Architecture
George Brown House was designed by William Irving and Edward Hutchings in the Second Empire style with Italianate detailing. It is a red brick house characterized by Second Empire features such as pavilion massing and a grey slate mansard roof with window dormers. The carved stone doorcase is pronounced in a way that might be more expected of an institution than a private dwelling. The 1987 and 1988 archeological excavations revealed a unique "shell wall" below ground—a double foundation. An ornamental cast iron fence and gate outlines the property along Beverley and Baldwin Streets. It rests on a red brick and stone base and compliments the façade.
The interior was organized on a Georgian centre hall plan, with the main floor containing public rooms, and the upper two floors containing private rooms. 12 of the original 15 fireplaces remain, and the drawing room's polished marble mantel has the initials of George and Anne Brown entwined on the cartouche. The Coulson family hired Toronto architect David Brass Dick to remodel the dining room in an Art Nouveau style in the 1890s, along with the ornate front hall fireplace.
Along with the exterior, the Ontario Heritage Trust restored the interior. The federal government also contributed the recreation of a Victorian library which now houses 2,000 of George Brown's personal books. By the summer of 2000, a Victorian-style garden was planted, and a partnership was formed with the University of Toronto Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design to maintain it.
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