Notice is Hereby Given that the Council of The Corporationof the Town of Newmarket intends to designate as a propertyof cultural heritage value and interest the following propertyin accordance with the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.O.18:
Property Description: 16945 Bayview Avenue (Pickering College) islocated on the east side of Bayview Avenue in the Town of Newmarket.The large three-and-a-half storey building with raised basementconstructed in Beaux arts style was built between 1908 and 1909
Legal Description: PART LOTS 104, 105, & 106, PLAN 81,NEWMARKET; PART LOT 31, CONCESSION 2, TOWNSHIP OFWHITCHURCH
Publication Date: Nov 1, 2024
Last Date for Objection: Dec 1, 2024Any notice of objection to this Notice of Intention to Designate,setting out the reason for objection and all relevant facts, mustbe served upon the Town Clerk within 30 days of the firstpublication of this notice.
Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest:
Physical/ Design Value
16945 Bayview Avenue's Roger House' is a representativeexample of an institutional building constructed in theBeaux Arts architectural style. The three-and-a half-storeyred brick building, with raised basement level, follows arectangular plan and a highly decorative and symmetricaldesign which adds to its grandeur and commanding presenceon the property and is in keeping with Beaux Art design on Institutional buildings. The building roofline showcases largeside gable pediments with semi-circular window openingswhich are finished by an elaborate and decorative cornicewith moulded frieze board and large carved dentils, designfeatures which are also carried through along the facade roofline and the large centrally placed front gable pediment withan ornate centrally placed oculus window. The roofline alsoshowcases six rhythmically placed gable dormers and twoornate belfries, which add to the formal and symmetricalcomposition associated with Beaux Art design in institutionalbuildings.
The building's red brick envelope is laid in a common bondand ornamented by a stone belt course and raised steppedbrick quoins with openings designed so that each storeyshowcasing a different window opening with similar butdifferent window surrounds which create a grandeur andformal aesthetic. The raised basement level has segmentalarch windows openings with three courses of brick voussoirslaid in solider bond, the first storey has rounded openingswith brick voussoirs laid in soldier bond and includes stonespringers and a large keystone, the second storey windowsinclude shallow segmentally arched opening with similarcomposition of brick voussoir laid in soldier bond and largekeystone, and the third storey windows include flat, or 'jack',arch windows positioned near the cornice with all windowopenings tied together and finished with moulded stone sills.The building's fifteen-bay facade includes a grand, centralfrontispiece finished by an ornate pedimented roof supportedby four symmetrically placed columns with capitals of theCorinthian order which are all features associated with the Beaux Arts architectural style. The frontispiece showcasesseveral window openings which add to the ornate nature anddesign. Window openings on the main storey are finishedwith heavy masonry surrounds and faux keystone withrectangular casement windows topped by rectangulartransom, openings on the second storey are slightly recessedand finished with a brackets and moulded pediment andJuliette balconies, openings on the third storey arerectangular and finished with a flat (jack) arch. Theelaborate main entrance includes a large rectangularopening decorated with a plain architrave supporting arounded pediment and engaged columns with Doric capitalswhich reflects the Beaux Arts design aesthetic.
The 'Roger House' at 16945 Bayview Avenue displays ahigh degree of artistic value. The quality of execution andtechnical skill is showcased through the building. In particular,the building's heavily moulded roofline with cornice, friezeand carved dentils, the stone detailing, the ornamentedwindow openings of various styles, the grand frontispiece witharchitrave and Corinthian columns as well as the formalentranceway opening showcase the high level of artisticexpression found throughout the building's design andconstruction.
Historical and Associative Value
The 'Roger House' at 16945 Bayview Avenue is associatedwith the 20th century expansion of the historic Village ofNewmarket and the Society of Friends (Quakers) and hashistorical value as serving as an educational institution forover 100 years.
The lots lines, layout, and built form of the historic Village ofNewmarket was well established in the mid-19th century asshown in the commercial core found along Main Street andthe large presence of residences located along several sidestreets. The development of commercial, institutional, andresidential buildings in the mid-19th century played asignificant role in the social and economic development andgrowth of the Village of Newmarket. The continuedprosperity of the commercial core resulted in the expansion ofthe historic village during the early 20th century. Severallarge farmsteads, factory lots, and landholdings of earlysettler families were subdivided into smaller formal lotsfollowing the grid like layout found in the historic core. Theexpansion reflected the continued social, commercial,institutional, and civic growth and development and theprosperity of the historic village of Newmarket. It is likely thatthe brick used for the construction of Roger's House was fromStickwood's brickyard which produced both red andbuff/yellow-coloured bricks during this time period. Localhistorians indicate that almost all of the-brick buildings built inNewmarket between 1860 until 1910 were likely constructedwith bricks that originated at the Stickwood brickyard. Theuse of locally made bricks reflect the concentrateddevelopment and prosperity of properties on the peripheryof Newmarket's historic core. The lands associated with 16945 Bayview Avenue were originally part of a largerlandholding which was eventually subdivided, howeverPickering College retained a very large parcel of landfronting along Bayview Avenue. 16945 Bayview Avenue isassociated with the continued expansion of the social,commercial, institutional, and civic development of the historicvillage of Newmarket.
