Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Seylynn at Fern 

The house at the corner of Mountain Highway and Fern Street is addressed 1502 Fern Street. It was built in 1931, a garage was added in 1940, and a green house in 1974.  The first listing for Fern Street in the City Directories was found in 1949.  In 1955 the address is listed at 1602, with the resident being Mathew Watson, a notary Public. The address and resident remained the same in 1960.  In 1970 the address had changed to 1502 and the residents were Doreen and Ervine Demers.  Ervine worked as a mechanic.

Fern Street now leads from Mountain Highway to the on ramp to the Upper Levels Highway.  However, until a few years ago, the on ramp was at the end of Keith Road just after the bridge across Lynn Creek.  It will be the southern border of the new Seylynn Village.  Demolition of the homes on Fern Street has begun.

Thank you to Elaine Oakes, RM Clerk, Admin. Svcs. NVD.

Photo: Taken August 30, 2008 by SW.

 

Tuesday, January 19, 2010
St. Denis /Mountain Highway


Today this bright white house with its broad front port sits in Seylynn at 652 Mountain Highway.  It was built for $1000 by E.C. Cave in 1925. At that time it was listed as a commercial property. E. Cave lived there until at least 1931. the City Directories indicate that Irene and Arlo Barkley lived in the house from 1952 to the 1970's.  Arlo was a shipper at Burns and Co.  By 1980 Terry Green was the resident at 652 Mountain Highway.  Behind the house are two out buildings.  One looks like a little house with a door between two windows.  It even has a mailbox. The other building is a small one car garage. Both have entrances on Bruce Street.


Mountain Highway was not always called that. As Mountain Highway wove its way down from Lynn Valley, its name changed in Lynnmour to St. Denis. The City Directories list the Lynnmour Grocery which is the southern neighbor of 652 as being on St. Denis up to 1948.  In 1949 the address was listed at Mountain Highway.  However, remnants of St.Denis Avenue still exist on the east side of the Upper Levels Highway. The 2007 Greater Vancouver map book by MapArt Publishing  indicates that St. Denis Ave. is the northern end of East Keith Rd. and extends into Inter River Park.


It seems therefore that when E. C. Cave built the house it was on St. Denis and when the Barkley's lived there is was on Mountain Highway.  The house didn't move, only the address changed.


Researcher:  Thank you to Jim Lawrence.
Photo: Taken August 30, 2008.

 

Saturday Travel Feature

Concrete Grade School

Concrete, Washington

Photo: Taken in Concrete, Washington in September 2007 by SW.

Link:

Monday, January 18, 2010

Seylynn Cottage

This perky bright blue cottage with its white picket fence is at 1526 Bruce Street.  "The property at 1526 Bruce St. was formerly addressed as 1460 Bruce St. and was built in 1935, in 1946 a garage was added.  Later in 1959 the garage was moved to the neighbouring lot.  The Willow Tree Family Daycare operated at this address from 1994 – 2006." Elaine Oakes, NVD.  It is a house that grew and grew as west side and back additions were built.  

The house and Bruce Street are the area deigned to be Seylynn Village.  The area was first known as Lynn Creek, which runs to the west through Bridgeman Park.  Next it was called Lynnmour and finally this section of Lynnmour was named Seylynn.  A Sey-Lynn Hall was built in 1950 and remains in the park on the west side of Mountain Highway across from Fern Street which is the street south of Bruce.  A 1961 building permit indicates there was a library in that building.  

Seylynn Village calls for the demolition of the 25 homes on Bruce St., Fern Street, and Mountain Highway to the east of Bridgeman Park and stretching the one block east to the Upper Level's Highway.  It seems only the Lynnmour Grocery store will remain.  The environmentally friendly, mixed use complex to be built includes numerous community amenities and 690 units, 70 of which will be affordable housing.  (North Shore News Oct. 26, 2009.)

Thank you to Elaine Oakes, RM Clerk Admin.Svcs. NVD.

Photo: Taken August 30, 2008.  

Sunday, January 17, 2010
Sunday Church Feature
Lynnmour United Church

According to the City Directories, Lynnmour United Church on Mountain Highway started out as River Avenue Methodist Church in Vancouver on River Ave. east of Fraser St. This was 1915 and the Rev. Wm. Pearson was the pastor. During the 1920's although the location and name remained the same the address listing changed to 941 River Ave., then to 900 East River Ave., then to 945 River Ave. East, and finally to Marine Dr. East. In 1926 the church became the River Avenue United Church with Rev. B. Black as pastor. In 1929 the address was listed as 1195 block East Marine. And finally in 1930 with only a Sunday School listed the address was 1195 Marine Dr. That address was vacant in 1931.

