The building at 297 Victoria Street was constructed as O’Keefe House, the administrative headquarters for O’Keefe Breweries, in 1939. O’Keefe House was designed by the architectural firm of Chapman and Oxley, a firm that produced some very fine Beaux-Arts and Moderne buildings in Toronto in the 20’s and 30’s. The construction of O’Keefe House represents a corporate re-investment in the Canadian brewing industry after several decades of prohibition. The site was used for beer brewing since the early days of Toronto. The building was later transferred to Ryerson University.

ERA was engaged by RDH Architects Inc. to provide heritage architectural services for the conservation of the heritage masonry street façade.