Wednesday, November 24, 2010


Wednesday, November 24, 2010
1904 Gross Residence

"GROSS RESIDENCE, 83 Chesterfield Avenue, circa 1904.  This was the home of Charles Gross, a Vancouver boot and shoe dealer who operated a store on Carrall Street.  The Gross Residence, whose builder was Albert Nye, is one of the earliest surviving homes in the City of North Vancouver, and as such serves as a reminder of the original residential nature of the area.  Although it has been altered during its conversion to restaurant usage, the form of the residence remains substantially intact." (See Reference.) 

This description and the 1904 photo below, of the Gross family on the veranda, are in the City of North Vancouver Heritage Inventory 1994.

NVMA Photo #2778

The City Directories indicate that in 1980 the house was owned by  the Japanese Village Restaurant (North Shore) Ltd.  And in 1991 the property was reported as "Vacant".  The photo above indicates that the restaurant was named the Ming Court at the time of its closer.  A North Shore Outlook photo caption indicated that the restaurant closed two years before September 2000, or in 1998.  It had been vacant since that time. (See photo and caption below.)



In September 2000 there was a fire at the Ming Court building at 83 Chesterfield Avenue.  The burned building was demolished in October 2000.

October 2000

Unique Properties real estate listed the property for sale in 2010.  Their description indicates it is a 9,000 square foot corner lot with approximately 23,400 square feet of buildable space.  (See Link.) It is on the south west corner of Chesterfield Avenue and West 1st Avenue with a view of Burrard Inlet.  The asking price is $2,495,000.

October 2000

Reference: City of North Vancouver Heritage Inventory, 1994, page 87.
Fire and Demolition: October 2000.
Photos: Taken as part of Suzanne Wilson's Year 2000 Photography Project,
                 Your House/Our Home, on file at the North Vancouver Archives.