Thursday, May 20, 2010
Seismic Upgrading

The tower is removed, the roof is off, the building looks gutted, chunks of cement are heaped on the playground, but Ridgeway Elementary School is not being demolished. Ridgeway Elementary School at 420 East 8th Street is undergoing a "Seismic Upgrading".

Photo: Tower removed and sitting in front of school.

In September 2010 the teachers and students moved to the old Cloverley School at 420 Hendry Avenue. That school building has been augmented with the old portable buildings from Lonsdale Elementary School at 2151 Lonsdale Ave. that was closed in 2005 and has since been demolished. (See Blog Post January 12, 2010.) The $21 million dollar Ridgeway Elementary School project is official called "Reconstruction and Heritage Restoration". (See photo below.) It is being funded by the North Vancouver School District and the Province of B.C. Ministry of Education. The architectural firm is D.A. Architects and Planning. The Heritage consultant is Robert Lemon Architecture Inc. Completion and return of the teachers and students to the shcool on Est 8th Street is expected in 2011. Sketches of the completed building and playground area appear on the sign below.

"The original Ridgeway Elementary School was built in 1911-1912 by Architects, Jones and Gillam, "The honourable Henry Esson Young, Minister of Education, officially opened the original portion of this building on April 8, 1912. It is a richly detailed essay in the Second Renaissance Revival style, and uses brick, sandstone, and rough cast stucco to achieve a strongly articulated facade. The Smith Brothers were the contractors for the original building, which cost $48,000 to build. Temporary ends were built on the central block, until the construction commenced in the 1920's on the north and south wings. North and South Wings, Benzie and Bow, architects, 1926."  "City of North Vancouver Heritage Inventory 1994" page 18. (See photo below.)

Link: http://www.nvsd44.bc.ca/sitecore/content/CapitalProjects/RidgewayQMaryHeritageProjects.aspx

Photos: Taken in April 2010 by SW. Top photo-rear of school on Moody Avenue side. Second photo-front of school on Ridgeway Avenue side. Third photo-south side of school with sign on 8th Street. Bottom photo-page 18 of "City of North Vancouver Heritage Inventory 1994."

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

"A" House

The house at 335A East 8th Street was one of two homes on East 8th Street in the City of North Vancouver that had the letter "A" as a recognized part of its mailing address. Another was down the street at 333A East 8th Street. However, the "A" designation did not start out that way. The original main house right on 335 East 8th Street was built in 1912 by Victor Larson. (See Blog Post April 12, 2010 "Victor Larson House".) There is no listing of another house on the property at that time. However, by 1925 there is another listing at 335 East 8th Street. The listing is 335 East 8th Street (rear) and its first resident was Percy P. Broadfoot, manager of Percy Broadfoot Manufacturers. (See photo below of City Directory ad.) The 1926 City Directory has the same listing at 335 East 8th Street (rear) and the same ad.

1925 City Directory

In 1927 the address (rear) is acknowledged although there is no resident; the listing is recorded as "Vacant". In 1931 there is a listing of a resident at 335 East 8th Street (rear). This was Gordon B. Davies, a logger. In 1940 and 1941 Broer A. and Dorothy E. Kruse were living in the house. Broer was a mill worker at Glaspiel Lumber. By 1950 the resident was Mrs. Catherine MacPherson, retired. By 1960 K. A. Askre had moved in. And by 1971 the (rear) listing official became known as "a" , 335a East 8th Street, in the City Directory. The residents at this time were Minnie and Eric Lester, retired. There was no response to inquiries from the City Directory in 1980, but again the 335a East 8th Street address was acknowledged. In 1991 Doug P. MacLaren lived at 335a and in 1996 it was Anna and Brian Johnson, a carpenter.


The house at 335A East 8th Street was a garage sized house sitting on the north side of the lane off the backyard of the larger house at 335 East 8th Street. In the year 2000 when the photo above was taken it was a gaily painted house with a front porch facing not the lane but west and a blue front door. A border of rocks and pink and white flowers marched up to the front steps.

The photo of 335A East 8th Street 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. Approximately 800 of these were accompanied by some history from the present or previous home owner sometimes including personal photographs. Following an exhibit at Presentation House the collection was given to the North Vancouver Archives and is available for viewing.

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. A photo was delivered to the home at 335A East 8th Street. In December of 2007 Suzanne Wilson took a B&W photo of the house as part of a project for the North Vancouver Archives to document houses to be demolished. Both the year 2000 and 2007 photos can be seen at the North Vancouver Archives.

Demolition: Permit applied for by 335 East 8th Street in 2007   The new house built at the rear of 335 East 8th Street has now graduated from "rear" and "a" to 335 and the 335 address has been assigned 337 East 8th Street.(See Blog Post April 12.)

Photo: Taken as part of Suzanne Wilson's Year 2000 Photography Project, Your House/Our Home.

