2 Earl St., Toronto
2 EARL ST., Toronto
List Price: $895,000
Taxes: $5,838.91 (2010)
Agent: Allan L. Ward (Russell & Ward Realty Corp.)
The back story
If this were Paris, or another city that glorifies its artists, there would be a plaque in front of this vintage brick three-storey, located a tiny block east of Jarvis and south of Bloor, if only to commemorate its late owner, June Faulkner, the former general manager of Toronto Workshop Productions and Young People's Theatre who passed away last March.
But this being Toronto, where cultural history like old houses is often lost to the wrecker's ball, to date there's nothing about the corner structure acknowledging that it was once a hub of creativity at a time when Toronto was first coming of age as a cultural centre - which is grossly remiss considering what once passed between its walls.
During the decades that the Welsh native owned the house, from 1968 until her death last year, 2 Earl - as she used simply to call her beloved Victorian semi - played host to a prestigious collection of actors, directors, playwrights, dancers, rock artists, choreographers, painters, patrons and poets from around the world, all of whom called the house their second home.
Her best friend was the Hollywood screen star Claudette Colbert and Glenn Gould frequently came to dinner in addition to Donald Sutherland and South African writer Athol Fugard. Rock chanteuse Carole Pope, in the days when she fronted Toronto indie rock band Rough Trade, lived upstairs in a rented room where she composed her songs.
Revered Cuban prima-ballerina Alicia Alonso was herself a house guest, along with the great British ballet dancer ballet dancer Anton Dolin, who came to the house with legendary English stage director Lindsay Kemp. Their shared production of Salomé and Flowers, both cause-celebres when performed in Toronto in 1978, was directly a result of Ms. Faulkner having had the foresight that the city was ready for such avant-garde theatre as this.
"Those plays launched what everyone now knows as Gay Pride Week here in Toronto," says Calvin Butler, the Jamaican-born actor and director who was Ms. Faulkner's devoted companion for more than 40 years. "In a strange way, June was the architect of much that is progressive in Toronto right now." At the time, Ms. Faulkner managed TWP, one of Toronto's original experimental theatres, that was directed by Toronto theatre visionary, George Luscombe.
Now defunct, the theatre was then located on nearby Alexander Street in the space today occupied by Buddies in Bad Times. Being within walking distance to work, and also to Jarvis Collegiate where one of her children from a previous marriage was then attending school, were the main reasons she first bought the house, even though it was then considered to be in a dicey neighbourhood.
"This was what was then known as The Track," says Mr. Butler, noting that hookers were so plentiful on the street in the 1970s that Ms. Faulkner couldn't walk to the nearby grocery store without being propositioned by a cruising john.
With the help of her friend, now NDP leader, Jack Layton, Ms. Faulkner together with Mr. Butler succeeded in having barriers erected on the street to impede the circulating traffic. The street today is a gentrified enclave teeming with new townhouses and their fashionable tenants. "If these walls could talk," says Mr. Butler, wistfully. "They'd tell of all the changes that have taken place here, of all the people who have come and gone."
What's new (and what isn't)
To accommodate her adored strays of the theatre, Ms. Faulkner renovated the basement, adding a bedroom, bathroom and full kitchen, one of two apartments created with visiting artists in mind. A true bohemian, Ms. Faulkner would entertain her guests outdoors, often in the back garden which she planted herself, adding voluptuous statuary and canopies of ivy for dramatic effect. "If you could visit the garden in summer you'd think you were in a courtyard in Europe," exclaims Mr. Butler. "June's passion was her garden. It is today one of the best features of Earl Street." A Victorian-style English garden, Ms. Faulkner designed it to complement the architectural style of her house, designed and built by H.G. Love in 1886. Original details abound, including ornate ceiling medallions, bevelled glass doors, thick cherry wood French doors and oak floors. Despite these period treasures, "the house isn't everyone's cup of tea," remarks Mr. Butler. "It's still go the old knob-and-tune wiring, and the kitchen is from the 1950s, and yet June loved it. To her, the kitchen was part of the charm."
Best feature
There are three wood-burning fireplaces in the house, decorated with hand-glazed, picturesque ceramic tiles. Well-preserved, each stands out like a work of art. The detailed black surround, Mr. Butler points out, isn't wrought iron. "It's ebony." he says, rubbing an appreciative hand over the velvety surface. It's a rarity in a house where many extraordinary people once came to sit by the fire, enjoying the inspired company of their irreplaceable hostess. Mr. Butler wipes a tear from his eye in recalling the woman whose warmth made this old house, so full of history, burn bright. June Faulkner, we all applaud you.