Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Return to Mole Hill

I told you I would be going back to Mole Hill one day to get the photos I missed. And I did that. So let's take a look.

This house, located at 1150 Comox Street, was built in 1903 by John Matheson. Matheson was an early Vancouver contractor and builder who had the expertise to provide architectural designs.

The first residents of this relatively rare late representation of Queen Ann Revival architecture were Roy MacGowan and his wife Emma Snowden who were married in 1904.

MacGowan was the son of businessman and MLA Alexander MacGown and worked for his father's company, MacGowan and Company which happed to be one of the largest shipping commission and insurance businesses in the city.

Within a few years a variety of renters lived in the house and an addition to the rear was built. Around 1954 David and Pauline Gilmour bought the house and moved in. They stayed until their deaths in 2009 and 2010.

1154 Comox Street was built in 1906 and, from what I read, has a beautiful and intact interior. The first resident was Charles Rummel who worked for the BC Electric Railway.

The front portion of the house was sawn off and an extension inserted. More than likely to make extra room for lodgers at some point. A rear addition was also added on  with some alteration to the front facade - probably in the early 1920s by the Marr family when it became Braemar Lodge.

1160 Comox Street is one of the oldest houses on the block and one of the few oldest surviving houses in the city and apparently the only one in its original streetscape context. William Mace, a house carpenter, built his home in 1888 and then it was practically alone on the summit of this hill and of course Vancouver was only two years old.

 This house has a number of special features that make it unique and stand out from. On the outside there are the large windows and the interior has a spiral staircase and handmade details. The Edwardian front porch is thought to have been added in the early 1900s.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

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