Fancy Billy

On April 12, 1907, carpenter John M. Locke took out a water permit for this house at 1746 William Street. He is listed as living there in 1908 with his wife, Martha. Locke worked as a carpenter for the Royal City Planing Mills and at the E.H. Heaps Sawmill, which was located at the bottom of Victoria Drive - a short walk away.

Locke was born in Prince Edward Island in 1871 and his wife, Martha Caimes, was born near Stratford, Ontario in 1867. 

A permit for a garage ($50) was issued on June 14, 1912. The house is a Colonial Revival style with a projecting front porch and a large dormer on the hipped roof. The dormer probably isn't part of the original design.

This 2 1/2 storey tall home at 1556 William Street is an elaborate version of the Gabled Vernacular Style. It has a closed front gable and the porch is attached to its rectangular main structure. The structure is more elaborate than others of this style because of the bay windows and balcony set on the porch roof.

It is listed as 1910 but no building permit has been found. The City Directories list the date of 1908 for this home with James Springer, a logger, living there in 1909, and Harry Christiansen, another logger, taking residence in 1910.

 
The strongly triangular front gable, saddlebag dormers and sleeping porch proclaim this house at 1544 William Street to be an Edwardian-Style house. The building permit is dated April 6, 1910 and was issued to Passage and Tomlin, a realtor/builder with offices located on Commercial Drive.

The original house was valued at $2,000 and is first shown on a map in 1911. It was listed vacant for that year and the next but in 1913, a missionary by the name of John Spencer moved in.

Thanks to the Grandview Heritage Blog for the information.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Meandering in Mole Hill

If you are walking along Comox Street - heading west - you will turn left - south - on Bute Street to continue along the next corridor in Mole Hill.

On Bute there are three houses that are identical and excellent examples of Edwardian architecture. They all have the wide open porches and were built in 1908.

The addresses of the homes are 1110, 1116 and 1122 Bute. All have had a variety of renters and owners over the years.

1110 and 1122 have been restored. The interior and exterior are back to their original beauty - including the outside heritage colors. 1116 has been converted to a strata title and the interior restoration reflects this while the exterior was restored to original.

There are a few more buildings on Bute that I want to show you and discuss but I don't have clear pictures so I will be going back.

The green house you are seeing here is right at the corner of Bute and Pendrell. I was certain to get some photos of the back to show you.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill, Edwardian, Vancouver, Mole Hill, Bute, homes, History, renters

Edward's Influence

I have walked by this building numerous times. Even took  few photos this summer but I didn't know anything about it. Until now.

Located at 436 - 440 Pender Street West this building is called the Tiedemann Block. It is an Edwardian three-bay, three-storey commercial masonry building built during 1909 and 1910.

This distinctive building reflects the early commercial development of the area and the modest structure shows smaller scale building types and lends to the saw tooth profile of the streetscape.

Originally this building was designed for Tudor James A. Tiedemann of the Tiedemann Insurance Company. The Seattle based architectural firm of Bebbe and Mendel - Charles H. Bebbe and Louis L. Mendel - crafted this simple Edwardian architectural style building with its plain brick facade punctuated by grids of large, evenly placed windows, and bold but simple terra cotta decoration, such as cornices and brackets.

But every building, even the plainest ones, has a distinctive feature. With the Tiedemann Block it is the unusual applied terra cotta lion's head ornamentation.

Remember when  I wrote about 340 Cambie Street? It wasn't that long ago. This is the building at 322 Cambie, also known as the Commercial Hotel, was built in 1899. About a year after 340 Cambie.

Originally 322 Cambie Street was built as an office building and was home to such tenants as the architect W.T. Whiteway who was responsible for many noted buildings such as the Woodward's Department Store; a dentist by the name of Florence McAlpine; a doctor, J.A.L, McAlpine and real estate agents. The ground floor was occupied by accountants Gravelly, Hope & Company until the National Cash Register Company took over in 1910.

By 1916 the financial centre of Vancouver was shifting to the south and west and ergo 322 Cambie Street went through a transition. Instead of offices the upper floors changed to accommodation and the building was named the Commercial Hotel. In the years since it has been occupied by transient tenants and restaurants.

The historical value to this building is not only in the tenants and the use it has been put to but also in its architectural style. Especially the Edwardian architectural features including: prominent five-sided, five-windowed tower at the corner with the south lane, rusticated quoins to either side at ground level, narrow pilaster-defined bays, pattern of fenestration (one-over-one sash windows recessed in brickwork openings with moulded surrounds), and historic mosaic flooring at entry. (I will have to go back sometime and see if I can get some photos of that mosaic flooring.)

At the side of the building is a mural that I thought was interesting.

Fits in with the African restaurant don't you think?

I hope you find the beauty around you.

TAGS:Vancouver, Karen Magill, Tudor James A. Tiedemann, Charles H. Bebbe,Louis L. Mendel,W.T. Whiteway,History,McAlpine,Commercial Hotel,Woodwards,