O'Keefe House is the former mansion of businessman

Eugene O'Keefe Eugene O'Keefe (10 December 1827 – 1 October 1913), baptized as Owen Keeffe, was an Irish-born Canadian businessman and philanthropist, well-known in the brewing industry for his signature brews. He incorporated the O'Keefe Brewery Company ...

, which served as a residence for

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

. It is located at 137 Bond Street in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. The building was a student residence from 1964 to 2018, and had 33 residents on three floors.

History

The land at what is today 137 Bond Street was sold to a dry goods importer by the name of William Mathers on April 14, 1855. Along with the land, Mathers received the not yet completed, golden-bricked house. The building would host its most prominent proprietor in 1879 when it was purchased by

. He was attracted to the house at the corner of Bond and Gould because he could keep tabs on his neighbouring brewery and reside within a block of St. Michael's Cathedral. To accommodate his growing family, O'Keefe had the third floor added in 1889. O'Keefe lived at 137 Bond Street until his death on the night of September 30, 1913, in his second-floor bedroom. The house eventually was purchased by Longman's Publishing and converted to administrative space. The layout that can be found today can trace its origin to these offices. The Canadian Congress of Labour, the United Mine Workers and the Canadian Railroad Employees all utilized the Bond Street building at one point or another. On March 6, 1963, S.E. Lyons and Son Realty Limited sent a letter to Ryerson principal Howard H. Kerr offering the premises at Bond and Gould for $85,000. Kerr struck a deal at $80,000, a stark contrast from its $6,000 value in 1880 or the $677,000 price-tag for a summer 2004 renovation. In time for the fall semester of 1964, Ryerson opened “The Bond Street Annex” along with other new residencies on Church Street and

Oakham House Oakham House is a historic building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The house is located at the southwest corner of Gould and Church streets. It was designed by architect William Thomas as his own residence and office, and completed in 1848. Today, i ...

, then known as Kerr Hall. Time saw the demolition of the Church Street residencies, and Oakham House was shut down as a residence for lack of fire code compliance. From 1963 through to the construction of Pitman Hall in 1991, O’Keefe was Ryerson’s only official residence space. 2013 marked the 50th anniversary of O'Keefe House as a Ryerson residence. In 2018, with the opening of the new HOEM residence on

Jarvis Street Jarvis Street is a north-south thoroughfare in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, passing through some of the oldest developed areas in the city. Its alignment extends from Queens Quay East in the south to Bloor Street in the north. The segment s ...

, Ryerson announced that the building would no longer house students from the 2018-19 academic year. Instead, the building will be used by the university for non-residential purposes.

References

External links

O'Keefe House Alumni Association (archive via Wayback Machine)

Ryerson Student Housing NEWS

O'Keefe Brewers Twitter account @okeefebrewers
{{Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University buildings University residences in Canada Houses in Toronto 1855 establishments in Canada Houses completed in 1855