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.

Link:http://www.uniqueproperties.ca/system/files/46/original/BRO_CHESTERFIELD_RIGHTED_04NOV09.pdf?1259886867

"...Put Up a Parking Lot"

The grey stucco house behind the white picket fence was built in 1942 for $1,700  by owner T. A. Agrellis.  Curved window arches on either side of the front door are featured on this house at 1348 Chesterfield Avenue. By 1950 Norman and Emma M. Buckler owned the house.  Norman Buckler was retired.  They continued to live there until at least 1961. 

In 1971 the owner was Elsie B. Schram.  In 1980 the new owner was Norman J. McDowell, a janitor for the City of North Vancouver. By this time the house was sitting on the same block as the City of North Vancouver City Hall. 

In 1991 the "new neighbor" (a designation by the City Directory) was B. Miles, an employee of R. Brobyn Ltd.  In the 1995/96 City Directory Zeon Graphics electric equipment was listed at the 1348 Chesterfield Avenue address.  B. Miles was also listed at that address and as continuting to work at R. Brobyn Ltd.

The photo of 1348 Chesterfield Avenue was taken by Suzanne Wilson as part of her Year 2000 Photography Project, Your House/Our Home. 2000 photos of homes in the City of North Vancouver were photographed. At this time the house was owned by the City of North Vancouver.



In the month of June 2007 Suzanne Wilson celebrated the City of North Vancouver's 100 birthday by distributing to their home owners copies of 1000 photos taken for the Y2K Project. At this time it was discovered that the home photographed at 1348 Chesterfield Avenue had been demolished. The house lot is now part of a city parking lot.


Demoliton:  Between the year 2000 and the year 2007.
Photo: Taken in the year 2000 by SW.
Thank you: To Arne Carlson for the lyrics to the song "Big Yellow Taxi"-"They paved paradise, put up a parking lot."

Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Two Stories, Two Paint Jobs

Above the Upper Levels Highway, in the City of North Vancouver, at the juncture with East 26th Street was the "little house" at 2556 Chesterfield Avenue. Because East 26th Street did not go through Chesterfield Avenue on its way to Lonsdale Avenue the living room of the "little house" looked out into East 26th Street. The origins of this "little house" has two stories: one from North Vancouver Archives research and one from the year 2000 owners.

The story according to the Building Permit book at the North Vancouver Archives is that the house at 2556 Chesterfield Avenue was built in 1920 for $300 by C. E. Martin. In 1931 C. E. Martin also applied for a $300 house addition. By 1925 John M. Ashton was living in the house. John Ashton worked as a stationery engineer. He was also living there in 1931 at which time he was employed as a laborer at Vancouver Creosoting. In 1940 Mrs. A. M. Hill, a widow, was the resident. And in 1950 and 1960 William H. and Ethel M. Dryer were the owners. William Dryer was retired. In 1960 Ethel Dryer, a widow, was the owner. At that time Ernest Dryer, a construction worker, was also listed as living at 2556 Chesterfield Avenue. By 1971 the resident was Miss Karen Romas. And from *1976 to 1983 the residents were David and Jean Dyck. Jean possibly worked as a teller at National Trust (The address of this National Trust employee was not listed in the City Directory.) The City Directory listings for 1991 and 1995/96 record only Vacant and then Under Construction. The construction was possibly the rooms added onto the back of this very "little house".

During the inclusion of the 2556 Chesterfield Avenue house in the Year 2000 Photography Project, Your House/Our Home Kevin Grant and Kimberley Bradbury were the owners and they told the story written below.

When the year 2000 photo was taken it was mentioned that the house was soon to be repainted. It was also requested that another photo be taken when that was completed. The photo at the end of this blog post is of the new paint job and was taken in November of the year 2000.  The 2006/2007 North Vancouver Phone Book lists Kevin Grant as still living at 2556 Chesterfield Avenue.

The photos of 2556 Chesterfield Avenue were taken by Suzanne Wilson as part of her Year 2000 Photography Project, Your House/Our Home. 2000 photos of homes in the City of North Vancouver were photographed. Approximately 800 of these were accompanied by some history of the house or a photo. This was true in the case of 2556 Chesterfield Avenue.


In the month of June 2007 Suzanne Wilson celebrated the City of North Vancouver's 100 birthday by distributing to their home owners copies of 1000 photos taken for the Y2K Project. At this time it was discovered that the home photographed at 2556 Chesterfield Avenue had been demolished and a new house had been built. Demolition and Construction Project records show that the house was demolished in 2005.


Demolition: Took place in the year 2005. A black and white negative of the house at this time is on file at the North Vancouver Archives.
Photos: Taken in the year 2000 by SW.
Reference: The Year 2000 project was donated by Suzanne and Alan Wilson to the North Vancouver Archives and is available for viewing.
* Reference: From 2011 e mail from Jean Dyck.

 

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.

Link: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=b6f1baef-123e-4d9d-a8ee-9c038a1b871f

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Pink Posies on Chesterfield

Pink posies in a rock planter grace the front of the pink house at 1805 Chesterfield Avenue.  It could be called the Blanchett House, since Sid and Charlotte built it and lived in it for over 30 years.  The house was built in 1947 for $5000.  At that time Sid was a carpenter.  In 1955 Sid was working for Leslie Construction. By 1970 it seems he was a building contractor out on his own with Blanchett Construction.  Blanchett Construction is again listed in the 1980 City Directory under the name of Sidney G. Blanchet.

Chesterfield Avenue runs north from Esplanade near the waterfront up the base of the mountain and crossing the Upper Levels Highway and Queens Road and then all the way to Osborne Road.  Although most of Chesterfield Ave. is in the City of North Vancouver, at the north side of 29th Street is extends into North Vancouver District.  The whole way it is parallel to Lonsdale Avenue which is the main drag of  the City of North Vancouver.  At one time Chesterfield Avenue was a street of homes. Much of the street as far up as the Upper Levels Highway is now lined with apartment buildings.  With the shops, library and recreation center just a block away on Lonsdale Ave. Chesterfield Avenue is a desirable and convenient place for a denser population.

A prominent complex on Chesterfield Avenue between West 3rd and 4th Street  is Presentation House, the home of the North Vancouver Museum, an art gallery and a theater.  On its campus is the old Church of St. John the Evangelist.  Presentation House was built as Central School in 1902 and has been the home of the North Vancouver City Hall,  jail, and the North Vancouver Archives. 

Demolition Permit: Applied for September 18, 2009.

Photo: Taken October 4, 2009 by SW.

Book: Heritage Inventory City of North Vancouver 1994