Toronto heritage planners have applied to protect the city’s oldest standing bar, The Wheatsheaf Tavern at Bathurst Street and King Street West.
The venerable tavern was founded in 1849 and has been in operation at the same location under its current name ever since.
A new report to Toronto's preservation board on Jan. 20, put forward by the city's senior manager for heritage planning, Mary L. MacDonald, emphasized the importance of the landmark bar.
"Well before Confederation, the Wheatsheaf Tavern functioned as an inn and tavern for men in the community and served stagecoach travellers, soldiers, railway men, students, and sports fans," the report reads.
"A beloved establishment in the community, the Wheatsheaf Tavern continues to welcome live music and sports lovers through its doors today," MacDonald wrote.
For its first decades in operation, the bar clientele included soldiers from nearby Fort York, which housed a garrison of regular British troops until 1870.
After 1870, Britain determined the danger of an American invasion was remote enough that troops could leave Toronto and be sent elsewhere in the empire. So, the 16th Regiment of Foot downed their last pints at The Wheatsheaf and marched away.
Women weren't allowed on the bar’s premises until the 1970s.
The recommendation for heritage designation will be heard by the Toronto Preservation Board on Jan. 31. If successful, the proposal will move to city council for a final decision under the Ontario Heritage Act.
A heritage designation would preserve the building, and possibly certain architectural details, and leave the site protected by law.
Once on the edge of a growing city, The Wheatsheat is now surrounded by an intense level of high-rise development.
The Wheatsheaf building has been listed on the city's heritage register since 1973. However, a new provincial law may see some buildings lose heritage status in the near future.
Under Bill 23, properties that are categorized as “listed” — a much weaker form of heritage preservation than a full designation — can only hold that status for two years. After that, the property will lose its listed status if it is not fully designated. The listed property is then ineligible to regain heritage status for another five years.
Toronto has about 3,800 listed historic properties, some of which have had that status for nearly 50 years.
Other Toronto bars have over the years claimed to be the city’s oldest watering hole, including the now closed Black Bull. The bar, which was formerly located at Queen and Soho streets, was founded in either 1833 or 1838, depending on the source.
However, with the bar’s doors now permanently closed, the argument over which came first — The Wheatsheaf Tavern or the Black Bull — is now academic.
