his lumber mill.

The Leslie Innes House also has historical value because it reflects the work of Leslie Innes of L. Innes & Sons, who was a significant builder, carpenter and lumber mill owner in Richmond Hill from the 1880s to the 1910s.

Other notable buildings constructed by L. Innes & Sons include the William Proctor Double House at 37-39 Centre Street West (1891), the Charles Mason Double House at 12-14 Church Street South (1891), the William Innes House at 297 Richmond Street (c. 1893), the Richmond Hill High School at 10268 Yonge Street (1897), the John L. Innes House at 131 Richmond Street (1903), and the M. L. McConaghy Public School at 10100 Yonge Street (1914).

The Leslie Innes House has contextual value because its scale, form, and late-Victorian Gothic Revival architectural style are important in defining and maintain the predominantly fine-grained late-19th and early-20th century residential character of the surrounding streetscape on Richmond Street, and the historical character of Richmond Hill’s village core more broadly.

The subject building also has contextual value for being historically and functionally linked to a collection of properties built and owned by the Innes family along Richmond Street, the road leading to the L. Innes & Sons lumber mill located at the western terminus of the street, south of Mill Pond. These properties include the subject dwelling, as well as the John L. Innes House at 131 Richmond Street (c. 1903), the Harry Innes House at 132 Richmond Street (1913), and the William Innes House at 297 Richmond Street (c. 1893).

Description of Heritage Attributes:

• The house’s material palette and architectural detailing in the Gothic Revival style, which reflect the work of L. Innes & Sons and which contribute to the historical character of Richmond Street and Richmond Hill’s Village Core more broadly;
• The scale, form and massing of the 1 ½-storey building with an L-shaped plan;
• The steeply-pitched cross-gabled roof with north, east and west gable ends;
• The rubble-stone foundation and dichromatic brick cladding;
• The masonry detailing, including:
• The projecting buff-brick building base;
• The decorative red-brick detailing, including quoining and radiating voussoirs/hood molds; and
• The white-brick “1888” datestone within the house’s north gable end;
  • The segmental-arched windows with wooden lugsills and radiating brick voussoirs/hood molds, including:
  • The projecting bay window with a concave mansard roof on the principal (north) elevation; and
  • The projecting bay window with a hipped roof on the side (east) elevation;
    • The segmental-arched doorways in the building’s ell, with paneled wooden doors and radiating red-brick voussoirs/hood molds, including:
      • The north-facing main door; and
      • The east-facing wooden storm door featuring scroll trim and colored glass accents;
• The house’s scale, siting, and orientation on the south side of Richmond Street, the same street on which the L. Innes & Sons mill was located.

Note: the house’s later rear (south) addition is not considered to possess heritage attributes.

Notice of Objection:

Any person who objects to the above noted Council’s intention to designate shall, within 30 days after the publication of this notice, serve on the Clerk of the City of Richmond Hill, a Notice of Objection setting out the reason for the objection and all relevant facts.  The last day to submit the Notice of Objection is May 8, 2024.

Service may be made digitally by email to clerks@richmondhill.ca or by delivery personally to the City Clerk or by Regular Mail at the following address:

Stephen M.A. Huycke, City Clerk
The City of Richmond Hill
225 East Beaver Creek Road
Richmond Hill ON  L4B 3P4

Obtaining Additional Information:

Additional information about heritage planning at the City of Richmond Hill may be obtained by contacting Heritage Planning City staff by e-mail at heritage@richmondhill.ca. Take note that a Notice of Objection may only be served to the Clerk of the City of Richmond Hill as stated above.

Dated this 8th day of April, 2024

Stephen M.A. Huycke, City Clerk
The Corporation of the City of Richmond Hill
225 East Beaver Creek Road
Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 3P4
E-mail: clerks@richmondhill.ca