{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox building | name = O'Keefe House | image = O'Keefe House 2024.jpg | image_alt = <!-- or |alt= --> | image_caption = O'Keefe House in 2024 | coordinates = {{coord|43|39|28|N|79|22|43|W|display=title,inline}} | status = | building_type = Residential | architectural_style = [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] | address = 137 Bond Street,<br>[[Toronto]], [[Ontario]],<br>M5B 1Y2 | namesake = [[Eugene O'Keefe]] | groundbreaking_date = | construction_start_date = | construction_stop_date = | topped_out_date = | completion_date = 1855 | renovation_date = 1889 (third storey addition) | cost = | owner = [[Toronto Metropolitan University]] | height = | floor_count = Three | architect = | architecture_firm = | designations = | public_transit = }} '''O'Keefe House''' is the former mansion of businessman [[Eugene O'Keefe]], which served as a residence for [[Toronto Metropolitan University]]. It is located at 137 Bond Street in [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|title=O'Keefe House|url=http://www.ryerson.ca/housing/future-students/residence-buildings/okf/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021123447/http://www.ryerson.ca/housing/future-students/residence-buildings/okf/|archive-date=21 October 2016|website=Housing & Residence Life, Ryerson University|via=Wayback Machine}}</ref> The building was a [[student residence]] from 1964 to 2018, and had 33 residents on three floors.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/02/05/ryerson-university-to-close-okeefe-house.html|title=Ryerson University to close O'Keefe house|last=Aguilar|first=Bryann|date=2018-02-05|work=The Toronto Star|access-date=2018-02-14|language=en-CA|issn=0319-0781}}</ref>
== History ==
The land at what is today 137 Bond Street was sold to a dry goods importer by the name of William Mathers on April 14, 1855. Along with the land, Mathers received the not yet completed, golden-bricked house. The building would host its most prominent proprietor in 1879 when it was purchased by [[Eugene O'Keefe]]. He was attracted to the house at the corner of Bond and Gould because he could keep tabs on his neighbouring brewery and reside within a block of [[St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica (Toronto)|St. Michael's Cathedral]]. To accommodate his growing family, O'Keefe had the third floor added in 1889. O'Keefe lived at 137 Bond Street until his death on the night of September 30, 1913, in his second-floor bedroom.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|title=O'Keefe House - History|url=http://www.okeefehouse.com/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031045417/http://www.okeefehouse.com/|archive-date=31 October 2014|website=O'Keefe House Alumni Association|via=Wayback Machine}}</ref>
The house eventually was purchased by Longman's Publishing and converted to administrative space. The layout that can be found today can trace its origin to these offices. The Canadian Congress of Labour, the United Mine Workers and the Canadian Railroad Employees all utilized the Bond Street building at one point or another.
On March 6, 1963, S.E. Lyons and Son Realty Limited sent a letter to Ryerson principal Howard H. Kerr offering the premises at Bond and Gould for $85,000. Kerr struck a deal at $80,000, a stark contrast from its $6,000 value in 1880 or the $677,000 price-tag for a summer 2004 renovation.<ref name="auto"/> In time for the fall semester of 1964, Ryerson opened “The Bond Street Annex” along with other new residencies on Church Street and [[Oakham House]], then known as Kerr Hall. Time saw the demolition of the Church Street residencies, and Oakham House was shut down as a residence for lack of fire code compliance. From 1963 through to the construction of Pitman Hall in 1991, O’Keefe was Ryerson’s only official residence space.<ref name="auto"/> 2013 marked the 50th anniversary of O'Keefe House as a Ryerson residence.
In 2018, with the opening of the new HOEM residence on [[Jarvis Street]], Ryerson announced that the building would no longer house students from the 2018-19 academic year. Instead, the building will be used by the university for non-residential purposes.<ref name=":0" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commonscatinline}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20141031045417/http://www.okeefehouse.com/ O'Keefe House Alumni Association (archive via Wayback Machine)] * [https://www.ryersonstudenthousing.blogspot.com/ Ryerson Student Housing NEWS] * [https://twitter.com/okeefebrewers?lang=en O'Keefe Brewers Twitter account @okeefebrewers]
{{Ryerson University}}
[[Category:Toronto Metropolitan University buildings and structures]] [[Category:University residences in Canada]] [[Category:Houses in Toronto]] [[Category:1855 establishments in Canada]] [[Category:Houses completed in 1855]] [[Category:Residential buildings in Toronto]]