A well-known Toronto strip club could soon be designated as a heritage site

A well-known downtown strip club could soon be designated a heritage property in Toronto.

The Toronto Preservation Board is recommending that city council “state its intention” to give a heritage designation to a cluster of addresses along Yonge Street, just south of Bloor Street, including the building that currently houses the Brass Rail strip club, located at 699 Yonge Street.

In a recent report, city staff said the building “has cultural heritage value for maintaining and supporting the historic main street character of Yonge Street.”

The Brass Rail Tavern has operated at that location since 1948 and prior to that, the units were occupied by “a variety of commercial businesses,” the report stated.

The business first launched as the Brass Rail Tavern, a “family-friendly” food establishment that featured live performances by both local and touring musicians.

It shifted toward adult entertainment in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of what city staff referred to as “broader changes happening on Yonge Street at the time.”

Yonge Street played an “increasingly important role in Toronto’s counterculture and musical scene” in the 1960s and 1970s, the report noted.

“Also beginning in the 1970s, a portion of Yonge Street became known as ‘Sin Strip’ due to the high prevalence of businesses perceived to be indecent by the general public,” according to the report.

The street was subject to a concerted effort by local politicians to “clean up” the area over a “prolonged period of time,” the report said.

The Brass Rail transitioned into a full-time strip club in the 1980s.

The properties proposed for the heritage designation were listed on the city’s Heritage Register in March 2016.

The original exterior brick walls have been covered by cladding and signage.

City staff said a development application has been submitted that would see the site converted to a 64-storey residential building consisting of 514 units. The proposed development, the report said, would retain and restore the 3-storey brick façade of the row building for the retail entrances at 699-705 Yonge Street. But two other structures on the site, including a building at the corner of Yonge and Hayden streets and a house at the northeast corner of the property at 17 Hayden Street, would be demolished.

Toronto Preservation Board’s recommendation will be discussed at the next meeting of the city’s planning committee on Nov. 30 and if approved, will move on to city council.

The report indicated that city council must make a decision at its December meeting to “ensure sufficient time is provided for the city clerk to issue a notice of intention to designate within the prescribed timeline.”