Toronto’s Little House was built in 1912 by well-known contractor, Arthur Weeden. Mr. Weeden was born in England and migrated to Canada in 1902. For a short time, he was Superintendent of the old Lighthouse Mission and later became one of the pioneer builders in Toronto’s west end. Located in what was known as the Earlscourt District, Day Avenue is home to many of Arthur’s building projects. During the street’s development, Lot 128 was conceived as a laneway for the neighbouring home. However, the curb was never cut by the City to allow vehicular passage from the street. Observing this, Arthur decided that “in order to use the land, I would build on it” (Weeden, Toronto Sun Telegram, 1939). After completing the laneway house, he and his wife lived in it for 20 years. After his wife passed away, Mr. Weeden, 77 years of age at the time of the Sun Telegram article, lived in the house for 6 more years, during which time he tended to the vegetable garden in the rear of the house, growing tomatoes, cabbages, Swiss chard, rhubarb and some flowers. At the time, a house on Sydenham street was said to be the smallest, but Weeden discredited this claim by noting, “it has a frontage a foot and a half longer [than his]”, and was not a complete house as it did not have electricity and other conveniences. The other disputed ‘smallest house’ is located at 383 Shuter Street, but it too is larger. Eight inches wider, to be exact.

Arthur Weeden on the porch of The Little House, 1939

One year before Arthur Weeden began construction on his home, Sir Henry Pellatt broke ground for his home, Casa Loma. Completed in 1913, this was the largest residence in Toronto. It is interesting that during this two year span, both the largest and smallest homes in the city were constructed. After a market value assessment in 1923, Sir Henry was prompted to move out, and it has been a tourist attraction ever since. 128 Day Avenue, on the other hand, has always been occupied and has changed hands numerous times over the years. After being sold by Mr. Weeden, it was inhabited by several different families (although information on them was difficult to track down), including one elderly man who now lives down the street. He visited during our renovation and recounted a story of the time he lived in the house: he came to Canada from Italy, after serving as an officer in his country’s army. Working in the construction industry among other jobs, he lived with his family in the house for 15 years. He claims to have lived there with his wife and three children. It was not clear if his story was completely accurate, however, we do know the most recent owners (a couple), who came to Toronto in 1996 from Brazil, lived in The Little House for over 10 years. While in the home, they made many improvements: updated flooring, a new roof, new electrical, new drywall and insulation in the bedroom and living room.  The couple moved out in May, 2007, when the Little House was sold. 

The current owners continued with renovations and upgrades, with a view towards making the space as useful, enjoyable and comfortable as  possible.  In the fall of 2007, media interest continued and this website was created so that people from all over the world could visit The Little House - and over 207,000 have (plus hundreds of thousands of hits on other web sites that have posted stories, comments and pictures about The Little House - see  the Press page)!  The Little House even has it's own song - "Come Back To Me" by Maria Lee Carta. The song was recorded at Sweet Fire Studios in Brooklyn, New York on August 14, 2008. 

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