The Queen and Jarvis building dates from the 1950s and sits on the site donated by the elder Hart Massey in the late 1800s. The building was constructed as a men’s hostel and senior men’s home, the vision of Reverend Wesley Hunnisett, who had housed transient working men in the St Lawrence Market during the Depression (the same man and his philosophy was behind Seaton House, the City hostel on George Street).

Fred Victor Mission has served low-income people for over one hundred years. It started as a mission of the “Methodist Cathedral” (now the Metropolitan United Church), it ran schools, penny savings banks, fuel co-operatives, and programs for families in the low-income neighbourhood to the north and east.

Before renovation by John van Nostrand, the building was an industrial-looking, dull-yellow brick, with aluminum windows, built to the lot lines on Queen and Jarvis streets. It was home to 120 men in the hostel each night, and 60 senior men in the home. The hostel residents were “permanent,” just on a rotation in and out for a few days, months, or years at a time.

The goal of the project was to replace the 180 “beds” on the site. The architect faced the challenges with creativity. Since setback requirements for new construction would have limited the potential of the site, the building had to be renovated. He inserted reverse-bays into the walls to bring light into the new multi-room units. The cladding lightened the impression of building mass despite the fact that the “wrong colour” was delivered in the midst of the building boom and could not be corrected.

The Fred Victor “Mission” became the “Centre” with computer training, support for economic development, a cafeteria, and many innovative programs to support the lives of the men and women in the housing, and those still on the streets, who see Fred Victor as their “home” if not their residence.

Bill Bosworth