Friday, August 13, 2010
Turquoise Trim

This split level stucco and cedar sided house at 3476 Wellington Crescent was built in 1954 for $8,700 by R. Turcotte. Ray E. and Susan Turcotte also owned the house in 1955. Ray Turcotte worked as a salesman at Woodward's Department Store.

In 1960 Robert L. and Theresa M. Firus were the owners. Robert Firus was a chartered accountant for Price and Waterhouse. In 1971 and 1980 Howard E. and Marion A. Reeve were the owners. In 1971 Marion Reeve was an electric designer at W. T. Haggert and Co. Howard Reeve was a vice principal for the Vancouver School Board. In 1980 Howard Reeve is listed as a teacher for the Vancouver School Board. Around 1987 Roger Oatman bought the house and continued to be the owner at least until 1995. In 1995 Michel Nurse also lived in the house. During this time Roger Oatman worked as a stock broker. Michel Nurse worked as a travel agent.

Wellington Crescent is in the Capilano Highlands area of the District of North Vancouver. This Crescent branches off Emerald Dr. just north of the intersection of Edgemont Boulevard and Ridgeway Avenue in Edgemont Village. The house at 3476 is around the curve from St. Catherines Anglican Church. (See Link.)

Demolition Permit: Applied for in July 2010.
Photo: Taken in August 2010 by SW. The house was vacant and behind a blue construction fence.
Link: http://saint-catherines.org/HTML/News.html

Thursday, August 12, 2010
Cathedral Entrance

It is easy to see why the house at 311 East 28th Street in the City of North Vancouver is referred to as having a cathedral entrance. The eaves framing the front door are reminiscent of a church entrance. Inside this entrance would be two sets of stairs: one to the lower level of perhaps a family room, extra bedroom, and laundry room and one to the upper level of a living room, dining room, kitchen, and three bedrooms. Some homes in North Vancouver have only the inside step design of the cathedral entrance, but this home at 311 East 28th Street has both the exterior and interior features.

There is no listing in the Building Permit book as to the date this home was built. And there is no listing in the City Directories in the 1960 or 1965 issues. In those publication the 300 block of East 28th Street is not even recorded. Then in 1971 Michael W. and Judith A. O'Cain are noted as living in the house. Judith O'Cain was working as a secretary at Davis and Co. Michael O'Cain was employed as a computer specialist at B.C. Hydro.

In 1980 and 1991 Milos and Angela Krouzelka were the owners. Their occupation was noted as "Milos and Angela" designer for H. A Simons. The residents for 4 years in the 1995/1996 City Directory were Val and Wilma Stein. Val Stein was a bus driver at B.C. Transit.

The 300 block of East 28th Street is east of Lonsdale Avenue and a couple of streets above the Upper Levels Highway in the City of North Vancouver.

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

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Thorp Family on Hoskins Rd. for 100 Years

It seems that the Thorpe family always lived on Hoskins Road. Dorothy (Probert) Thorpe  was born in 1907 at Dovecourt and Hoskins Road.  Dorothy's father, Samuel,  also had the first general store in Lynn Valley at this location.  The 1911 and 1912 City Directories both list Samuel Probert grocery "ns" Dovercourt Rd near LV Road.  Below is the circa 1913 photograph from the District Engineering Album at the North Vancouver Archives.  The building on the left is Samuel Probert's grocery. 

Samuel Probert Grocery circa 1913

In 1910 Dorothy Probert's brothers Reginald and Harry Probert built a new

house on the lot at 3790 Hoskins Road and this is where Dorothy spent her childhood. (See photo below.) In 1926 Dorothy Probert is listed as working in sales.  By this time her mother, Mary Probert, was  Samuel J. Probert's widow.  "In 1929 she (Dorothy)  was married and received the home from her mother where she lived and raised her family."  Her son Harold was born in this house in 1931.  In 1953 he bought the property at 3741 Hoskins Road and built a house on it, therefore maintaining the tradition of the family living on Hoskins Road.

Dorothy Probert is the girl at the bottom of this 1909 photo

The first entry in the City Directories for the Thorpe's at the 3790 Hoskins Road address is in 1931, under H. Thorpe.  In 1955 Harold E. and Dorothy Thorpe are listed as living in  the house. Harold Thorpe worked as a trucker at American Can. In 1960 the owner is listed as Mrs. Dorothy G. Thorpe, widow of W. E. Thorpe. Mrs. Dorothy G. Thorpe continued to be listed as the owner in the 1980, 1991, and 1995 City Directories. 

That means Dorothy Thorpe lived on Hoskins Road for at least 88 years and at the home at 3790 Hoskins Road for at least 85 of those years.  This is the record in this Blog for number of years the same person has lived in a house.  The 3790 Hoskins Road house  is the oldest house recorded in this Blog, 1910-2010, 100 years. The next oldest house is this Blog was at the 322 West 21st Street house at 87 years and with more than one family being owners.

The 1955 City Directory lists Harold and Mary Thorpe at the 3741 Hoskins Rd. address.  Harold was employed as an electrician at Burrard Dry Dock.  Harold lived in that house until his death in 2007. 

The only other residents of 3790 Hoskins Rd. listed in the City Directories are   Arthur and Andrea G. Pifer in 1971. Arthur Pifer was working as a lithography at Agency Press.

Side view of 3790 Hoskins Rd.

Note the white bulb hydrangea tree in the front and

the pink roses in the back of the house.

 Dovercourt Road intersects with Hoskins Road and Lynn Valley Road just north of Peters Road in the Lynn Creek area of Lynn Valley.

Thank You: To Mike Thorpe, grandson of Dorothy Thorpe and son of Harold Thorpe for most of the information in this post.  Quotes are from his e mail.
Demoliton Permit: Applied for in July 2010.
Photos: Colored digital photos taken in August of 2010 by SW.
                                                       North Vancouver Archives
                 Black and White grocery store photo from District Engineering Album.
                 Black and White Probert family photo 1909 with Dorothy in front.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Only the Clark's

The two storey house at 1414 Dempsey Road does not seem to be built until shortly after 1965 since there is no listing for the house in the Building Permit Book, or in the 1950, 1955, 1960, or 1965 City Directories. In 1971 A. Fredrick and Margaret L. Clark are listed as owners. And they are listed as owners in the 1980, 1991, and 1995 City Directories. F.A. Clark is also listed in the 2008/2010 North and West Vancouver Phone Directory. So it looks like the Clark's owned the house for about 40 years. In 1980 A. Frederick Clark reported that he was a clerk at Barker Hardware and in 1991 he reported that he was retired.

Dempsey Road is part of the most northern connector road that runs between Capilano Road in the west to Lynn Valley Road in the east. Montroyal Blvd. starts at Capilano Rd, and runs to Lonsdale Avenue. Then Braemar Rd. follows the base of the North Shore Mountains until Dempsey Road. Dempsey Rd. then crosses Mountain Highway and finally terminates at Lynn Valley Rd. It is a handy route taken by North Vancouverites to cross from one side of the District to the other without going into one of the more crowded business areas.

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

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