Residence.
Details of Site Location: The southwest corner of King Street West and Dowling Avenue.
Boundary History: On a lot 228′ by 340′, the address in 1890 was simply “Bay View in Parkdale.”
Current Use of Property: A very tired three-storey painted brick apartment building with entrances on both King and Dowling.
Historical Description: Robert Carswell was a law book publisher with an office in Equity Towers at Adelaide and Victoria Streets, which was the first building in Toronto to have an elevator. The Carswell firm is still in the same business, although not at its first address. Carswell’s house on Dowling Avenue was a large two-and-a-half-storey red brick Italian villa, with a four-storey Tuscan tower at the front. The house was 80′ by 40′. At the rear of the property was a two-storey greenhouse and stables. Although the Carswells had five children, only their two daughters lived with them on Dowling. The family moved into Bay View in 1890 when Mr. Carswell was 50 years old. The family also owned a home on Georgian Bay. Between Bay View and the lake were the Argonaut Rowing Club and a Canoe Club, but these were located on the slope and did not block the view to the lake. Later, the Carswells moved to 68 Melbourne Avenue and then to Beatty Avenue. The Dowling property was subdivided by Carswell and the house demolished.
Relative Importance: Bay View was one of the elegant 1890 homes that helped to make Parkdale an important residential area.
Planning Implications: The present Carswell Company should be encouraged to mount plaques on both the first address of the company and on the present building at Dowling to help raise civic pride in the area. The publishing of law books is an important factor in the functioning of the legal profession. The role played by Carswell should also be acknowledged at some location in Osgoode Hall.
Reference Sources: City of Toronto Archives; Torontonian Society Blue Book and Club List, 1921.
Acknowledgements: Maps Project.