Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Big Changes on Bewicke-2

The neighbors to the north of 1404 Bewicke Avenue are at 1416 Bewicke Avenue. Again there are no records of any house being at this site until the mid 1950's. In 1955 and 1960 William M. and Lillian D. Speers were the owners. William M. Speers was of Speers Bros., C. A. and W. M. Speers a bulldozing company at 864 West 16th Street with a warehouse at 212 Fell Avenue, both in North Vancouver. In 1960 William Melville Speers reported that he was secretary of Speers Brothers Bulldozing and C. A. Speers was president. In 1961 Mrs. Lillian D. Speers was listed as a the widow of W. M. She was employed as a clerk at B. C. Hydro.

New owners of 1416 Bewicke Avenue are listed by 1980, Irene R. and Peter Lingbanan, a welder at Vancouver Shipyards. By 1991 the owners were  James M. and Karen Hughes. James Hughes was a student and Karen Hughes worked with Brenda Knight at Karen-Karita Boutique at 1755 Marine Dr. in West Vancouver. In the 1995/1996 City Directory James and Karen reported that they had lived at 1416 Bewicke Avenue for over 9 years. So they must have bought the house by 1986.

The two houses in the photo above, 1404 and 1416, are typical of the six houses built on this block. They feature: stone retaining walls, cement front steps with wrought iron railings, white stucco and cedar clapboard exteriors, and a large front window on either side of a single front door. Some have had modifications over the years.

Demolition: Permit applied for in 2009.
Photo: Digital colored above taken in 2010 by SW. A black and white negative and photo on a contact sheet taken in July 2009 as part of the Demolition and Construction Project 2001-2010 is on file at the North Vancouver Archives.
Reference1: See Blog Posts July 12, 14, 15, and 16, 2010 for more information on Bewicke Avenue.

HAPPY

70TH

BIRTHDAY

ALAN