Thursday, July 29, 2010
On the Beach

The two storey house at 2420 Panorama Dr. is the most northern of the three houses owned by the District of North Vancouver to be demolished with the land being added to Panorama Park in Deep Cove. The Building Permit book's only listing for this address is for a 1962 $200 carport to be constructed at the request of G. H. Robinson. Mrs. Betty Robinson, the widow of G. H., is listed in the 1965 City Directory as still owning the house.

In 1971 the residents were Keith E. and Nancy A. Byers. Keith Byers was employed as a mechanic at Western Outboard and Equipment. In 1980 the owner was Mary Nakano. Mary Nakano worked as a receptionist for Dr's. P. K. Will and J. K. Poole.

The owner in 1991 was Joshua Stimpson, the manager at Harmony Silks and Designs. For the 1995/1996 City Directory he reported that he had lived in the house for more than 9 years. So, he had moved in during the mid 1980's. Also living in the house in 1995/1996 was Peter B. Stimpson. Joshua Stimpson was still the manager at Harmony Silks and Designs and Peter B. Stimpson was the manager at Dana Designs. The 1999/2000 North and West Vancouver Phone Directories list Joshua Stimpson's address as  2420 Panorama Dr. The 2006/2007 and the 2008/2010 issues list Joshua Stimpson and A. L. Stimpson as living at that address.

The photo above is the rear of the house facing Panorama Dr. The photo below is the front of the house facing the Panorama Park path and the waters of Deep Cove. For more information on the three houses on Panorama Dr. to be demolished, Panorama Park, and Deep Cove see the Blogs July 27 "Additions to Panorama Park", July 28 "Turquoise Cottage", and the Links listed below.

Demolition Permit: Applied for in July 2010.

Photos: Taken in July 2010 by SW.

Link 1: http://www.yelp.ca/biz/panorama-park-north-vancouver

Link 2: http://www.deepcovebc.com/parkspanorama.html

Link 3: http://www.deepcoveyc.com/history.php

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Turquoise Cottage

This turquoise cottage at 2412 Panorama Dr. was built in 1929 right on the beach in Deep Cove at the most eastern point of the District of North Vancouver. At this time there was no Panorama Dr. address. The listing in the 1931 City Directory for this location was "Burns Ave. North Vancouver north across 2nd St. at Deep Water B-15 on Map". In the 1940 and 1950 City Directories there is no Panorama Dr., Burns Ave., or Burns Crescent listed. In the 1960 City Directory Burns Ave. is listed but not the address 2412. The photo above is the back of the house sitting among the tall trees next to Panorama Dr. The photo below is the front of the house featuring an upper deck with a view of the waters of Deep Cove.

When C. E. Scott built the house on the beach in 1929 the construction cost $500. In 1959 the Building Permit book lists W. J. White as building a $500 addition to the house. The widow of W. J. White, Mrs. J. O. White, owned the house until at least 1971. In 1980 George Walkem was the owner of 2412 Panorama Dr. In 1991 he reported to the City Directory that he was a dyslexia tutor. R. George Walkem continued to live there until at least 1995/1996.

2412 Panorama Dr. is one of the three houses that are presently owned by North Vancouver District and will be demolished with the land added to Panorama Park. (For more information see the July 27th Blog "Additions to Panorama Park" and July 29 Blog, "On the Beach".)


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

Link 1: http://www.yelp.ca/biz/panorama-park-north-vancouver
Link 2: http://www.deepcovebc.com/parkspanorama.html
Link 3: http://www.deepcoveyc.com/history.php

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Additions to Panorama Park

Three houses situated in the Panorama Park (See Link 2.) area at the bend in Panorama Dr. will be demolished and the land added to this public park. The three houses, 2398, 2412, and 2420 Panorama Dr. are presently not lived in and are owned by  North Vancouver District. This triangle of land on the north end of the park is already surrounded by Panorama Park. (See map in Link 1.) the backs of the houses are accessible by Panorama Dr. (See photo above.) The front of the houses (See photo below.) sit just behind the large hedges separating them from the path that runs along the water through Panorama Park.

The yellow house at 2398 Panorama Dr. was built in 1958 for $11,500 by E. Chute. That same year the Building Permit book shows that he had a house moved at the 2398 Panorama Dr. address. The Chute family owned the house until at least 2006 as they are reported as still living there in the 2006/2007 North and West Vancouver Phone Directory.

In 1965 E. Gale and Frances M. Chute were listed as the owners in the City Directory. E. Gale was employed as a skipper at Vancouver Tug Boat. In 1971 E. Gale Chute reported his job as being a master mariner at Vancouver Tug Boat. By 1980 E. Gail Chute was a captain mariner at Seaspan International. And in 1991 Edward G. and Frances M. Chute reported to the City Directory that they were retired.

