Friday, August 6, 2010
West Side of Beaumont Dr.

The white single storey house at 957 Beaumont Dr. was built by 1950 when the owners are listed as Jas D. and Berna J. McMaster. However, there is no listing in the Building Permit Book at the North Vancouver Archives as to the exact date it was built. And in the 1945 City Directory the street of Beaumont Dr. is not even mentioned. In contrast to 944 Beaumont Dr., featured in yesterday's post, the house sits on the west side of Highland Boulevard in the Capilano Highlands area of the District of North Vancouver.

In 1950 Jas McMaster was working as the head clerk at Standard Oil. Jas and Berna also owned the house in 1960 and in that year Jas was an analytical supervisor for Standard Oil. In 1971, John M. and Elizabeth E. Hamilton owned  the house. John Hamilton was employed as a geophysicist at Cominco.

In 1980 Thomas F. and Marilyn E. Oldfield were the owners of 957 Beaumont Dr. They were also the owners in the 1991, and 1995 City Directories and Thomas Oldfield is listed in the 2008/2010 North and West Vancouver Phone Directory. So they probably lived at the 957 Beaumont Dr. address for 30 years. In 1980, 1991 and 1995 Thomas Oldfield was listed in the City Directories as being employed as a draftsman at Chapman and Chapman.

For more information on the area see Blog Post August 5, "East Side of Beaumont Dr."

Demolition Permit: Applied for in July 2010.
Photo: Taken in July 2010 by SW.

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Thursday, August 5, 2010
East Side of Beaumont Dr.

The house with the decorative cement block entryway screen at 944 Beaumont Dr. was built for $6,500 in 1947 by A. Wilson. The 1950 City Directory lists only "ns New House" to acknowledge its presence. It sits on the east side of Highland Boulevard in the Capilano Highlands area of the District of North Vancouver.

In the 1955 City Directory Tom and Daisy V. Smitton are listed as owners. Tom Smitton worked as a salesman for Eskin and Company. In 1960 Tom and Daisy Smitton are listed as owning the house and being retired. In 1971 the owners were Wallace V. and Mina Tapp, also listed as being retired. In 1980, 1991, and 1995 the owner was Lorne T. Tracy. He was employed as a fireman in North Vancouver District in 1980 and the captain in 1991 and 1995. Lorne Tracy is also listed in the year 2000 North and West Vancouver Phone Directory as living at 944 Beaumont Dr.

The one storey home has some of the features of a prefabricated Panabode Home built at this time. The triple front window on the east side of the front is typical in this type of a house. (See Link.)

See Blog Post August 6 "West Side of Beaumont Dr." for more information on this street.

Demolition Permit: Applied for in July 2010.
Photo: Taken in July 2010 by SW.
Link: http://www.panabodeloghomes.com/contact.htm
Note: Suzanne Wilson lived in a Panabode Home on Long Beach on the west coast of Vancouver Island and is familiar with its architecture.

Special Birthday Feature
Happy Birthday Amy
2839 So. Logan Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This craftsman bungalow at 2839 So. Logan Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is described in the 2010 Assessor Property Records as being: 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,140 sq. ft. and built in 1920. That is part of the story.

The house was the family home of Suzanne (Frank) Wilson and her brother Mark Frank as children. Her mother, Hazel(Juergenmeyer) Frank, a graduate of Columbia Nursing School, and father, Orville Frank, a mechanical engineer, had lived next door to the left as newlyweds in 1934. They moved into 2839 in 1938 the year Suzanne was born and lived there until their deaths in 1966 and 1967 respectively.

The photograph of the house was taken in the year 2006. Only the color of the shakes on the front dormer, the front door, and the steps had been changed. When Suzanne was a child all of these were green. The California pillars on sandstone blocks framing the front porch, the decorative slats of the railing, and the narrow rectangular windows on either side of the front door (although they each originally had two squares of green glass at the top and bottom) were the same. The house had always been painted white.

The original floor plan of the first floor was a square entry hall and a living room in the front, a dining room and kitchen in the back. Between the living room and dining room were bookcases facing the living room with small wood California pillars in a arched cut out on top. On the dining room side were tall narrow wood doored cupboards. In the dining room there was also a built in buffet with drawers, glass doored cupboards and a mirror. Simple green glass tulips decorated the piano window in the living room and the two windows above the buffet in the dining room. A doored hall connected the entry hall and the kitchen and included a door to the basement stairs and an open stairway to the upstairs. There had originally been a pantry off the kitchen with a milk chute to the outside. However, to accommodate the family it was converted to a bathroom, toilet only, but still had the milk chute.

