Keg Mansion
Encyclopedia
The Keg
The Keg is a chain of steakhouse restaurants and bars in Canada and the United States.-Background:It was founded in 1971 in North Vancouver, British Columbia by George Tidball and today operates in all provinces and five American states...
brand. These are located in heritage buildings adapted to serve as commercial restaurant establishments.
Keg Mansion
TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
's Keg Mansion is located in Euclid Hall, a prominent downtown heritage building located at 515 Jarvis Street
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 Bloor Street in the north to Queens Quay East in the south. South of Front Street, it continues as Lower Jarvis Street...
. The house was originally built in 1868 by Arthur McMaster, nephew of the prominent businessman William McMaster
William McMaster
William McMaster was a wholesaler, Senator and banker in the 19th century. A director of the Bank of Montreal from 1864–1867, he was a driving force behind the creation of the Canadian Bank of Commerce of which he served as the founding president from 1867 to his death in 1887.He served in the...
. At the time Jarvis Street was one of the wealthiest parts of Toronto and the street was lined by large manors. The house was set back from the street and surrounded by large gardens.
The former house has a neutral colour palette with pops of colour as in the green brass accents over the windows and red shingles on the turret. The hall uses the soft, deep colours to contrast the hard, crisp edges. As a residence, it consisted of twenty six rooms and seventeen fireplaces with a stable and large brick carriage house in the back. With significant alterations to the interior having been made since its era as a dwelling, the interior is now much different than the original.
In 1882, it was purchased by Hart Massey
Hart Massey
Hart Almerrin Massey was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist born in Haldimand Township in what was then known as Upper Canada. His parents were Daniel Massey and Lucina Bradley...
and his wife who had just returned to Toronto from Cleveland. The Masseys renovated the house and added a turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
, verandah
Verandah
A veranda or verandah is a roofed opened gallery or porch. It is also described as an open pillared gallery, generally roofed, built around a central structure...
, and greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
, but the original Gothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
façade was not significantly altered. Hart Massey's sons bought homes surrounding the manor. To the north his son Chester D. Massey built the home where Hart's grandchildren Vincent
Vincent Massey
Charles Vincent Massey was a Canadian lawyer and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 18th since Canadian Confederation....
and Raymond
Raymond Massey
Raymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
were raised.
As the area became more urban and various commercial operations moved into the area, the Masseys decided to leave. The building was then bequeathed to the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
's Victoria College
Victoria University in the University of Toronto
Victoria University is a constituent college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1836 and named for Queen Victoria. It is commonly called Victoria College, informally Vic, after the original academic component that now forms its undergraduate division...
in 1915. The manor served as the first home of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
radio station CFRB in the 1920s and was home to an art gallery for several decades until 1960. It then became a restaurant named Julie's Mansion, owned by one-time bastion of Toronto Julius X. Fine. The grounds were sold off and the greenhouses demolished and replaced with a service station. In 1976 it became home to a The Keg
The Keg
The Keg is a chain of steakhouse restaurants and bars in Canada and the United States.-Background:It was founded in 1971 in North Vancouver, British Columbia by George Tidball and today operates in all provinces and five American states...
restaurant, and it was renamed the Keg Mansion.
Keg Manor
OttawaOttawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
's Keg Manor is located at the Maplelawn
Maplelawn
Maplelawn is an historic house and former estate located in Ottawa, Canada. The house was built between 1831 an 1834 as the centre of a farming estate by the Thomson family. In 1877 the Cole family bought the estate and lived there until 1989. The house is now owned by the National Capital...
historic garden and residence, a 19th century stone house along the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
, just off Richmond Road. At the time of construction, the road was a trail known as the Macadam Road, leading from Bytown
Bytown
Bytown is the former name of Ottawa, Canada's capital city. It was founded on on September 26, 1826, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855. The founding was marked by a sod turning, and a letter from Governor General...
to the village of Richmond, Ontario
Richmond, Ontario
Richmond is a Canadian village. Founded in 1818, it spans the Jock River, a tributary of the Rideau River. Like many communities in eastern Ontario, Richmond houses several unique populations. Some residents have historic and economic roots in the immediate area. Richmond operates as a small core...
.