Industrial heritage site.
Details of Site Location: At the extreme east end of Amelia Street in the area now called Hillcrest Park.
Boundary History: The boundaries are approximately two acres. The size of the property is best understood from extant photographs. The property has been described in several publications about Cabbagetown, but no title search has been done.
Current Use of Property: The property today is a combination of the south end of Hillcrest Park and two groups of five row houses and two pairs of semidetached houses on Hillcrest Park and five row houses on Hillcrest Avenue.
Historical Description: Peter Rothwell Lamb came to Toronto in 1834. In 1848 he established the P.R. Lamb Manufactory in what is now Hillcrest Park, at the end of Amelia Street, then in the suburbs. This factory produced various well known products such as Lamb’s Penny (stove) Blacking and Lamb’s Glue. The business was very success-ful and occupied twelve buildings. The main building was of brick, Georgian in style, and had four floors. Most of the other buildings were of wood. In the 1860s, Peter Lamb’s son Daniel took over the business. Because of the nature of the products made by Lamb’s, fire was a problem. After a number of small fires, on 20 May 1888 a huge fire burned the main brick building and most of the smaller wooden buildings. The firm had many lifelong employees, some of whom rented small houses nearby owned by Lamb’s. As the factory buildings were grossly underinsured, the fire was devastating to employer and employees alike. In addition, the area around the factory was becoming built up, and the incoming residents objected to the smell. This put an end to the business.
In 1904, Daniel Lamb came to an agreement with the City to dedicate the factory property to the City for park use, if the City would allow him to build houses on the west and south sides of the park. Lamb entered into a partnership with a builder, and, in 1910, the housing noted above as currently on Hillcrest Park was constructed.
Relative Importance: The factory is important, for it was first in the area and gave work to the poor of the neighbourhood. Peter Lamb and Joseph Workman were the founders of the Unitarian Church of Canada. Daniel Lamb served as an Alderman in 1885 and 1886 and from 1895 to 1903, and he was on the Board of Control in 1897, 1898, and 1901. He has been credited with responsibility for many improvements in the city, including the Riverdale Zoo, Rosedale Valley Road, the Island waterworks, the reclaiming of Ashbridge’s Bay, and the main railway thoroughfares from the east end.
Planning Implications: Future planning must preserve this park as a memorial to an outstanding family. With the area preserved from redevelopment, archaeological investigation can be postponed until such time as any disturbance of the area is contemplated. The mounting of a historical plaque should commemorate both the factory and the Lamb family.
Reference Sources: Lamb Collection, City of Toronto Archives; Assessment Roles; Photographs; George Rust D’Eye, Cabbagetown Remembered(1984); Cabbagetown Preservation Association, Touring Old Cabbagetown (1992); Boulton’s Atlas of the City of Toronto 1858.
Acknowledgements: Cabagetown Preservation Association.