Upstairs there were three bedrooms and a bathroom, all connected by a hall. Outside the small back bedroom (originally a sewing room) was a small porch. Attic space was under the eaves of the house off the front and back bedrooms and off the landing going up to the second floor. (A 12 inch high brass urn with cloisonne trim was found in one of these attics by Hazel and Orville when they moved in and now sits in Suzanne's living room.) In the basement was a fruit cellar next to the stairs, a coal bin diagonally across the open space, and in the adjacent corner twin stationary tubs for washing. It was in this corner with the stationary tubs and washing machine that Orville Frank set up his photography dark room. It included an enlarger that he made from old camera parts.

The backyard held the clothes posts, a large garden of rose bushes and tuberous begonias, later a patio, and a two car garage with windows looking out to the garden and side opening doors to the alley.

The 2800 block of Logan Avenue is centrally located in the area of Milwaukee called Bay View. It is a block of bungalows and two storey two family flats. A block away from the house at 2839 Logan Avenue are: Humbolt Park, Bay View High School, and the shopping area of Kinnickinnic Avenue.

Photo: Taken in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2006 by SW.
Note: Amy Wilson is the daughter of Suzanne Wilson and granddaughter of Hazel and Orville Frank. She vividly remembers this house that she visited as a small child.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

House With a Pool

This Deep Cove Tudor detailed home at 706 Roslyn Blvd. was built in 1958 for $13,800 by D. Smith. Darrel H. and Mariette D. Smith reported owning the house in 1971 and 1980 as well. In 1971 Darrell Smith was president of B.C. Tile and in 1980 he and Marriette are listed as retired.

The 1991 owners of the "house with a pool" were Eugene A. and Ethel A. Cherneski. Eugene was the vice president and general manager of the Vancouver Centre Development Ltd. In 1995 Eugene and Ethel Cherneski reported that they had lived in the house for more than 9 years. That means that they were the owners since the mid 1980's. Eugene Cherneski was now the president and general manager of SDM Realty Advisors Ltd. Other residents listed in the 1995/1996 City Directory as living at 706 Roslyn Blvd. were "Elliot and Valerie-Ann" (Sarah Henderson 2011 e mail) Cherneski. Eugene Cherneski was also listed at the 706 Roslyn Blvd. address in the year 2006/2007 North and West Vancouver Phone Directory.

The large two storey home at 706 Roslyn Blvd. features a pool in the backyard and a view of Burrard Inlet and the mountains beyond. (See photo above.) The neighbors report it has been vacant for over a year.

Demolition: Permit applied for from the District of North Vancouver

in July 2010.

Photo: Taken in July 2010 by SW.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Grey Stucco Near Mahon

There is no listing of even the address of 343 West 17th Street in the 1940, in 1950, and 1955 City Directories. But in 1960 John H. and Edith L. Richardson were the owners. John H. Richardson was a fisherman. In 1960 Ernest V. and Alice E. Hall, a retired couple, are recorded as living in the grey stucco house at 343 West 17th Street.

Then by 1971 Gerhardus C. and Margaret DeWit were the owners. Gerhardus Dewit was employed as an accountant in 1971 and was retired by 1980. The Dewit's are reported as still owning the house in the 1995/1996 City Directory.

This grey stucco house with flowers lining the path to the front door is typical of homes built in the 1950's in the City of North Vancouver. The one storey homes feature large windows on either side of the front door and small windows that let light into the basement to make it more usable for living space. The house at 343 West 17th Street is near Mahon Park, in fact, the park is at the end of the block. For more information on Mahon Park see the June 28th, 2010 Blog "Christmas on Mahon".

Demolition Permit: Applied for in June 2010.
Photo: Taken in June 2010 by SW.

