The building at 268 Dundas Street was first known as Horseman House, and was built in c.1888 for Edward Horseman. It housed drug sellers like Barkwell, Williams, Logan, Keays, and Anderson and Nelles. This is also the last wing of the former Metropolitan Hotel. After the Ontario Temperance Act of 1916 (retained by referendum after 1919), the Metropolitan Hotel became a Bank.
Horseman House was originally constructed in SECOND EMPIRE STYLE (1855-90) with essentially ITALIANATE features. The Second Empire Style (following Napoleon III's remodelling of Paris between 1852 and 1857) can easily be identified by the mansard roof (dual pitched hipped) with dormer windows on the steep lower slope; moulded cornices bound with lower roof slope both above and below; and decorative brackets present beneath eaves. The Italianate style retains symmetry and regularity, the use of Greek and Roman motifs, the use of round arches as door and window headings. Italianate buildings often invite striking plays of light and shade through the use of highly textured materials created by broad, bracketed eaves, elaborate cornices and a tower.
Street Number: | 268 | House or Building Name: | Dundas | Street Suffix: | Street |