Carhartt Lofts
The Toronto factory of the Hamilton Carhartt Company, “World's Largest Overall Manufacturer,” on Queen East near River, in business here by 1917 and until 1974. Converted in 1999 into just 11 live/work lofts of 1,300 to 1,600 square feet, which rarely come up for sale.
History of Carhartt Lofts
A 1917 photo of Queen and River shows a Carhartt gloves sign on the building, so the overall maker was here by then. Carhartt advertised itself as the world's largest overall manufacturer and its gloves as “Canadian made by Canadian maids,” and by 1938 it was making ski jackets and trousers too. The building is really two joined buildings, one fronting Queen and one fronting King.
Richard Morawetz, from a textile family in Czechoslovakia, came to Toronto via England in 1939 as the war began and bought the Hamilton Carhartt Company with his niece Hella and her husband Charles Sachs. It was, he said, just a way to make a living; his son John joined in 1946 and his son-in-law Ric in the 1960s. The company was sold in 1974, and the building's story goes quiet for the next 20 years.
It was converted in 1999 into 11 live/work lofts with wood posts and beams, exposed brick, cement floors, 12-foot ceilings and sliding garage doors; some have private roof decks. One lower unit runs across half the building, with a kitchen built on the concrete pad where a factory press once stood. The Queen City Vinegar Lofts are across the street.
Stories you'll hear
The name on the lofts usually drops a T: the company was, and is, Carhartt.
Carhartt Lofts: quick facts
Where is Carhartt Lofts?
Carhartt Lofts is at 535 Queen Street East, Toronto, near Queen E & Sumach, in Corktown.
When was Carhartt Lofts built, and what was it originally?
It dates from the 1910s. The Toronto factory of the Hamilton Carhartt Company, “World's Largest Overall Manufacturer,” on Queen East near River, in business here by 1917 and until 1974.
What kind of loft is Carhartt Lofts?
Carhartt Lofts is a hard loft: an older industrial or commercial building converted into homes, keeping features like brick, beams and big windows.
How many units are in Carhartt Lofts?
Carhartt Lofts has 11 units.
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