interior was gutted and during the next hundred years, the building served as a machine shop, garage and rooming house at various times. Windows were closed and new doors cut through the exterior walls. According to John Ross Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto (Volume I, 130–132), blacksmith Paul Bishop acquired the property on the corner of Duke (Adelaide) and Caroline (Sherbourne) Streets formerly belonging to Sheriff Jarvis where he erected the subject buildings in 1848. However, historical records indicate that Bishop actually acquired the subject property in 1841, with the house form buildings in place the following year. An 1842 Map of Toronto, which shows the site as developed, also supports this date. Robertson describes Bishop as a French Canadian blacksmith and wheelwright who "was the principal workman in his trade in the town, but eventually he failed in business and left Toronto". Initially renting the property, Bishop resided on-site in 1843. The next year, he sold the property to Malachy O'Donohue, a local landowner. O'Donohue retained the site until 1846. Today The Bishop Houses were declared a historic property through Toronto By-law 895-1998 enacted on December 17, 1998, under the Ontario Heritage Act. At the time, the building had been vacant for an extended time and still bore the alterations made since 1872. These included a three-storey addition to the rear and addition of a gabled dormer on the roof. The houses were restored in 2005-2006 and the addition removed to allow construction of the highrise Kings Court Condominium building to the south. See also List of oldest buildings and structures in Toronto References Houses in Toronto Georgian architecture in Canada Houses completed in 1848