Daniel Brooke (1792?-1872) was a merchant in nineteenth century York(1). He and his brother-in-law Henry Dean were partners in a shop(2). Brooke also had a store in Niagara, and later became a lawyer in Brantford.
While in York Brooke was enterprising with his time and finances. He
studied the economic environment in relation to important locations in
the town. The northeast corner of New (now Jarvis) and King Streets was
very central which is what prompted Brooke to build a hotel there. The
structure he built in 1833 was a hotel and livery stable mainly for the
use of farmers when they came to market.
Since that time the site has known a series of occupants. Wholesale
grocer James Austin, who later founded the Consumer’s Gas Company
and the Dominion Bank, had offices there. The building was also the
printing office for The Patriot, a conservative newspaper.
Brooke’s large business block is a rare example of Georgian
architecture in the commercial centre of town. The building was rebuilt
in 1848, and survived the Great Fire of 1849 quite well. In recent
times an extensive restoration program was carried out on
Brooke’s building, returning it to its former glory. Excluding
the price of the real estate, the Brooke-Murchison Block Company
restoration project cost roughly three million dollars. |
