St. James Parish House Heritage Property Plaque, 2023
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Resource ID
10681
Access
Open
Address
65 Church Street, Toronto, ON M5C 2E9
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2023
Historical Themes
Program Category
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Time Period
Caption
St. James Parish House Heritage Property Plaque, 2023
Description
The parish that would become the Cathedral Church of St. James was established in 1797, after the first resident Anglican priest, the Reverend George Okill Stuart, arrived at the colonial town of York (now Toronto). The first building, the wooden “Church at York,” opened in 1807, providing religious and burial services as well as medical care. The church bell was also a fire alarm. In 1827, the church was dedicated to St. James the Apostle, giving the parish its current name. As the city grew, the cemetery next to the church closed and was moved to Parliament Street in 1844. The present Cathedral, the fourth church on this site, opened in 1853. In 1904, architects Darling & Pearson received the commission to design a Parish House for St. James Cathedral to replace St. James Parochial School and allow the church facilities to expand along Adelaide Street East. Opening in 1910, the Parish House contained offices, Sunday School classrooms, and a basement with a running track. In 1958, the Toronto architectural firm Mathers & Haldenby was commissioned to design an eastern extension, the Diocesan Centre, for the worldwide Anglican Congress in Toronto in 1963. The St. James Parish House and Diocesan Centre also house the archives and museum for the parish. The Parish House was frequently updated to serve the changing needs of the community; however, the original Neo-Gothic buff brick façade with stone and wood trim remained. In 2012, the building was renovated, expanded, and renamed the St. James Cathedral Centre.