Monday, May 3, 2010
Wavertree in Spring

The bright blue flowers of spring bloom on the front yard of 912 Wavertree Rd. Flower boxes hang under all three banks of front windows waiting to add their splash of color to the white stucco house when summer comes around. The flowers in the front yard rockery are also waiting for more warmth from the sun.

Wavertree is a short road in the Forest Hills area of the District of North Vancouver. It crosses Highland Boulevard and is sandwiched between Mosquito Creek to the east where it joins Skyline Dr. and almost Mackay Creek to the west where it ends in a cul de sac. Behind it looms Mount Fromme and behind that Grouse Mountain.

In 1953 R. Thomas applied for a permit to build a $12,000 house at 912 Wavertree Rd. The one storey home on a cement slab is similar to other homes in the area. (See Blog Posts April 26 and 27, 2010.) By 1955 Ray and Mildred E. F. Thomas owned the house. Ray was employed as a senior canning inspector for the Canadian Government. In 1960 the owners were G. Edwin and Irene M. Edelstein. Edwin was the assistant manager at International Agencies. There are again a new owners in 1970, this time B. J. and Beverley V. Evans. Mrs. Beverley Evans was a teacher assistant in North Vancouver's School District 44. Bruce and Beverley continued to own the house in 1980. At this time Bruce was employed as an engineer at IBM. By 1991 a retired couple owned the house, Helen and John Olson. They were reported by the 1995/96 City Directory to be still living in the house at that time.

Demolition: Permit applied for April 2010.
Photo: Taken in April 2010 by SW.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Sold!

The grey stucco house with the white shutters at 971 Hampshire Road has been sold to a developer and a Demolition Permit applied for. As with many houses off Highland Blvd. in the area of Forest Hills in North Vancouver District, it is one storey and built on a cement slab. Also, typical of many of these homes, the carport garage originally on the east side of the house has probably been filled in to make an extra room. The open carport can be seen on several of the other homes on this street. The multi paneled glass front door adds a welcoming feature.

The building permit for the original house was applied for in 1953. P. Bergen the owner of the lot had a $10,000 premises constructed. Two years later, in 1955, S.N.L. and Jean M. Andrews were the owners. S. N. L. was employed as a parts salesman at Vancouver Motors. But after that the whole story of the house is the "Morrison Story". Doug and Margaret E. were owners by 1960. Doug was the vice president of the London Shop. By 1970 he was president of the London Shop Ltd. with its address of 801 West Georgia Street. There are records in the City Directory of him continuing to be president of The London Shop through 1996. In this year, 1996, James and Jane Beveridge were also living in the house. James S. worked as an engineer at Yoneda and Associates, and Jane was a teachers aide at Maplewood Elementary School.

Demolition: Permit applied for in April 2010.
Photo: Taken in April 2010 by SW.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Typical Double Decker

This two storey house at 4742 Marineview Crescent is a typical North Vancouver home.  The south face is lined with windows to take advantage of maximum light on the many grey rainy days, enjoy the rare sunny days, and revel in the view.  This is particularly important in North Vancouver where the houses are tight against the North Shore mountains and rainfall and grey clouds are more numerous than in other parts of the Vancouver area.  The front entrance is found behind the big shrub next to the supports for the sundeck.  It leads into the bottom floor of the house where there is usually a family room and some bedrooms.  The living room, dining room, kitchen and often one or two bedrooms will be found on the top floor.  This is typical of North Vancouver homes.

4742 was built in 1957 by Rolf Fagerlund for $13,000.  Sharon M. E. and Rolf J. lived there in 1960 when Rolf worked as a machinist for Ideal Iron Works.  In the 1971 City Directory Sharon and Ralph's last name is listed as "Fagerberg". Ralph  was still employed at Ideal Iron Works.  In 1980 only Sharon is listed in the City Directory and her  last name is properly spelled "Fagurland".  She was now employed as a nurse at B.C. Hydro.  The next residents were Paul and Wendy Gatti, in 1991.


4742 Marineview Crescent is in the Forest Hills area of the District of North Vancouver.  It is just south of Montroyal Blvd., and west of Ranger Avenue.

Demolition Permit:  Applied for in January 2010.

Photo: Taken in January 2010 by SW.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010
$10,000 Buys Cheviot Rd. Home

That's right, the house at 4373 Cheviot Road was built for $10,000, but the year was 1954. L. Nelson was the owner at the time of its construction.  In 1960 the owners of this one storey home were Donna and Thomas Dybhavn.  Thomas worked for Link-Belt as an engineer.  In 1971 Olga and Ronald Tainton owned the house.  Ronald was a personal administrator in a Canadian Government office.  However, in 1980 no one returned the calls for information from the offices of the City Directory.  But they did in 1991.  And that was Sandra and Henry Ducharme, retired.  That means it was the first year that they lived there.

Cheviot Road is in the Forest Hills area of the District of North Vancouver.  It edges the east side of MacKay Creek.  This short "Road" is just a stones throw from both Canyon Heights Elementary School and Handsworth Secondary School.  However, Handworth is on the west side of the Creek and MacKay Creek Park.  The Creek runs south through Murdo Fraser Park and Heywood Park and empties into Burrard Inlet at the slough on the west side of the Automall. South of the Upper Levels Highway the adjacent Mackay Avenue forms the western boarder of the City of North Vancouver.


Demolition Permit:  Applied for in November of 2009.
Photo: Taken in December of 2009 by SW.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Upper Mosquito Creek

649 Sylvan Avenue is in the Forest Hills area in the District of North Vancouver. This area is west of Mosquito Creek and south of Montroyal Blvd. Mr. J.N. Smith built the unpretentious house in 1956 for $1200. However, even an unpretentious house can have distinctive features. Of particular note is the wrought iron railing that extends across the front of the house. It has a decorative triple curved design. A similar double curve design trims either side of the top of the roof supports. The view from the front yard is special as well, to the west of the house you can see one of the foot hills of West Vancouver. And in a more recent renovation, two skylights brighten the rooms on the right side of the house.


One area resident reported that many of the homes in this area were built on fill. Now that the fill has settled, cracks have formed in the foundations. For that reason when extensive renovations are desired, new foundations, and therefore, new houses seem to be the best plan.


A Permit for Demolition to the District of North Vancouver was applied for in August of 2009.


Photo: Taken August 27, 2009.