The Gatehouse
At the corner of Bayview Avenue and Valleyanna Drive is a stately Arts and Crafts style residence designed by Eden Smith, one of Toronto’s most prolific architects of the early twentieth century. Originally designed as a service garage and gatehouse to the Annandale Estate, the historic building and site has since seen several transformations. In the 1930’s, the estate changes hands and is subdivided into smaller lots. To facilitate the subdivision, the original landscaping is dramatically altered as access through the carriageway and tree-lined path is replaced by Valleyanna Drive. In the 1960’s, architect Frederick E. Fletcher transforms the building into his principal residence. The historic carriageway is enclosed with fixed windows; the garage renovated into living quarters. A long corridor extending from the northeast corner connects the original building with an octagonal addition. Today, even though the original Eden Smith gatehouse stands as a testament to Toronto’s built heritage, it is currently obscured by the thick brush of an overgrown landscape.
In 2017, Amantea Architects in collaboration with ERA Architects was tasked with designing a multi-residential building on the gatehouse site, in addition to restoring the original heritage structure. The design is driven by the idea that the heritage structure should be respected and that any proposed construction complement rather than compete.
