Toronto firefighters work to control a fire at St. Anne's Anglican Church, in Toronto on Sunday. The historic church has been mostly destroyed along with many artifacts inside, including works by members of the Group of Seven.Christopher Katsarov/The Globe and Mail
A four-alarm fire has severely damaged a historic Toronto church that was home to the works of prominent Canadian artists, including three Group of Seven painters, after tearing through the two-storey building on Sunday morning.
There were no reports of injuries or occupants inside St. Anne’s Anglican Church located at 270 Gladstone Ave., where Toronto police said the fire was reported shortly before 8 a.m., when smoke was seen coming out of the building.
Officials warned of road closures and traffic because of the fire, whose cause has not yet been determined.
“Investigations will commence this afternoon into the origin, cause and circumstances, but it will take a number of days to complete,” Deputy Fire Chief Jim Jessop said Sunday.
“The building is completely destroyed right now, as are all the artifacts inside.”
St. Anne's Church at 270 Gladstone Ave. in Toronto, which is unique for its Byzantine-style dome and Group of Seven paintings featured throughout the church.Deborah Baic/The Globe and Mail
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow visited the site of the fire and said church officials plan to rebuild.
“St. Anne’s have served this community extremely well. It has an art program and food program and is at the heart of the community. And the Father, Don Beyers, said that it will rise again,” she said.
“They are determined with the community help and support, they will rebuild.”
St. Anne’s was designed in the Byzantine Revival style by architect William Ford Howland and was constructed in 1907-08.
Designated a National Historic Site in 1996, the church contained murals painted by members of the Group of Seven. J.E.H. MacDonald, Frank Carmichael and Frederick H. Varley worked on St. Anne’s elaborate frescoes. They were the only known religious works by members of the group. The murals decorated the chancel and the dome, which was destroyed in the blaze.
The frescoes of St. Anne’s also featured the work of Thoreau MacDonald, Neil Mackechnie, Arthur Martin, S. Treviranus, H.S. Palmer and H.S. Stansfield, and sculptures by Frances Loring and Florence Wyle. The state of these works is currently unknown.
Father Beyers, rector of St. Anne’s, said the “invaluable” works were lost to the flames.
“The artwork was priceless. It was murals, beautiful murals,” he told reporters. “They were stunning.”
“This was the only church that featured artwork by members of the Group of Seven. And I’m sorry to say that’s been lost, from what I can see.”
Deputy Chief Jessop said firefighters were not yet able to enter the church because of safety concerns.
“We’ve had large portions of the roof already come in. But again, our goal right now at this point is if we can save some of the exterior and conduct our investigation in a way that allows that based on an engineer and an architect’s approval,” he said.
Toronto firefighters work to control a fire at St. Anne's Anglican Church in Toronto on June 9.Christopher Katsarov/The Globe and Mail
Residents familiar with the church were overcome with emotions on Sunday.
“I’m just completely devastated. I got tears in my eyes,” said Isabel Mazzotta, who sings in the choir at the church.
She had arrived there Sunday morning to prepare for a concert the choir was scheduled to perform in the afternoon. Instead, she stood in an alley next to the church watching emergency crews fight the blaze.
“The choir means a lot to me. It’s been a blessing because this church makes you feel welcome.”
Local residents posted photos and videos of the fire to social media, with the smoke visible from kilometres away.
Adrienne Trent, a visual artist who lives nearby, said both her parents and grandparents were married at St. Anne’s.
“I’m going to cry. It’s the worst thing ever,” said Ms. Trent, who worries about the future of the church.
“It’s not the Notre Dame, so no one is going to care enough to restore it,” she said, referring to the fire that engulfed the famous Paris cathedral in 2019.
Rob Scandrett, who was house-sitting for a friend at a home a few doors down from the church, said he was at first confused by the smell of smoke.
“I thought it was something to do with the festival,” he said, referring to Do West Fest., an annual street festival nearby on Dundas St. W.
“It’s really sad. it’s a beautiful church. It’s devastating. I’m just glad no one was in there.”
Set up for Do West Fest, which ran from Friday to Sunday, was delayed by an hour because of the fire but continued as scheduled on its final day.
“Right now, our main concern is giving the Emergency Response Team space to do what they have to do,” said Kristyn Gelfand, the festival director.
More than 700,000 people attended the festival last year, with approximately 200,000 attendees on Sunday, Ms. Gelfand said.
“Despite the huge tragedy to the St. Anne’s community, local vendors and businesses have invested a lot into this weekend, and hope people can come by to be with the people of Little Portugal and enjoy the festival.”
AnaBela Taborda, chair of the Little Portugal Toronto B.I.A., said she was overwhelmed by the smoke as she approached the area Sunday morning.
“It was very hard to breathe. I even thought of stopping and asking for a mask,” she said.
Councillor Alejandra Bravo, who represents the ward where the church is located, said residents are expressing “tremendous” grief over the destruction of a space that offered critical community support.
“This is much more than just a building. This is a place that has provided support, a home, love, brought people from the community together … and provided the spiritual support that people so desperately need in times when they’ve fallen on hard times,” she said.
“It’s something that we cannot replace in Canada and in the world.”
With files from Canadian Press