16945 Bayview Avenue is directly associated with the Societyof Friends, a religious denomination who have been prominentin Newmarket since early Quaker settler Timothy Rogersarrived with a number of United Empire Loyalist families in1802. Pickering College began in Prince Edward County in1842, although that facility was closed in 1869. A secondfacility was established in Pickering in 1881 and operateduntil 1905, when the main building was destroyed by fire. Aresolution by Pickering College's Board of Governorsrelocated the campus to Newmarket in 1906, and constructionbegan on the new facility in October 1908. The decision wasin part influenced by Newmarket's strong association withQuakerism and the financial support of the Rogers family,specifically Alfred S. Rogers. Alfred S. Rogers (b. 1874, d.1953) was born in Newmarket in 1874. He began hiseducation at Pickering College, when it was located inPickering, and also studied at Upper Canada College. Hebegan his career working as a clerk in his fathers coalbusiness and eventually opened his own branch in Hamilton.Roger became a well known and successful industrialist andwas also known to be one of Canadas greatest horsemen.Roger died November 5, 1853. The 'Roger House' at 16945Bayview Avenue was designed by Toronto architect John Lylewith input from local architect Oliver Tench and opened by1909 as a private co-educational institution.
The school's enrollment declined during the First World War,and as a result the school was closed, and the buildings wereloaned to the federal government for use as a militaryconvalescent hospital in 1917. This loan was free of charge aspart of patriotic gift to the war effort by the Quakers. In1920, the facility was returned to its Board of Governors,and the facility was expanded and restored, reopening as aboys' only boarding school in 1927. Upon this reopening, theheadmaster of the time, Joseph McCulley, who would go on toserve as headmaster until 1947, greatly increased theschool's reputation as an exemplary boys' boarding school inCanada. Pickering College continues to operate as a coeducational private facility administered by the Society ofFriends. The 'Roger House' has been associated with PickeringCollege as an educational institution in Newmarket for over100 years.
The' Rogers House' at 16945 Bayview Avenuedemonstrates the work of Toronto-based architect JohnLyles who work with local architect Oliver Tench on itsconstruction. John McIntosh Lyle was born in Connor, CountyAntrim, Ireland in 1872 and immigrated with his family toHamilton, Ontario in 1878. He trained at the Hamilton Schoolof Arts, Yale University, and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Parisbefore returning to New York for a few years to work invarious firms. He returned to Ontario in 1905 where he worked predominately in the Beaux Arts style, disseminatingits ideals to the architectural community through a series oflectures and then opened his own architectural firm, AtelierLyle, in Toronto in 1906. Lyle initially early workpredominately reflected a Beaux.
Arts style, although by the 1920s, he sought to develop hisown distinctive "Canadian" style by incorporating Canadianfloral and fauna motifs into his buildings. Lyle is responsiblefor several landmark buildings and important commissionsincluding the Royal Alexandra Theatre and Union Station inToronto, along with numerous other ecclesiastical, commercial,and residential commissions. John Lyle won numerous awardsfor his designs and served as the president of the Art Galleryof Ontario from 1941 until 1944. He died in Toronto in 1945.This building reflects his work in the grand Beaux Arts style.
Oliver Tench was born in King Township in 1859 and workedpredominately in the Town of Newmarket. He came to localprominence in 1893, when his design for the Newmarket HighSchool was accepted by the Ministry of Education. He alsodesigned one of the first reinforced concrete industrialbuildings for the Davis Leather Company in 1909, which ledto other commissions from the company. Oliver Tench was alsoemployed by the Newmarket Public School Board to designnew facilities and additions for existing facilities. Oliver Tenchused his previous experience of institutional design andworked directly with Lyle as the resident architect for thisproject. He retired from the Ontario Association of Architectsin 1932 and died in Newmarket in 1941.
Contextual Value
The 'Roger House' has contextual value because it is alandmark. The 'Roger House' at 16945 Bayview Avenueoccupies a prominent location and is visible from the entranceof Pickering College located on Bayview Avenue. Combined with its threeand-half-storey footprint, the largest in the area, andcommunal significance as an educational institution for over100 years, the Roger House is considered a local landmark.
Additional information, including a full description of therationale for designation is available upon request fromUmar Mahmood, Planner, Committee of Adjustment andCultural Heritage, Planning Services at (905) 895-5193,extension 2458, or at umahmood@newmarket.ca duringregular business hours.