Ryerson’s oldest residence has witnessed over a century and a half of Toronto 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 yet completed, golden bricked house. The building would host its most prominent tenant and 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. Michaels Cathedral. The next year, the house was evaluated as having a value of $6,000. To accommodate his growing family, O’Keefe had the third floor added in 1889.

Born in County Cork, Ireland in 1827, O’Keefe at the age of five emigrated with his family to Toronto or “Muddy York” as it was then known. At nineteen he began his professional life as a junior accountant with the Toronto Savings Bank. By 1862, O’Keefe purchased the Charles Hamneth Brewery at Victoria Street and Dundas and O’Keefe & Co. Brewery was born. That same year he wed his sweetheart Helen Charlotte Bailey. O’Keefe’s life progressed with much prosperity over the next three decades until the tragedy of his son’s untimely death in 1892.

This event lead O’Keefe to turn to his faith and drove him to the philanthropy he is best known for today. One of his most notable acts came when he donated a church to the fledgling Polish community such that they could preserve their culture, language and religion. Prior to his death, he donated a half million dollars towards the construction of the St. Augustine seminary above the Scarborough Cliffs. He fulfilled one of his last wishes witnessing the opening of the seminary August 28, 1913.   

O’Keefe lived at 137 Bond Street until his death on the night September 30, 1913 in his second floor bedroom.

The house eventually fell into the hands of Longman’s Publishing and was converted from an adoring mansion to administrative space. The layout that can be found at today’s residence can trace its origin to the Longman’s offices. The Canadian Congress of Labour, the United Mine Workers and the Canadian Railroad Employees all utilized the Bond Street house 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 1880 value or the $677,000 renovation in the summer of 2004.  

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 the late 1960s through to the construction of Pittman Hall in 1991, O’Keefe was Ryerson’s only official residence space.

Ryerson grads Louis Gonsalves and Ted Brock were paired together as the first house supervisors. Mr. Gonsalves resided at Bond House with his wife, Christine and house cat Heathcliff marking the beginning of a long and sometimes tumultuous relationship between residents and the animal kingdom.   

While Eugene O’Keefe may have been the house’s most historically significant tenant, he was not its longest resident. That honour goes to the aforementioned Senior Don, Ted Brock. Having just had just graduated from the Radio-Television Arts program, Brock was offered free residence in exchange for his supervisory services. He would hold this role for 39 years before his retirement in 2003.

Brock made innumerable contributions to Bond and O’Keefe House as Senior Don. He always demonstrated his care and concern for his resident students as their mentor, tutor, advocate, and occasionally as their disciplinarian. Brock also encouraged students to join him as volunteer philanthropists to raise money to help others in our community, whether selling tickets for Ernie’s Bursary Hot Dog Days or by seeking sponsorships for the Ronald MacDonald Snow-Shovel team." He led successful campaigns to thwart plans to demolish the house in the early 1990s.

His legacy continues in the community stewardship, strong spirit and sense of identity held amongst Bond and O’Keefe House residents to this day.  

In 2004, the Ted Brock Memorial Award was established to honour Brock’s contribution and dedication to Bond and O’Keefe House. Each year, this award recognizes an outstanding O’Keefe House resident at the year end formal who has made great contributions to the House during his or her time there. Originally named the Ted Brock Recognition Award to honour his retirement as Senior Don of O’Keefe House, the award was renamed the Ted Brock Memorial Award after his passing in 2006.

NOTE: O'Keefe House History is a work in progress. It is our hope to better catalogue and communicate important events pertaining to the history of the residence such as the campus referendum on the demolition and redevelopment of O'Keefe as a student centre in the early 1990s. If anyone has important