Huntting House

The house  I am going to show you today was having work done on it both times I went to Shaughnessy but I decided to use those photos anyway.

W.F. Huntting, president of Huntting-Merritt Lumber Company had this home built between 1911 and 1913. It was designed by architect Cecil Croker Fox  who was a junior partner in Maclure and Fox.

This house is almost identical to the home 'Orchard' near London, England which was the English architect's C.F.A. Voysey's own house. The home has rough stucco and a massive steep roof and is a grand version of an English country cottage.

Cecil Crocker Fox was a draftsman who had studied with the premier British arts-and-crafts architect, Charles Francis Annesley Voysey when he was hired by Samuel Maclure in 1903.

In 1905, due to the increasing demand for his services in Vancouver, Maclure went into partnership with Fox. Fox ran the office in Vancouver until he went to war in 1915. Fox's death a year later devastated Maclure and the office was closed.

This was the last house on my walking tour of Shaughnessy but I am certain I will find more homes to write on in that area. And they will probably be as gorgeous and awe inspiring as some of the ones I have shown in the past two months.

I do enjoy walking through this area - it is so peaceful and beautiful. And I have joked that I walked a few times just before a big lottery draw hoping that the wealth here would rub off on me. It hasn't happened yet but I can always hope.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill, Cecil Fox, Vancouver, Maclure and Fox, Huntting-Merritt Lumber Company, Huntting House, C.F.A. Voysey, British Columbia

Rosemary

This gorgeous piece of real estate is in Shaugnessy and happens to be one of the largest estates there. It was built in 1915 for whiskey baron Edward Tulk and Tulk named it Rosemary after his daughter. (my father and I are quite close but he has never named an estate after me. I'll have to talk to him about  that!)

I wasn't able to find anything on Tulk on the Internet - I guess whiskey barons on that era kept a low profile - but there are other things to mention.

As you can see the home was built in the Tudor Revival style as an English Manor. It was designed by architects Maclure and Fox. (Samuel Maclure was involved in many notable projects including being a consultant to the legendary Butchart Gardens near Victoria. And Maclure was born in Sapperton New Westminster BC.)

Besides the Tulks, the Rosemary has had a few very interesting occupants. Including someone who once owned The Shannon- Austin Taylor who was the owner of the Bralorne gold mine.

For a while John W. Fordham Johnson, BC's future Lieutenant Governor, lived at this estate.

Johnson was born in England in 1866 and at the age of 22 he left to embark on a new life. He began working for a bank in Oregon and was there for ten years before he was transferred to Vancouver.

Once in Vancouver Johnson found opportunities. In 1900 he left the employ of the bank and went to work for BC Sugar Co., eventually becoming president of the company in 1920.

On August 1, 1931 John William Fordham Johnson was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia and he served the province for five years, until 1936 when his ill health forced him to retire to Vancouver. He died two years later.

The Order of the Convent of Our Lady of the Cenacle owned this estate from 1947 until 1994. They used it as a retreat.What a beautiful place to commune with God.

In the current owners took steps to protect the estate by entering into a Heritage Revitalization Agreement with the City. They have allowed the grounds to be subdivided into three parcels which will allow other buildings to be put on the grounds and still keep the manor as it always has been and will hopefully continue to be for years to come.

I thoroughly enjoy my strolls through Shaugnessy. Maybe I'm hoping that the wealth will rub off on me - that just breathing the same air, walking the same streets, looking at the same houses will entice money to come to me. The Lotto 649 is 12 million dollars tonight so here's hoping! If not I'm getting my fresh air, exercise and vitamin D.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill, Rosemary, Vancouver, Edward Tulk, BC Sugar Co., Austin Taylor, Bralorne Gold Mine, John William Fordham Johnson

The House Built on Cavities

I couldn't resist the title of that entry. This mansion known as Gabriola was not built on a cavity in the ground but it was built for Benjamin Tingley Rogers of Rogers Sugar. I've written on Rogers before if you look back at earlier entries. He was one of the people who helped to make this city.

Architect Samuel Maclure designed this lavish home for the Sugar King, as Rogers was known, starting in 1900. On July 1, 1901 Rogers and his wife moved in and lived in Gabriola for seventeen years. (It was named Gabriola since the stones used to build it were quarried on Gabriola Island.)

While I was walking around the vacant property today I imagined what it must have been like over a hundred years ago when this extravagant home was full of life and parties and the crème de la crème  of Vancouver society. I even imagined that if I listened hard enough maybe I would hear the tinkling of glasses and the gaiety from years gone by. I didn't though.

I read that there are a series of tunnels under this Queen Anne style mansion that lead to a manor on Bidwell Street that has  been known as the Balthazar Night Club. These tunnels were used for rum running. The Balthazar has been renamed Maxine's which is a throwback to Maxine's College of Beauty Culture which existed in the 1930s and 40s and was a bordello.

Another story about those tunnels is that the Balthazar used to be a finishing school for young ladies and that when the school mistress was having financial problems she would send a few girls through the tunnels to Gabriola. Of course these are rumours but you have to admit stories like this are interesting.

The impressive stained glass windows were designed by the Bloomfield Brothers.



There are a lot of photos today of what was once known as "probably the most lavish private home ever constructed in B.C" but I really want my readers to get the true feeling of the mansion.

 I was so enthralled by this beauty of architecture that I spent more time than usual walking around it. I could see the vehicles entering the gates and smartly dressed people getting out. I could imagine the mansion lit up for one of the many parties. And I wished that I could somehow go back in time and actually see it, experience it. But alas we don't have the technology to time travel. At least not yet.

In 1918 Ben Rogers died and his wife sold Gabriola - she moved to another mansion in Shaughnessy. In 1925 this was the home of Angus Apartments but by the 1970s the once magnificent home had fallen into disrepair. Fortunately it was saved from demolition and renovated.

In 1977 Gabriola was converted to a restaurant with the interior being restored closer to its original design. (The exterior hasn't changed since it was designed by Maclure). The restaurant Romano’s Macaroni Grill called this building home for quite a while but they have now moved on. I've heard that it has been bought by those involved with the Keg Restaurant chain so we may be seeing new life at the Gabriola again.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

TAGS:Vancouver, Karen Magill, Gabriola, B.T.Rogers,Angus Apartments,Balthazar,History,