Friday, May 7, 2010
Typical Early 1900 Home

This grey clapboard and shingled home was built in 1912 at 152 East 12th Street. The owner, J. N. Kennedy paid $1500 for its construction. Although there is no mention of it in the Building Permit book it seems from the photo above that a basement suite was added to the home at a later date. The door to the suite can be seen to the left of the front steps with the living room window to the right.

J. N. Kennedy also applied for permits for two other buildings in the City of North Vancouver: a real estate office in 1912 at 111 West 2nd Street for $150 and a house in 1913 at 808 East 3rd Street for $12,000. A whole row of similar houses were built in 1910 on the south side of the 200 block of East 19th Street. These still stand and their heritage is verified in the City of North Vancouver 1994 Heritage Inventory. This row of a dozen homes was affectionately referred to by nearby residents as "The Apostles" They were different from the 152 East 12th Street home in that the 19th Street houses had dormers.
In 1925 Mrs. Elizabeth M. Lundin-Brown, a widow, was reported as living in the house.  In 1931 the resident was Isaac Young, a salesman. In 1940 a couple, Thomas and Christine were living in the house.  Thomas worked as a fireman for North Vancouver City.  By 1945 another couple, W. T. and Rachel A. Chase were in 152 East 12th Street. W. T. Chase was employed as a postman. In 1950 the owners of the 152 East 12th Street home were Chrissie and Thomas Cummings. Thomas was the acting fire captain for the City of North Vancouver. In 1960 Mrs. Margaret K. Moffatt lived in the house. She worked as a clerk for the B. C. Government. Ivan and Jeanine Johnsen were the residents in 1971. Ivan was employed as a laborer for the City of North Vancouver. By 1980 J. R. Higgins and his wife Lil had bought the 12th street house. J. R. worked as a radio communicator at B. C. Rail. After that date there was no return to inquiries from the City Directory office.

The photo of 152 East 12th 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. Family photos were added by the family at 152 East 12th Street.



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 152 East 12th Street had been demolished and a new apartment building constructed.

 Photo: 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.

Resource: The City of North Vancouver Heritage Inventory 1994 is available at both the North Vancouver Archives and the North Vancouver Library.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Typical 1950's

This home at 264 East 11th Street on the corner with St. Andrew's Avenue was typical of the homes built in the 1950's in North Vancouver.  The street facing side was often sheathed in white stucco on the top and and wide horizontal shiplap on the bottom.  A large window on one side of the front door let light into the living room, while the smaller windows on the other side of the front door were in one of the bedrooms.  The kitchen was located at the back of the house. The house next door to the west was similar and built in 1954. It was demolished in 2009.( See Blog Post January 14, 2010.)

This  house at 264 East 11th Street was not listed in the Building Permit book at the North Vancouver Archives. Since the 1950 City Directory reports it as a "New House" we can assume 1950 was the year it was built.  In 1960 the owner was listed as J. W. Thompson, personnel manager at Burrard Dry Dock.  In 1971 both John an Sophie J. were listed as owners and John had retired.  There was no return to inquiries by the City Directory in 1980.  By 1991 Hazra Begg had become the owner.  In 1995 he reported that he had been owner for 5 years.  He was reported as living there until at least 2006, so by then he had been living there for 16 years.  The total street is now occupied by all multifamily housing.

The photo of 264 East 11th 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.


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 264 East 11th Street was slated to be demolished.


Photo: 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.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010
East 5th on Queensbury

This well windowed home sitting behind the hedge flanking its front walk has the address of 701 East 5th Street in the Queenbury area of the City of North Vancouver. Although the address is East 5th Street, the house actually faces west on Queensbury Avenue.  Queensbury Avenue runs from East 3rd Street on the south and into Grand Boulevard at Keith Road, which is between 7th and 8th Street.  In the early 1900's it was thought by some that this Queensbury, Grand Boulevard corridor would become the main drag of  the City of North Vancouver.  This main drag would run north from the Moodyville Mill on Burrard Inlet. 

The west facing stucco house with its address of 701 East 5th Street was built in 1947  by C. E. and  Snyder.  In 1950 Chase and Anne. M. Snyder continued to own the house.  By 1960 Edgar J. and Ivy E. Porter had bought the house. Edgar was a salesman at Black, Gevin and Co.   At this time 701 is also listed as the home of Hide-Away Trailer Hitch.  There was no return in 1971 to inquiries by the City Directory staff.  In 1980 the owner was listed as Ernest W. Sarsfield.  Ernest was employed as a maintenance supervisor at Canadian Occidental.  By 1991 B. Thurstow owned the home and continued to live there in 1995.

When the house was originally built its lot's northern border was East 5th Street and its southern border was the lane between East 4th Street and East 5th Street. The original house ran the whole length of the lot. In approximately 1988 part of the southern end of the lot was sold to facilitate another home to be built. (The roof of this 1988 house can be seen in the far right of the photo above.) To do this it was necessary to cut off the southern part of the house.  So the house planned for demolition today is smaller than the house that was originally built at 701 East 5th Street, which actually faces Queensbury Avenue. (Kallie Biln)  City Directory research seems to indicate that the owner at the time of the demolition of the south part of the house was Ernest Sarsfield.

