Front, 426 East 1st Street

Friday, November 12, 2010

High on the Hill

The homes on the north side of the 400 block of East 1st Street are perched high on the hill with spectacular views of the Georgia Straight and across the water to Vancouver.  To get to the front door of the home at 426 East 1st Street you need to climb up 40  steep steps.  This home is not only one home, it is two.  The front home, 426,  is accessed from the steps on East 1st Street. The back home is much easier to enter as it is on the top of the hill and off the lane; this its address is 428 East 1st Street.

There are no listings of either address in the Building Permit Book or the 1950 or 1955 City Directories at the North Vancouver Archives.  But then in 1960 Robert N. and Florence Cumming were reported as the owners of 426 East 1st Street.  Robert Cumming worked as a laborer for North Vancouver City.  In 1971 the resident at 426 was Donald Read, a representative for Burroughs Business Machines.  In 1980 Henry Funk and Jean Stuedore were the residents of 426.  In 1991 an owner was reported at 426, Blair Holme.  In 1995/1996 426 was reported as being "Vacant".

Rear, 428 East 1st Street

The rear address on the house, 428 East 1st Street reported  residents in 1960, Avid E. and Beryl A. Safstron/m.  Avid Safstron worked as a crusher foreman at Dawson Wade and Company.  In  1971 the owner of 428 was H. Funk. (Note that in 1980 he  moved to the 426 address.)  In 1980 the 428 residents were Alex and Beth Fish.  In 1991 the 428 address was not listed in the City Directory.  In 1995/1995 the 428 owner was a truck driver, Tom McCaffrey.  He reported that he had owned the home for 4 years.

In October 2010 Rupert Legge applied for a Permit for Demolition of the 426 East 1st Street property.

Demolition: Permit applied for in October 2010.

Photos: Taken in November 2010 by SW.