Sunday Church Feature

Manito United Methodist Church

Spokane, Washington

The 1999 church booklet "Manito Memories" reports that the original  Manito Methodist Church was chartered in 1909 and a building designed by Kirtland Cutter built across the street from the existing parking lot in 1911.  The present building at 3220 S. Grand Blvd. was also designed by Kirtland Cutter. Construction was started in 1923 and the building was dedicated in 1924. The tower of the building was modeled after the Basilica of San Francisco in Assisi, Italy. (See Note.)  


"After the building was completed in 1924, the Spokesman-Review article described the church as..."The main auditorium seats 300 the gallery 125. On the same floor are the Epworth League room, a prayer room and the pastor's study.  On the street level floor are a ladies community room, a community hall seating 100, a dining room seating 100, and an electric kitchen.  The community hall will be a valuable for general purposes at any time.  The gymnasium is two stories high, extending from a sub basement through the ceiling of the street floor.  It will have a basketball and handball courts with shower baths, barber shop and toilet facilities for both men and women."(Link 3.)


The tower of the building was modeled after the Basilica of San Francisco in Assisi, Italy.  The sanctuary can hold a congregation of 250 and there is also a small chapel for intimate weddings and memorial services. (See Note.)

"After World War II, the South Hill area, like the rest of the nation, experienced a baby boom and the church was bursting at the seams.  Plans were drawn up for a three story educational wing addition that would contain classrooms, a chapel, bride's room, offices and library.   A new sanctuary was also part of the plan.  The educational wing cost $275,000 so the new sanctuary building was postponed.  The new wing was consecrated on January 17, 1960.  The new sanctuary was never built, which leads to a challenge since the two buildings don't line up well.  As a result, there are many steps to move from one level to another. " (Link 3.)

In 1968 the church became Manito United Methodist Church.  Today approximately 100 worshipers attend the Sunday service.  (*See Note.)


"Kirtland Kelsey Cutter was primarily a Spokane architect with a significant practice in Spokane, Seattle, and Southern California, as well as commissions as far away as England. Of Spokane’s many prolific and successful architects, he is the best known to the general public today. Spokane is where he first made his reputation, his buildings giving clues about the “economy, power structure, social life, and changing fortunes” of the growing city ... Cutter’s career spanned 50 years, from 1889 to his death in 1939. His legacy of large-scale houses and public buildings still standing in Spokane, Seattle, Southern California, and elsewhere is varied and impressive.

"With the encouragement of his uncle, Horace Cutter, a Spokane banker, Kirtland Cutter came to the fledgling city in 1886 and decided to practice architecture rather than to pursue a career in art. Initially Cutter supplemented his income from architecture by working as a teller in his uncle’s bank. His first residential designs were for his uncle and for his own house, “Chalet Hohenstein,” in 1887. On the basalt-strewn South Hill overlooking downtown Spokane, both were in a somewhat Swiss style. He received two important commissions in 1889, probably through his uncle’s banking connections. He made a success of two fine Tudoresque half-timbered houses, also on the South Hill, for James N. Glover (1837-1921), considered the father of Spokane, and businessman F. Rockwood Moore. With these residences, Cutter “had begun his long career in Spokane designing houses in an Arts and Crafts manner that seemed to grow out of the rocky hillsides”..." (See Link 1.)

Among the other Spokane buildings that Kirtland Cutter designed are: 1898- Amasa B. Campbell House, now part of the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture; 1898-Patsy Clark Mansion 2208 West Second Avenue which contains the largest stained glass window ever made by Tiffany Studios;
1910-Spokane Club; 1911-Monroe Street Bridge; 1912-Waikiki Mansion, now Gonzaga University's Bozarth Center; and 1914-The Davenport Hotel. (See Link 1.)

Photo: Taken in Spokane, Washington in 2007 by SW.
Note:   Thank you Rev. Flora Bowers for the history information given in our
               2010 phone conversation.
Link 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirtland_Cutter
Link 2: http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=115
Link 3: http://www.manitoumc.org/history

End of Month Index

July 2010

Arranged by Subject and Address Country, State/Province, City, Street: numerical East, alphabetical, numerical West.

CANADA

British Columbia

City of North Vancouver

1404 Bewicke Avenue, Big Changes on Bewicke-1, Monday, July 12, 2010.

1416 Bewicke Avenue, Big Changes on Bewicke-2, Tuesday, July 13, 2010.
1428 Bewicke Avenue, Big Changes on Bewicke-3, Wednesday, July 14, 2010.
1436 Bewicke Avenue, Big Changes on Bewicke-4, Thursday, July 15, 2010.
1456 Bewicke Avenue, Big Changes on Bewicke-5, Friday, July 16, 2010.

