Richard Bigley Building, 98 Queen Street East, 1889, 2024.
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Resource ID
11768
Access
Open
Address
98 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M5C 1S6
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2024
Historical Themes
Program Category
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Time Period
Caption
Richard Bigley Building, 98 Queen Street East, 1889, 2024.
Description
Designed by architect Robert Ogilvie, this four-storey commercial building is known for its long association with noted “stove man” Richard Bigley.
When he was 13 years old, Bigley (1852–1933) began his career as a patternmaking apprentice. After seven years, he went into business by himself, and by
1875, Bigley was a prominent salesman in the city.
In the Victorian era, the kitchen stove often doubled as a heater for the house, and many of Bigley’s stoves served both functions. He established a provincewide
business in furnaces and steam fitting and he patented the design of two water heaters in the United States.
In 1889, Bigley opened a showroom here at 96–98 Queen Street East where cooking stoves, ranges, and furnaces were on display for sale. Bigley retired in the mid-1920s and spent his remaining years in Parkdale with his wife, Elizabeth. They had four daughters and four sons.
The Richard Bigley Building was converted to residential lofts in the 1990s. In 2013, the City of Toronto and the Garden District Residents Association renamed the laneway between Mutual and Jarvis Streets for Bigley.