Monday, April 12, 2010
Victor Larson House

The City of North Vancouver Heritage Inventory 1994 page 126 shows a photo of this 1912 home built by Victor Larson at 335 East 8th Street. The house with the bay on the west side, a front porch on the north side, and a back porch on the south side was originally built for $2000. In 1913 a Building Permit was granted for a $150 house repair. The photo above combined with the Heritage Inventory photo show later additions of dormers in the roof on both the east and west side of the house.

Although Victor Larson is not listed as a bone fide architect in the Heritage Inventory, he did build numerous houses in the City of North Vancouver. In fact, he built 7 homes between the years 1913 and 1937 at construction costs of $1000 to $2000 a piece and a garage with a price tag of $50.

122 W. 22nd Street 1913 $2000

608 E. 3rd Street 1920 $1500
145 W. 2nd Street 1921 $1200
733 E. 7th Street 1924 $1500
307 E. 8th Street 1929 $1500
317 E. 8th Street 1931 $1000
323 E. 8th Street 1935 $1000
145 W. 2nd Street 1937 $50

And then there was his own house built for $2500 at 339 East 8th Street for $2500 where he is listed as architect and builder.

Victor Larson, cannery man is listed as the owner of 335 East 8th Street in both the 1925 and 1931 City Inventories. However, in 1931 there is another, new and very interesting listing at 335 East 8th Street. (rear) is added to the 335 East 8th Street address. Future listing indicate that (rear) is not referring to the rear of the house, but an additional house on the rear of the property at the lane. The first resident of this house, in 1931, was Gordon Davies who worked as a logger. (See tomorrows Blog Post for more on this house.)


By 1940 another Larson is listed as owner of the house. This time the Larson is Mrs. Peggy A., a widow. She continued to live in the house in 1950. By 1960, however, two families are reported as living in the main house on the lot at 335 East 8th Street. Arthur G. and Yopi Fennell and Waldren F, and Marion Patrick. Arthur Fennell worked for Pac Saladmaster Distributors, of housewares. Waldren Patrick was a salesman at Tuckett Ltd., tobacco manufacturers and distributors located at 3644 Grandview Highway. In 1971 Weston A. and Norma Patterson lived in the house at 335 East 8th Street. Weston's occupation was carpentry. In 1980 the new householders were Greg and Elizabeth Mclean. Greg was employed as a mechanic at Finning Tractor. The family that moved in by 1991 and continued to live there until at least the year 2000 was that of Angelica and Werner Weiss. During that time Werner was a cabinetmaker at Oscar Grann's Furniture.

The photo of 335 East 8th Street 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. Approximately 800 of these were accompanied by some history from the present or previous home owner sometimes including personal photographs. Following an exhibit at Presentation House the collection was given to the North Vancouver Archives and is available for viewing.

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. A photo was delivered to the home at 335 East 8th Street. In December of 2007 Suzanne Wilson took a B&W photo of the house as part of a project for the North Vancouver Archives to document houses to be demolished. Both the year 2000 and 2007 photos can be seen at the North Vancouver Archives.

Demolition: Permit applied for in 2007.  However, only 335A  (See April 13 Blog Post.) was demolished.  The house at 335 only had an address change, to 337 East 8th Street.
Photo: Taken as part of Suzanne Wilson's Year 2000 Photography Project, Your House/Our Home.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Moved Not Demolished


If you look at the far left on the front wall of the building, you can see an address, 111 West 22nd Street, that is in the City of North Vancouver. However, if you pull back and see where the building actually is, you will not see West 22nd Street, you will see Shavington St., also in the City of North Vancouver. How does this large portable school building happen to be somewhere other than the address mounted on its front wall?


This portable school building was originally at 111 West 22nd Street. It was a actually used to augment the space for Lonsdale Elementary School at 2151 Lonsdale Avenue and placed behind the school to the west with its long wall, and hence address, on West 22nd Street. Lonsdale Elementary was closed in 2005 and has since been demolished. Luckily, the portable didn't suffer the same fate.


In the summer of 2009 the 111 West 22nd Street portable was moved to the east, to the old playing field, of the old Cloverley Elementary School at 440 Hendry Avenue. The photo was taken soon after the move, at the beginning of the refitting of Cloverley School building to serve a new school population. And the new school was not going to be Cloverley. Cloverley Elementary School was closed in the early 1980's because of low enrollment. The students coming to the new school were actually from a very old school, Ridgeway Elementary School. The original Ridgeway Elementary School built in 1911-1912 with additions in 1926 at 420 East 8th Street was having a seismic upgrading. For the two years that the process would take, the students would attend the old Cloverley Elementary School. However, since the building was not quite large enough, the portable from the old Lonsdale Elementary School was moved to the playing field to house the additional student.


When the Ridgeway Elementary School students leave in 2011, another school population will move into the old Cloverley Elementary School building. This time it will be the students from Queen Mary Elementary School, built 1914-1915 at 230 West Keith Road in the City of North Vancouver. Again, this school will be closed for two years while it undergoes seismic upgrading. 


Photo: Taken September 11, 2009 by SW.
Book: Heritage Inventory, City of North Vancouver 1994.