O'Keefe Brewery (Toronto)

The Toronto brewery behind the O'Keefe and Carling O'Keefe names — the operation, as distinct from the company record carling-o-keefe (TB-C6PVDZDE, 1930-1989). Victoria Brewery c.1840s; O'Keefe, Hawke and Cosgrave 1861; incorporated 1891; Canadian Breweries 1934; brewing ended 1966 when production moved to Carlingview; building demolished 1996 (or sold 1966 — kept). Old Vienna was born here in the mid-1930s; the archive's Old Vienna beer stays on the company record because the brand outlived this plant by sixty years. Civic address: UNKNOWN ('297 Victoria' appeared only in a search summary). O'Keefe Ale and Extra Old Stock launch years: UNKNOWN. Confidence C. Created INTERNAL 2026-09-24; not promoted. RELATED 2026-09-24: Patrick Cosgrave, O'Keefe's partner of 1861, has his own brewery on record — cosgrave-brewery-toronto — whose Niagara Street plant became O'Keefe's West Brewery in 1945.

A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.

1. 1861
   O'Keefe buys the Victoria Brewery

   The Victoria Brewery at the south-west corner of Gould and Victoria Streets, founded c.1840s by George Hart and Charles Hannath. Eugene O'Keefe "formed a partnership with George Macaulay Hawke and a brewer, Patrick Cosgrave, to purchase this small but reputable operation" (DCB); 1861 per Wikipedia. Founded year here is the purchase; the Hannath & Hart founding year is UNKNOWN beyond 'c.1840s'.

2. 1891
   O'Keefe Brewery Company of Toronto Limited

   "In 1891 they had it incorporated as O'Keefe Brewery Company of Toronto Limited."

3. 1913
   Eugene O'Keefe dies

   "O'Keefe died on 1 Oct. 1913 at his home."

4. 1934
   Sold to Canadian Breweries

   "In 1934, the company purchased O'Keefe Brewery outright for CA$2.07 million" — E. P. Taylor's Canadian Breweries. Old Vienna began here in the mid-1930s as an O'Keefe brand (Beer Et Seq).

5. 1953
   Bottling plant and warehouse, 122 Bond Street

   "the bottling plant and warehouse (built in 1953) at 122 Bond Street that became home to the School of Image Arts" of Toronto Metropolitan University (Heritage Toronto).

6. 1966
   Brewing ends at Gould and Victoria

   The plant "would remain in use until 1966, when production was moved to a new plant in northwest Toronto" — Carlingview Drive, Etobicoke (Canadian Breweries article); Beer Et Seq puts the closures of O'Keefe and Brading in the late 1960s "when all production was centralized on Carlingview Rd." The Carlingview plant itself opened in 1955 (Molson Coors) or was "just-built" at $12 million in 1962 (trade press) — both kept.

7. 1996
   Demolished for Ryerson

   "The brewery building survived until 1996, when it was sold to Ryerson University and demolished to make way for university facilities" (Heritage Toronto). A Wikipedia line says the site "was sold to Ryerson in 1966" — thirty years apart; both kept until a City record settles it. The corner is Toronto Metropolitan University today.