Thursday, December 2, 2010

Wartime Home on 4th Street  

The house at 549 East 4th Street was one of the many homes built in 1941 as Wartime Housing.  "February 28, 1941, Wartime Housing Limited (WHL) was incorporated. It will build rental units across Canada for war industry workers. On the north shore 750 single family homes will be built, as well as barracks-type apartments for single workers, Westview School, a recreation centre, and a fire hall. (The houses were supposed to have been removed at the end of the War, but 135 units survive, some into the 1990s.)" (See Link 1.)  The original homes were on one floor and had a living room, two bedrooms, and a kitchen.  The Wartime House at 549 East 4th Street had additional rooms but  survived until 2010.

In 1945 the City Directory lists the residents as R. J. and Alice E. Miller.  Roy Miller was employed at NVSH.  In 1950 the owners were Hugh R. and Mildred A. Gwynn.  Hugh Gwynn was an engineer at C H Cates.    In 1960 Mrs. Beda J. Jacobson, widow of F. Jacobson was the owner. 

In 1971  Ronald G. and Gayle Y. Assaf were the owners.  Ronald Assaf was an electrician at S. Glover Electric.  Mrs. Gaye Y. Assaf was a secretary at Kariboo Industries.  In 1980 the owners were Stan and Marguerite Patykewich.  Stan Patykewich worked as a floor covering salesman.

About 1987 Mike N. Edel became the owner.  He lived there until at least 1995/1996 and worked as a technician at Chubb Alarms.  In 1995/1996 Lyndi Ainsworth was also a resident at 549 East 4th Street.  She was the accounts manager at AD Team Marketing 1986 Inc.

A new home will be built by Blake Developments.  (See Link 2.)

Reference:  To see photos of other Wartime Housing see City of North Vancouver Heritage Inventory 1994.

Demolition: Permit applied for in November 2010.

Photo: Taken in November 2010 by SW.

Link 1: http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/chronology1941.htm

Link 2: http://blakedevelopments.ca/Blakedevelopments.ca/Welcome.html

Friday, September 10, 2010

A Week of Black and White

1928 Canary Yellow

The bright yellow house that stood at 332 East 4th Street in the year 2000 was originally built for $2500 in 1928 by H. Earland. The architect was W. Earland. Previously, in the year 1923 H. Earland had built a $4000 Dancing Hall at 119 East 3rd Street. The architect for that building was T. Korner.

In 1931 the owner of 332 East 4th Street was W. E. Phillips, a laborer. Alex and Nancy E. Walton lived in the house in 1940. Alex Walton was employed as a teller at the Bank of Montreal. In 1950 and 1955 the owners were Ron W. and Lillian V. Stewart. In 1950 Ron Stewart worked as a salesman at General Truck Sales. By 1955 he was a sales manager at Volkswagon Pacific Sales. Mrs. I. and Guy E. Ellison were the residents of the house in 1960. In 1971 City Directory Jahura Begg was listed as the owner. And in 1980 again there was a new owner, this time it was C. Varney.

In 1991 Helen C. Donnelly moved into 332 East 4th Street. This is indicated by the title of "New Neighbor" in the City Directory. She was employed as a food and beverage supervisor at Grouse Mountain. She continued to live in the house and work at the same job in 1995. In 1995 Monahan Wesler was also listed as living at 332 East 4th Street.

By 2010 a new side by side duplex with the addresses of 330 and 332 East 4th Street had been built on the 332 East 4th Street lot.

A Week of Black and White

The Black and White photos of all the homes this week were taken in July of 2007 as part of the Demolition and Construction North Vancouver Archives Project by Suzanne Wilson. On notification of City and District applications for Demolition Permits the photos were taken and documented. Negatives and contact prints were filed at the North Vancouver Archives as part of their permanent photo collection. The project ran from 2001 to 2010.

A colored photo of the house at 332 East 4th Street is also included in the Year 2000 Photography Project, Your House/Our Home on file at the North Vancouver Archives.

Demolition Permit: Applied for in 2007.

Photos: Year 2000 colored photo and black and white photo Demolition and Construction Project photo Roll # 85 Negative 22 on file at the North Vancouver Archives. (The photo above was taken of the contact sheet with a digital camera.)

Friday, April 2, 2010
Canary Yellow

The canary yellow home at 332 East 4th Street was built by H. Earland in 1928. In 1931 a laborer, William E. Phillips owned the house. In 1945 the owners were Richard and Ellen McMoran. Richard was a guard for the Canadian government. By 1950 another couple, Ron and Lillian V. Stewart were the owners. Ron was employed as a truck salesman. Two families are reported as residents in 1960: Mrs. I. Ellison and Ernest and Mary Guy. Ernest worked as a clerk for the Pacific Great Eastern Railway in North Vancouver. In 1971 Jamurat and Fatima Begg were the owners at 302 East 4th Street. Jamurat was employed as a carpenter benchman at Custom Mill. C. Varney was the owner by 1980. And in 1991 the new owner was Helen C. Donnelly. Helen continued to live there in 1996 and continued in her position of food and beverage supervisor at Grouse Mountain.

The PGE was completed in 1956 and affectionately known by locals as the "Please Go Easy". The railway wove its way north along the coast of B.C., dropping passengers off at remote locations by request. (See Link.)

During the Christmas season in 1968, Alan and Suzanne Wilson and their nine year old daughter Amy took the PGE from North Vancouver to Lillooet for an over night holiday excursion. It was a picture postcard winter in the Vancouver area with thick clean snow covering the ground and hanging from the trees. As they looked out the windows from the train's wooden benches they were entranced by the old world feel of the rocking of the train car and the storybook views of the ocean and forest. About an hour into the trip, in the middle of no where, the train stopped and a couple got off and trudged into the trees. In Lillooet the Wilson family found that in this one of the coldest winters on record the electricity for the town had been cut off by a winter snow storm. They sought warmth by staying in a restaurant as long as possible, then taking a hot bath in their frigid hotel room. The next day on their return to North Vancouver the train again stopped in the middle of no where. The couple that had been dropped off the day before got back on. Overnight the temperature in their remote cabin had not risen over 45 degrees.

Demolition"Permit applied for in the year 2007.
Photo: Taken in the year 2000 by SW. See Y2K Project at the North Vancouver Archives.

Link: http://www.wcra.org/collection/BC33.htm