Monday, August 9, 2010
In the Rainforest

The single floor house of brick at 1605 Kilmer Road is in the Upper Lynn area of Lynn Valley in the District of North Vancouver. It was built in 1959 for $1300 by M. Hatter. Just a year later, in 1960 the owners were George W. K. and Mildred G. Slack. George Slack was employed as a surveyor for the B. C. Government.

In 1971 and 1980 the owners were Frank D. and Marie Pagnan. In both of these years Frank Pagnan worked as a storeman at B. C. Tel. In 1991 and in 1995 John Y. and Belinda Kan owned the house. During this time John Kan worked as an accountant at the Hong Kong Bank. In 1955 the Kan's reported to the City Directory that they had lived in the house for 5 years, so they must have moved into it in 1990. Today the lot is covered with dense trees and shrubs typical of North Vancouver's rainforest. North Vancouver is snug against the North Shore Mountains and has rainfall of 111.76cm/44in, (See Link.) the highest in the Lower Mainland. Trimming back the vegetation is a regular North Vancouver home owners task.

On the east end of Kilmer Road is Kilmer Park. The park runs between Dempsey Rd. and Kilmer Rd. just west of Lynn Valley Road. It features a water park and soccer fields

Demolition Permit: Applied for in July if 2010.
Photo: Taken in July of 2010 by SW.
Link: http://www.hellobc.com/en-CA/Geography/North-Vancouver.htm

Sunday Church Feature
St. Mary's Catholic Church
Port Washington, Wisconsin

"Franklin Street in downtown Port Washington has several buildings with interesting features, but the highlight of this street scene is St. Mary's Catholic Church, which is located on a bluff that is high above the entire downtown area.



"The original St. Mary's church was a small frame church built in 1849. It was replaced with a stone church in. 1860. This limestone edifice was erected in 1882.


"Slatted windows on the four sides of the bell tower, which houses three church bells, are what makes them sound unusually rich and full as they are heard for miles around. In appreciation, the people of Port Washington, in 1885, donated a four dial clock that is also housed in the bell tower. The square tower changes to an eight sided spire and a simple cross is mounted at the tip of the spire. This cross, which is seven feet, eight inches tall, can be seen for miles out into Lake Michigan and has long been a guide for sailors.

Center Church Doors

"The church was completed at a cost of about $70,000 and was dedicated on Thursday, October 9, 1884." (See Link.)

See Blog Post August 7, "1860 Light Station", for more information on Port Washington Wisconsin.

Photos: Taken in Port Washington, Wisconsin in 2006 by SW.
Link: http://www.co.ozaukee.wi.us/history/StMary.htm

Saturday Travel Feature
1860 Light Station
Port Washington, Wisconsin


"Port Washington's first lighthouse was built on purchased land, in 1849. The land was bought from Henry and Emma Allen, for $200 in 1848 and includes the current site... The lighthouse rose 36-38 feet from the ground to the lantern. The lantern housed a 14" reflector and 5 fixed lamps. Lighthouse and keeper's dwelling were constructed of cream city brick... In 1856 the lantern was refitted with a sixth order lens, white light. Focal plane 36' above base of tower and 109' above sea level. Distance visible: 9 miles.


"By 1859 the lighthouse had to be replaced, possibly due to poor mortar or substandard bricks. This was the case at many sites around Lake Michigan...
The current lighthouse was completed in 1860... It appears that the old brick was salvaged and reused in the new construction... In Scott's New Coast Pilot, 1899 it reads, "Port Washington Light Station. A fixed white light, visible 18 1/4 miles, 4th order. Lantern on yellow brick dwelling, 40 feet high. A coast-light on the bluff in the north part of the town of Port Washington..." The tower on top of the dwelling was of beam construction. 8" x 8" beams rose from the attic to the lantern. The tower was supported by bearing walls on the first and second floors, with 8" x8" cross beams in the basement which rested on 3 brick piers and the front foundation. The lantern was cast iron, 9 sided. The cast iron frame was wainscoted below the glass panels. The lantern was made accessible via a stairway in the SW corner of the first floor and then a series of three ladder stairs rising from the second floor to the attic, attic to watch room and watch room to lantern deck.


"1889 Port Washington's first pier head lighthouse was built. It housed a sixth order fresnel lens and was a red fixed light. The light was exhibited for the first time on the night of September 15, 1889. It was powered by a gasoline generator. The "gas machine" was removed in 1902. At that time the lamps were converted to electricity and the sixth order lens replaced by "improved fifth order lamps." The lighthouse was a pyramidal wooden framework tower with upper portion enclosed. It had a cast iron lantern. Height of tower from base to center of ventilator ball, 42' 11". Focal plane: 36' 2". The tower was built by local contractors under the guidance of the Light-House Superintendent of this district.


"From September 15, 1889 to October 31, 1903 the light keeper, later with the help of an assistant, was responsible for keeping both lights lit.


"Light Station beacon was discontinued October 31, 1903.


"Lightkeeper Charles Lewis, Jr. retired in 1924. The pierhead light was automated and the city ran the fog siren from the water works. No keeper was needed.


"The tower and lantern were removed in 1934 when the new pierhead light was nearing completion. It was at this time that the entire light station was gutted and converted into a two family dwelling.


"Port Washington had either civilian or Coast Guard "keepers" manning the light until 1976 when the pierhead light was fully automated. It is now serviced by Coast Guard personnel out of Milwaukee and occasionally from Sheboygan..."(See Link.)

Restoration of the Light House began in 2001 and is now complete.

The small town of Port Washington is on highway 94 north of Milwaukee on the shores of Lake Michigan.


Photo: Taken in Port Washington, Wisconsin in 2006 by SW.

Link: http://www.portlightstation.org/restoration.htm

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.

.

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.