Nov. 10, 2010

Every House Tells A Story

While renovating his kitchen, my friend Tom ripped up the counter to find the Toronto Star from June 26, 1953. “There was a story about land prices in Oakville ‘skyrocketing’ to $2,000 an acre,” Tom told me. “I was born on June 19, so I thought I might find my birth announcement in the paper, but it wasn’t there.”

Tom’s story and others like it pique interest in the history harboured by our homes. What Tom found by accident, Dana King digs for deliberately as she learns the history of her clients’ houses.

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Oct. 19, 2007

Does your house tell a story?

Graham Elvidge and Kathleen Stormont had a feeling the dilapidated Queen Anne-style house they purchased in Vancouver's east end was special. But they had no idea it was erected by a prominent builder 108 years ago. Nor did they know its basement was once a bootlegging depot. It wasn't until they hired local house historian James Johnstone to research their new purchase that they got a glimpse into their home's past.

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Fall, 2005

What's the history behind your home?

Ever wonder who lived in your house before you, when it was built or even how your neighbourhood was developed.

Well, Dana King has the answers.

The entrepeneur, who lives at Don Mills Rd. and the 401, started researching homes a few years ago when she looked into her parents' house, which was built in 1893 near Summerhill Ave. and Yonge St. Then three years ago, King decided to start a business called Every House Tells A Story.

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Dec. 3, 2004

Digging up the past at home

Since researching the history of his house in east Vancouver several years ago, James Johnstone has spun his passion for uncovering the lives of past homeowners into a small business. Through his Home History Research Services, he scours city archives, census records, directories and cemeteries to provide clients with a detailed social history of their home.

"When you move into an older house, you see scratches in the walls and initials carved in the basement walls and you begin to think about who lived there," he says.

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Suites at One King West & the History of Toronto

This unprecedented ‘museum’ is located in the historic Dominion Bank Building with its modern 50 story addition on the SW corner of Yonge and King now renamed ‘Suites at One King West’ downtown Toronto’s newest hotel/condo development. This exhibit includes photos (past and present), maps, documents, renderings, and the detailed story of Toronto’s history throughout the entire building both the in historic Dominion Bank section as well as the new tower. The exhibit was put together by myself with the help of Dana King and was the brainchild of maverick developer Harry Stinson.

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