The Dominion Brewery was a brewery in Toronto , Ontario, Canada. It operated from 1878 until 1936.
15-552: The brewery was founded by Robert T. Davies in 1877. Davies had been a manager at his brother Thomas' brewery, the Don Brewery on the Don River at Queen Street East in Toronto. The new brewery opened in 1878, built less than two city blocks away, on Queen Street just west of Sumach Street. Davies had brewed ale and porter varieties, but hired German experts to make lager . The name of
30-581: A broodmare for the Davies family, she produced the 1922 King's Plate winner South Shore . In 1888, Davies had purchased a large property in the Don Valley from his father-in-law, on which he established a breeding operation that he dubbed Thorncliffe Farms. He raced horses both in Thoroughbred flat racing and in harness racing under the nom de course of Thorncliffe Stable . Davies served as president of
45-516: A number of years, however since 2015 it is now home to the pub Dominion on Queen. 43°39′25″N 79°21′33″W / 43.65694°N 79.35925°W / 43.65694; -79.35925 Robert T. Davies Robert T. Davies (May 19, 1849 – March 22, 1916) was a Canadian businessman, as well as a Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorse owner and breeder . Born in Toronto , he studied at Park School and Upper Canada College . In
60-613: A replica of the award certificate and renamed White Label Ale. By 1888, the brewery shipped over one million gallons of beer annually. The brewery was sold in 1891 to British interests for CA$ 1.2 million , and Davies remained its managing director until 1900, when he retired from the brewing business. In 1926, the brewery was sold to the Hamilton Brewing Association, which owned the Regal Brewery in Hamilton, becoming part of
75-717: The Don Valley , including two paper mills and the Don Valley Brick Works . By the time of his death in 1916, Davies was one of the wealthiest people in Toronto. As a boy, Davies developed a love for horse racing and for a while was a jockey in Thoroughbred flat racing . In 1865 at the racetrack in London, Ontario , the then sixteen-year-old rode in that year's edition of the Queen's Plate . He soon turned to training his own horses and at age twenty-two raced and trained Floss , which won
90-788: The Victoria Stakes at Old Woodbine Race Course in Toronto , and the Nursery Plate at the Hamilton Jockey Club course in Hamilton, Ontario , in which she defeated Edward R. Bradley's colt Black Toney . [1] Up against another field dominated by males, Southern Maid ran second to H. P. Whitney's colt, Pennant, in the Futurity Stakes , held that year at Saratoga Race Course . Southern Maid's 1913 performances earned her retrospective American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly honors and, in
105-559: The 1871 edition of the Plate. The following year, a horse he bred named Fearnaught won the Plate. As of 2008, Davies is the only person ever to ride in the Queen's Plate as well as own, train and breed winners of that race. Davies purchased the filly Southern Maid from a Kentucky breeder, John E. Madden . A daughter of 1898 Kentucky Derby winner Plaudit , Southern Maid was voted the retrospective American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly of 1913. As
120-644: The Canadian Horse Breeder's Association. A vice-president of the Ontario Jockey Club from 1895 to 1904, he unsuccessfully lobbied for the lifting of the rule that prevented horses foaled outside of the province of Ontario from competing in the King's Plate . In 1916, Davies died at "Chester Park" and was buried at the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto. For his contributions to the industry, he
135-528: The Don River, which Robert helped manage. In 1877, Robert Davies founded the competing Dominion Brewery only two blocks to the west on Queen Street. Ten years later, his success led to the selling of shares in the company to a group of investors arranged by a banking house in London , England . In 1901, after his wife's family encountered financial difficulties, Davies acquired most of the Taylor family's holdings in
150-677: The acquisitions forming Canadian Brewing Corporation. In turn, Canadian Brewing Corporation was merged in 1930 with the Brewing Company of Ontario (later Canadian Breweries) conglomerate being set up by E. P. Taylor . In 1936, Taylor moved production of Davies' beer to the Cosgrave Brewery. Cosgrave founded in 1860s would be acquired by O'Keefe Brewery in 1945. The brewery's west wing and south main wing are both still in existence, having been converted to commercial space in 1981. The nearby Dominion Hotel , an affiliated business, operated for
165-518: The brewery was synonymous with its aim, to be available across Canada, which stretched more Ontario east to the Maritimes. The brewery won awards in 1885 at a competition in New Orleans and continued to enter its products in competitions, with the awards prominently displayed on the labels of the bottles. Being especially proud of its win for an India pale ale product, the label of the beer was replaced with
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#1732844511693180-531: The early 1870s, Davies married Margaret Matilda Taylor, the daughter of John Taylor , owner of paper mills in Todmorden Mills, Ontario , just north of Toronto. By the turn of the century, they had nine children and owned a large home at 244 Don Mills Road (now Broadview/O'Connor) in Todmorden Mills, which they called "Chester Park". Davies' brother Thomas Davies owned the Don Brewery at Queen Street near
195-636: The old Dominion Hotel is now home to the pub Dominion on Queen. Southern Maid (horse) Southern Maid (foaled 1911 in Kentucky ) was a Thoroughbred Champion racehorse and successful broodmare who raced in Canada and the United States . Bred by John E. Madden , one of the most influential breeders in American horse racing history, her sire was the 1898 Kentucky Derby winner, Plaudit . Grandsire Himyar
210-607: Was also the sire of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Domino . Purchased by Canadian businessman Robert T. Davies of Toronto , Southern Maid was trained by future Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee John Nixon . In 1913, Southern Maid was the dominant filly in racing, both in Canada and the United States. She regularly beat her male counterparts in races that drew some of the best horses in North America. Her wins included
225-587: Was inducted in 2001 into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame , in the Builders category. His estate sold Thorncliffe Farms to a group of investors from Baltimore, Maryland , who built Thorncliffe Park Raceway on the site. Davies' Dominion Brewery complex at Queen Street East and Sumach Street continued until 1936. The brewery complex was renovated from 1987 to 1990 and is now called Dominion Square (and used by Vistek as commercial office space), while
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