Thank you: To Kallie Biln for information on the approximately 1988 sale and demolition of part of the house at 701 East 5th Street to facilitate building of another home. She lived in the new home after it was built.
Demolition: Permit applied for April 2010.
Photo: Taken in April 2010 by SW.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

The Red Door

The unique red door behind the rhododendron bush  walling the front entrance from the street is waiting to greet visitors.  The door is vintage 1950's with its two triangular windows of ribbed glass.  The ribbed glass is repeated in the vertical panel to the right of the door. This is the entrance to 3570 Glenview Crescent.  And the 1950's door is appropriate since the home was built in 1952.  The owner applying for the Building Permit was Don McLeod and the price he paid for its construction was $10,000.  Don was a photographer for the Province Newspaper. In 1960 he won a National Newspaper Award. Don and Joyce I. McLeod continued to live on Glenview Crescent in1970.

The next  year, 1971, Robert E. and Doreen Kirk owned the house on Glenview Crescent.  Robert was employed as an accountant.    In 1980 the owners were Loren and Marilyn DeLong and Loren was a manager for IBM.  There was no return to inquiries by the City Directory in 1991.  But in response to their inquiries for the 1995/96 issue the owner Hugh Swan stated he had lived there for four years.  So Hugh must have been the one opening and closing the red door with the two triangular windows around the year 1991.

Note: To view another house on Glenview Crescent  see Blog Post Feb. 11, 2010

Demolition: Permit applied for in April 2010.

Photo: Taken in April 2010 by SW.

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.

Sunday Church Feature
St. Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco

"Monaco... officially the Principality of Monaco is a small sovereign city-state located in South Western Europe on the northern central coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It is surrounded on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its center is about 16 km (9.9 mi) from Italy. Its area is just under 2 km² with an estimated population of almost 33,000.



"Monaco is the name of the country and its capital (and only) city. It is famous as a tax haven, and wealthy foreigners make up the majority of the population, around 84%.[7] It is often referred to as the Las Vegas of Europe." Wikipedia. It is the second largest micro country, the largest being the Vatican. "Monaco is a constitutional monarchy and principality, with Prince Albert II as head of state. The House of Grimaldi has ruled Monaco since 1297, and the state's sovereignty was officially recognized by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861. Despite being independent, Monaco's defence is the responsibility of France." Wikipedia


"Saint Nicholas Cathedral, known also as Monaco Cathedral (French: Cathédrale de Monaco), is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Monaco in Monaco-Ville, Monaco, where many of the Grimaldis were buried, including Grace Kelly (See photo below.) and more recently, Rainier III.

"The cathedral was consecrated in 1875, and is on the site of the first parish church in Monaco built in 1252 and dedicated to St. Nicholas. Of note are the retable (circa 1500) to the right of the transept, the Great Altar and the Episcopal throne in white Carrara marble." Wikipedia

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas_Cathedral,_Monaco

Photos: Taken in April 2010 in Monaco by SW.

Saturday Travel Feature
Royal Palace, Monaco

"Monaco /ˈmɒnəkoʊ/ (help·info), officially the Principality of Monaco (French: Principauté de Monaco; Monégasque: Principatu de Múnegu; Italian: Principato di Monaco; Occitan: Principat de Mónegue), is a small sovereign city-state located in South Western Europe on the northern central coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It is surrounded on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its center is about 16 km (9.9 mi) from Italy. Its area is just under 2 km² with an estimated population of almost 33,000.


"Monaco is the name of the country and its capital (and only) city. It is famous as a tax haven, and wealthy foreigners make up the majority of the population, around 84%.[7] It is often referred to as the Las Vegas of Europe." Wikipedia. It is the second largest micro country, the largest being the Vatican. "Monaco is a constitutional monarchy and principality, with Prince Albert II as head of state. The House of Grimaldi has ruled Monaco since 1297, and the state's sovereignty was officially recognized by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861. Despite being independent, Monaco's defence is the responsibility of France." Wikipedia

The statue sits in a park on the bluff above the harbor port Fonvielle. The inscription reads, "" Hommage des Colonies Estrangeres a S.A.A. le Prince Albert XXV ler a l'occasion di ses XXV annees de regne". Translated it is, "Tribute to Colonial Strangers PAC Prince Albert ler XXV during its XXV di years of reign." The building in back of the statue is the Royal Palace. The flag flying is the red and white national flag of Monaco. The clock tower is similar to the one in every town in Italy, but there seen on the church steeple. At noon the changing of the guard can be observed in the town square adjacent to the statue. A route is roped off for the Monaco guard to be led to the Palace by snare drummers. The guards dressed in dark uniforms with brilliant red and white braid on their shoulders and blue helmets perform with their rifles before replacing the guards posted at the entrance to the Royal Palace. The ceremony is completed with the chiming of carillon bells.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaco
Link: http://translate.google.com/#fren
Link: http://www.palais.mc/monaco/x-net/internet-palais-princier/english/sovereign-house/the-palace-guards/the-palace-guards.453.html
Photo: Taken in April 2010 in Monaco by SW.