The big change for the church came in 1933. This was the year the building was "taken apart, hauled away to North Vancouver and resurrected at Lynn Creek" (North Shore news 9/21/62). Here at E/S St. Denis it became Lynnmour United Church. In 1944 the church address was listed as both E/S St. Denis and E/S Mountain Highway with Rev. Allan as pastor. The address changed to 700 block in 1957 and 600 block in 1959. 

1103 Mountain Highway

1962 Church Building

At Easter in 1962 a new church at a different site "up the hill" at 1103 Mountain Highway. The West Lynnmour United Church, was announced in the North Shore News. The pastor was Rev. Allan I. V. Dawe.  The congregation finally joined that of the Lynn Valley United Church in 1966.

In 1964 the old church was vacant. And in 1964 the first of a series of businesses bought the building. They included Inanex Woodwork Shop, Pragon Electric, Metallic Design, and finally from 1975 to 1998 Bero Mettalic Design. The building was demolished in the spring of 2004. Now in 2010 the land will be part of the new Seylynn Village Project.


Researcher: Thank you to Jim Lawrence.
Photo: Top photo, copy of photo in The Province, September 21, 1962.  Bottom photo taken in 2005 by SW.  The building is now a residence.

Saturday Travel Feature

Old Town San Diego 

Old Town State Historic Park is north of downtown San Diego and accessable by a special trolley car.  It is where  the city of San Diego began.  The original mission and presidio were nearby.  The town developed as retired soldiers and setters built homes  there.  Old Town recreats life there as it was in 1821 to 1872.  It became a historic park in 1968. 

Casa de Pedrorena de Altamirano was built in 1869 by Maguel Pedrorena Jr.  It was the last adobe structure built in Old Town.   Maguel Pedrorena gave the building to his sister Isabel and her husband Antonio Altamirano.  Their father, also Maguel Pedrorena, represented the San Diego area at the California State Constitutional Convention held in 1849.  Antonio Altamirano came to San Diego in 1849 to explore the mining possibilies of the area. The Historican Landmark Marker, number 70, describes these events.  The actual address of the house is 2616 San Deigo Avenue and can be seen above the front door.

Today the Casa de Pedrorean de Altamirano  is a shop with its wares advertised on signs hanging from the roof above the front steps: Jewelry, Gems, Beads, and Carvings.   But on the wall behind the right post next to the front steps  there is perhaps an echo of Antonio Altamirano's mining pursuits, the Assey Office sign.  Other historic buildings that line the street include: a theater, a barn, a school, a newspaper office, a museum, an outdoor market, and a church.  It is all a step back into 1800 San Diego history.

Links: http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=11777

Photo:  "Casa de Pedrorean de Altamirano" was taken in 2008 by SW.

Friday, January 15, 2010
A Gate in the Bush

The gate in the bush could be found at number 4041 about half way up Prospect Road in North Vancouver District. And Prospect Road can be found as far up the mountain east Mosquito Creek as residential streets go. It is the first right turn  after the top of Lonsdale Ave. Many of the other houses on this street at the top of the world would sell for a million dollars. Then there was the overgrown lot with the deserted ramshackled house. The bush grew all the way up to the street and the vertical board gate and fence was wedged between their branches. The deep and steep lot may have revealed a view of Burrard Inlet and Vancouver Island if it weren't for the tall and thick overgrowth. Only parts of the house could be seen. In the back of the house the cream colored exterior was covered in horizontal shiplap at the bottom and shakes on the second floor. The sides of the house seemed to be all shakes. Because it was on a steep slope the one floor Prospect Rd. side of the house seemed to extended to the back as two floors. Multipaine windows wrapped around the south west back corner of the second floor and looked out at the view. A brick chimney seemed to stick out from the very top of the roof.  This chimney was added the year after  the house was built in 1923.  Before that there was only a pipe from the stove.


Thanks to historian Roy Pallant we know who lived  in this mysterious overgrown house.  His report at the North Vancouver Archives indicates the house with a timber foundation was built by local carpenters. According to the neighbors he interviewed Dorothy "Dot" Fraser lived there.   Her family moved to B.C. in 1889 and she was the great-aunt of Senator George Van Roggan (Liberal) who was active in Canadian-American affairs.  "Dot" spent her life as a governess and a nurse and in later years a nurse-companion.  She was known by the local people for her regular habit of walking, complete with silver-knobbed walking cane and fox pelt scarf. The creek which runs past this property is still known locally as Miss Fraser's Creek.  "Dot" was also a regular attendee at St. Martin's Church.  Dorothy Kathleen Fraser died in Beacon Hill Lodge in 1983 at age 100.  In the 1955 City Directory she is listed as Miss K (Kath) Fraser. She remained the owner  until at least 1970.  In 1980 the resident is listed as A. Zalemanis. There was no listing in 1998.

Research:  Thank you to Roy J. V. Pallant.Demolition Permit: Applied for September 2009.

Demolished: January 2010.

Photo: Taken October 4, 2009 by SW.