Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Upper Mosquito Creek

649 Sylvan Avenue is in the Forest Hills area in the District of North Vancouver. This area is west of Mosquito Creek and south of Montroyal Blvd. Mr. J.N. Smith built the unpretentious house in 1956 for $1200. However, even an unpretentious house can have distinctive features. Of particular note is the wrought iron railing that extends across the front of the house. It has a decorative triple curved design. A similar double curve design trims either side of the top of the roof supports. The view from the front yard is special as well, to the west of the house you can see one of the foot hills of West Vancouver. And in a more recent renovation, two skylights brighten the rooms on the right side of the house.


One area resident reported that many of the homes in this area were built on fill. Now that the fill has settled, cracks have formed in the foundations. For that reason when extensive renovations are desired, new foundations, and therefore, new houses seem to be the best plan.


A Permit for Demolition to the District of North Vancouver was applied for in August of 2009.


Photo: Taken August 27, 2009.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Mirror Image

The house that has been demolished at 384 East Keith Rd. in the City of North Vancouver was the mirror image of the bright red house beside it. Only the house that was demolished was yellow. In fact, a remnant of the house can be seen in the photo on the right, a part of the yellow front wall. The twin houses were placed on their lots so the edges of the roofs touched. The new house being built is narrower than the old one, allowing more space between it and its look alike neighbor.


Both 384 East Keith Rd. and its neighbor to the west, 382 East Keith Rd. were built for $800 a piece in 1912 by J. L. Gallegher. By 1925 Josiah L. Gallegher was an insurance agent and had moved farther east on Keith Rd., to 418.. In 1941 G. M. Fox put an addition onto the house at the 384 address.


Also in the 1940's feed trucks from Vancouver crossed the 1920's Second Narrow's Bridge and drove up Keith Road to bring chick starter, rolled oats, and wheat to the chicken farms of North Vancouver.

Photo: Taken August 27, 2009 by SW.

Monday, January 4, 2010
The Tiny House


This tiny distinctive two story home was in the Cloverley area of the City of North Vancouver. The City of North Vancouver is approximately four square miles bounded by the Burrard Inlet on the south, and North Vancouver District on the north, east, and west. The Cloverley area covers the south east part of the City from Queensbury Avenue and Keith Road to the eastern border.


The house at 805 East 5th Street was on the south east corner of 5th and Sutherland Avenue. It was probably built before 1911 because it does not appear in the Building Permit Book at the North Vancouver Archives. (Building Permits in the City of North Vancouver were established in 1911. In the years 1907 to 1910 information can be found in the Assessment Rolls.) In 1925 Hilda Green lived in the house. And in 1926 the home owner was building contractor Robert Salkald.


By 1931 Frank Vacher had purchased the house. He previously lived on Hastings Street in Vancouver and worked as a cook at Club Lunch. In 1939 Blanch, possibly his widow by that time, gained a building permit for a $150 addition. She is definitely listed as a widow in the 1940 City Directory. The photo is the rear of the house and possibly the $150 addition which could have been the back porch area, the side punch out or perhaps the second story dormer.


By 1950 Robert Vacher, Blanch and Frank's son, a carpenter's helper at CH Cates is listed as living in the house. In 1980 Pierre Robert Vacher was working at the Lynn Valley Barber Shop. He continued to live in the house until his death in 2009.


This tiny house with bushes in the front had a large gardenless yard on the Sutherland Avenue side and a garage on the lane. From this yard is a view of Burrard Inlet, Vancouver, and Burnaby beyond. This house was a favorite of  Trick or Treaters in the 1970's. Children came from the steep stepped homes a block away on Shavington and Cloverley Street to this flatter area. They remembered this house, because most  gave out candy, popcorn or apples while Robert Vacher gave out real nickels.


The house was demolished in October 2009. The area chit chat is that a house is being built for a daughter one of  Robert Vacher's neighbors.


Photo: Taken July 18, 2009 by SW.

Sunday, January 3, 2010
Sunday Church Feature
St. Richard's of Norgate

St. Richard's Anglican Church at 1398 West 15th St. in the District of North Vancouver is on the corner of Philips Avenue and West 15th Street. It was the sixth mission of St. John's Anglican Church and started to provide a Sunday School in the new housing development in the Norgate Park area. Sixty families were contacted and the diocese granted a loan of $1,075 to the parish for the lot purchase and construction costs. The church hall cost $2,200 and was dedicated in 1950. The actual St. Richard's Anglican Church cost $47,000 and was dedicated on February 1, 1955, It became a separate mission parish in 1957.


Norgate Park is an area south of Marine Drive, north of , east of the Native Lands, and west of Pemberton Avenue It consisted of mainly one story ranch homes built on cement slabs for veterans from WWII. Some of these veterans brought their war brides from England here to their new home in Canada. Today the area is simply called  Norgate. Except for renovations like making rooms out of the garage areas, most of the homes remain the same. A few two story homes have been built, mainly versions of the 'Vancouver Special".


