Thursday, April 15, 2010
The Chesterton
The apartment building at 210 West 13th Street started life about 50 years ago as The Chesterfield Apartments. The age of the apartment was defined by the North Shore News article dated October 24, 2008 regarding plans for its demolition. There is no information in the Building Permit book to confirm this, but the 1960 City Directory seems to have the first listing for The Chesterfield Apartments. There are 21 apartments in two three story walk up wings of this apartment building. Some balconies are on the apartments on the east side of the building and their appears to be a roof top garden area off the apartment on the west side of the top floor. The building sits on the north west corner of West 13th Street and Chesterfield Avenue, hence its name The Chesterfield Apartments.
Although the apartment building listing isn't in the City Directory until 1960 there are listings starting by 1925 for a house at 210 West 13th Street. At this time W. C. Duncan, a clerk at Civil Defense of Canada, was the owner. In 1931 the house is reported as vacant. In 1940 John B. and Amelia Jolem were the residents. In 1950 C. E. and Alice M. Weatherhill were living there. Alice worked as a clerk at McLennan, McFeely and Prior Ltd., selling hardware at 122 Cordova Street, Vancouver. The Weatherhill's still lived at The Chesterfield Apartments in 1955. However, starting in 1958 there is no longer any listing for a house at 210 West 13th Street in the City Directories. Then in 1960 when The Chesterfield Apartment building with units 1-3, 101-108, 202-207, 302-305 and their residents appear.
In the 1995/96 City Directory the name of the building is no longer The Chesterfield Apartments. By this time it had been changed to simply The Chesterton. The October 24, 2008 North Shore News article (See Link.) states that The Chesterton was sold in June of that year for $4.25 million to the developer, The Hulbert Group. An ultramodern, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified, mixed market and non-market housing complex will be built with many former residents getting first dibs on the five-to-eight affordable housing suites to be located on the basement level of the development. The demolition permit was not applied for until March 2010.
The corner of West 13th Street and Chesterfield Avenue has recently undergone dramatic changes. The houses and small apartment building on the north east side of the street have been demolished and replaced by an ultramodern apartment tower. The older three storey apartment building on the south east corner has been demolished and replace by a modern apartment building as well. After The Chesterton Apartment building is demolished and replace by the planned ultramodern design only the south west corner will pin the street to its older roots. However, even St. John's Anglican Church that occupies that block had to be rebuilt when the 1908 church was destroyed by fire in 1985 and a new church was completed in 1987.
Demolition: Permit applied for March 2010.
Photo: Taken in March 2010 by SW.
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