1707 Grand Boulevard, Let the World Hear Music, Tuesday, July 6, 2010.

402 East Keith Road, Perhaps Two Families, Monday, July 5, 2010.

502 East Keith Road, Happy Canada Day, Flag Flying on East Keith Road,

        Thursday, July 1, 2010.

1624 St. Andrew's Avenue, St. Andrew, Wednesday, July 7, 2010.

120 West 14th Street, Saturday Special Feature, New City NV Library a Beaut!

        Saturday, July 10, 2010.

215 West 15th Street, The House Behind the Gate, Friday, July 9, 2010.

322 West 21st Street, Address Around f0r 87 Years, Thursday, July 8, 2010.

309 West 27th Street, 1911 Wallace Home, Friday, July 2, 2010.
235 West 28th Street, Just in the City of NV, Friday, July 23, 2010.

North Vancouver District

260 Institute Road, Sunday Church Feature, "Posthumous-Methodist Church",

        Lynn Valley, B.C., Sunday, July 11, 2010.

548 Kings Road, "The English on King's Road", Monday, July 19, 2010.
390 Monteray Avenue, "A View of the World", Friday, July 20, 2010.
2398 Panorama Dr., "Additions to Panorama Park", Tuesday, July 27, 2010.
2412 Panorama Dr., "Turquoise Cottage", Wednesday, July 28, 2010.
2420 Panorama Dr., "On the Beach", Thursday, July 29, 2010.

3738 Phyllis Road, "One Block of Phyllis", July 21, 2010.
388 Tempe Crescent, "71 Years of Pink Azaleas and Purple Rhodos",
        Monday, July 26, 2010.

1842 Westover Road, "High on the Westover Hill", July 20, 2010.

ISRAEL

Sea of Galilee, Sunday Church Feature, Church of the Beatitudes, Israel.

        Sunday, July 25, 2010.

Bet She'an, Sunday Church Feature, Bet She'an, Israel, Saturday Travel
        Feature, Saturday, July 24, 2010.

KOREA

Seoul

1988 Seoul, Korea, Olympic Site, Saturday Travel Feature, Seoul Olympic Park,

        Seoul Korea, Saturday, July 17, 2010.

Young Nak Presbyterian Church, Seoul, Korea, Sunday Church Feature, Young

        Nak Presbyterian Church in Seoul, Korea, Sunday, July 18, 2010.

UNITED STATES

California

540 Alabama Street, San Francisco, California, Saturday Travel Feature,

        Developing Environments, SF, Saturday, July 3, 2010.
1520 Green Street, Happy July 4th, Sunday Church Feature, Holy Trinity

       Cathedral, San Francisco, California, Sunday, July 4, 2010.

Washington

Riverfront Park Carousel, Spokane, Washington, Special Birthday Feature,
     Happy Third Birthday, Holly!  Thursday, July 22, 2010.

FEATURES

Saturday Travel Features

540 Alabama Street, San Francisco, California, Saturday Travel Feature,

        Developing Environments, SF, Saturday, July 3, 2010.

1988 Seoul, Korea, Olympic Site, Saturday Travel Feature, Seoul Olympic Park,

        Seoul Korea, Saturday, July 17, 2010.

Bet She'an, Sunday Church Feature, Bet She'an, Israel, Saturday Travel

Feature, Saturday, July 24, 2010.

Sunday Church Features

260 Institute Road, Sunday Church Feature," Posthumous-Methodist Church
        Lynn Valley", B.C., Sunday, July 11, 2010.

1520 Green Street, Happy July 4th, Sunday Church Feature, "Holy Trinity  
        Cathedral", San Francisco, California, Sunday, July 4, 2010.

Young Nak Presbyterian Church, Seoul, Korea, Sunday Church Feature, "Young

       Nak Presbyterian Church" in Seoul, Korea, Sunday, July 18, 2010.

Sea of Galilee, Sunday Church Feature, "Church of the Beatitudes", Israel,

       Sunday, July 25, 2010.

Photo: North Shore mountains taken from East Broadway in Vancouver, B.C. by SW in 2006.