The original 1950 Sunday school church building was a rectangular hall positioned with the narrow end facing Philips Avenue. It sat at the location of the present St. Richard's. In 1955 to facilitate the building of a new larger church the hall was moved to the east side of the lot and turned to face 15th Street. The building is now called the St. Richard's Church Hall and serves the community as the Acorn Early Education Centre, Norgate. The present church building has its entrance on 15th Street, but is positioned with the narrow end on Philips Avenue.


This church that hummed with the children from 60 families in 1955 no longer has a Sunday School. In fact, the total church congregation on a Sunday morning is about 20. The Korean Stump Presbyterian Church congregation worships in the sanctuary on Sunday afternoons.  St. Richard's Anglican Church is the only Christian church building in the Norgate area, and at 10:00am every Sunday morning the rope is pulled to ring the bell to tell the community the Sunday church service is starting..


The year 2010 may bring an end to the ringing of this bell, since St. Richard's is in the throes of closing.


Photo: Taken 2007 by SW.
Closed: As an Anglican Church in 2011. Congregation welcomed by St.
                Catherine's Anglican Church.

Note: Suzanne Marie Wilson attended this church until its closing. Her
               granddaughter Holly Marie Misner was baptized here in
               September 2007.
Update: A June 10, 2011 North Shore News article reports that the church
               is for sale.
More information: See blog http://www.churchesonsundays.blogspot.com/

Saturday Travel Feature
Spokane Railroad Tower

"This tower is all that remains of the great Northern Depot that stood on the site from 1902 to 1972. The building was removed while clearing the downtown site for Expo '74. The tower symbolizes the role the railroads had in the development of the city and is a focal point of the Riverfront Park." (Quote from the book Spokane's Historic Architecture published by Eastern Washington State Historical Society.)  One wishes that the whole of the Northern Railroad Depot could still be seen. The tower is 155 feet in height and does play its carillon bells each day and noon.


The Great Northern Depot with its Clock Tower was built at a cost of $150, 000. It was thought to be the finest railroad depot west of Chicago. "It was made with pressed brick and trimmed with native sandstone. The four clock faces are 9 feet across on each side, making it the largest Clock Tower in the West. The 8 ft. pendulum and weight which powers it weigh 500 lbs. The clock has to be wound once a week by a hand crank. A Riverfront Park employee climbs up every week to keep it running on time. The original depot  served the train the "Empire Builder"." (Thanks to the Discovery School in Spokane for this information.) The Empire Builder still runs today between Chicago, Illinois and Seattle, Washington. Some train buffs consider it the most beautiful ride in North America.


Riverfront Park runs through the downtown Spokane area along side the Spokane River. The river is crossed in this area by three bridges.  Across the river from the Northern Depot Tower is the 1909 Carrousel with its hand carved and restored horses as well as a tiger and a giraffe. You can ride it most days of the year. You can also ride the aerial tram with a spectacular view of the Spokane River's waterfall. And of course, there is the worlds largest red Radio Flyer wagon with a slide even adults slide down.


Photo: Taken  2009 by SW.


Links: http://www.historicspokane.org/NationalRegister/clock_tower.htm

Special Feature

2010 Olympics Feature

Wrapped in the Canadian Flag

Happy New Year, 2010 is the Year of the Olympics in Vancouver B.C., February 12 to the 28th. Vancouver is wrapped in the Canadian flag in spirit and ready to welcome the world. The Residences at the Hotel Georgia is literally wrapped in the Canadian Flag. Under that gorgeous and patriotic banner at the corner of Georgia St. and Howe St., the heritage building is being restored and renovated.


The original 12 story hotel has had a series of names and owners. It was opened by The Prince of Wales (later the abdicating King Edward VIII) on May 7th, 1927 as the Georgia Hotel. This building had 320 rooms and cost 2.5 million to build. The architects were Robert T. Garrow and John Graham, Sr. In 1998 it was purchased by Allied Properties Inc. and called the Crowne Plaza Hotel Georgia. This building had 313 rooms. In 2007 it was sold to Delta Land Development Ltd. and named The Private Residences at Hotel Georgia. The restored and renovated building will be a boutique hotel with 175 rooms. A 48 story glass tower of residences is being built to the north. The architects are IBI/HB and Endall Elliot.


The hotel at 801 West Georgia Street is located one block west of The Hudson Bay and one block east of The Medical Dental Building and The Vancouver Hotel. Directly across the street from the Georgia is the Vancouver Art Gallery, once the Court House, with a plaza and fountain facing the hotel. It was here in this Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza that the New Year's Eve midnight countdown was held at First Night celebrations in the 1980's. Hotel rooms facing the plaza celebration were rented for the night with revelers shouting Happy New Year out of the windows at midnight. Unfortunately, First Night in this outdoor form has been cancelled by the City.


The six story Hotel Georgia parking structure to the north of the hotel was demolished to facilitate the building of the 48 story glass tower.


Photo: Taken October 2009.


Links: http://www.residencesatgeorgia.com/
http://vancouverhistory.ca/
http://www.wikipedia.org/