Panorama Drive was not always named that. There is no listing in the 1960 City Directory under that street name. At that time the street was named Burns Ave. and Crescent or Burns Crescent. Burns Crescent is listed in the 1960 City Directory, however, there are no street numbers under that listing. Panorama Dr. with numeric addresses is listed in the 1965 City Directory.

One of the landmarks of Panorama Park is the Deep Cove Yacht Club. For its complete history starting in 1936 see Link 3.

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

Link 1: http://www.yelp.ca/biz/panorama-park-north-vancouver
Link 2: http://www.deepcovebc.com/parkspanorama.html
Link 3: http://www.deepcoveyc.com/history.php

Monday, July 26, 2010
71 Years of Pink Azaleas and Purple Rhodos

The house on the double lot at 388 Tempe Crescent was built for $4,500 in 1939 by C. Notzel. The contractor was F. J. Pew, although, the grandson reports that his grandmother designed the house. His mother, Stephanie Barnes,  reports that her mother  also designed the garden.This one storey multilevel home has been owned by the Notzel family ever since. That makes it their home for 71 years, the longest by far of any family owning a home reported on in this Blog.

The 1940 City Directory lists both Cliff A. and Ruth Notzel as owners of the house at 388 Tempe Crescent. Cliff Notzel was employed as the secretary-treasurer at Pumps and Power of which Bernard Notzel was the president.  Cliff Notzel died in 1944.  By 1950 Ruth E. Notzel is listed as the widow of C. A. Notzel and employed as a bookkeeper at Pumps and Power. In 1960 she was the office manager there, and in 1980 she is listed as being retired.   Ruth Notzel  lived in the house until she died in 1995. The family then used the house when they were in town until  they rented it out in 1997. 

Ruth Notzel went to the Vancouver School of Art before she was married and her love of art lasted throughout her life. She was the driving force behind the volunteers at the Art Gallery in Presentation House in the 1970's and   was recognized as such during a "Ruth Notzel Day" celebration by the Art Galley.

Although the house address is 388 Tempe Crescent, because it is on a steep hill it must be approached from the street above, Brand Street. Both Tempe Crescent and Brand Street are two of the three crescent shaped streets just south of the top of the East 29th Street hill in the Tempe Heights area of the City of North Vancouver.

The house seems to occupy only half of the double lot. The other half as can be seen in the photo below is park like grounds with the pink azalea and purple rhododendron bushes nestled in tall trees and accented with stone retaining walls. The camellia bush beside the front window was planted Cliff Notzel in about 1940.   The view is expansive, of downtown Vancouver and stretching to Vancouver Island.

A new single family home will be built on this 6036 sq. ft. lot by Noort Homes.  It will be 4451 sq. ft. with three bedrooms, a den and three bathrooms and of course the fantastic panoramic view of  Vancouver. (See Link.) 

 Demolition Permit: Applied for to the City of North Vancouver in June 2010.

Thank You: To Ruth Notzel's daughter Stephanie Barnes and her son for information about the house and their family.

Photo: Taken in June 2010 by SW.

Link: http://www.noorthomes.com/index.cfm?method=residential.list&cityid=d6069024-2fd6-4149-b3aa-7f1ef03e56dd

Sunday Church Feature

Church of the Beatitutes, Israel

"The Church of the Beatitudes is a Roman Catholic church located on the Sea of Galilee near Tabgha and Capernaum in Israel.

"Located on a small hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee, and built on the traditional site of Jesus' delivery of the Sermon on the Mount,[1] pilgrims are known to have commemorated this site since at least the 4th century. In her itinerary of the Holy Land, after describing the Church of the Loaves and Fishes, the pilgrim Egeria (c.381) writes, "Near there on a mountain is the cave to which the Savior climbed and spoke the Beatitudes." The current church sits near the ruins of a small Byzantine era church dating to the late 4th century[2], which contains a rock-cut cistern beneath it and the remains of a small monastery to its southeast. Part of the original mosaic floor has also been recovered and is now on display in Capernaum. Both Popes Paul VI and John Paul II celebrated Mass at the church during their pastoral visits to the Holy Land.[2]

"The modern church was built between 1936 and 1938 near the site of the fourth century Byzantine ruins. The floor plan is octagonal, the eight sides representing the eight Beatitudes.[2] The church is Byzantine in style with a marble veneer casing the lower walls and gold mosaic in the dome. In front of the church are mosaic symbols on the pavement representing Justice, Prudence, Fortitude, Charity, Faith, and Temperance.

"Jerome Murphy-O'Connor describes the selection of the site thus; "It was perhaps inevitable that this well-watered area with its shade trees on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where Byzantine pilgrims ate their picnics, should have been identified as the location of two episodes involving the consumption of food, the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and the conferral on Peter of the responsibility of leadership after a fish breakfast. Then it became convenient to localize the Sermon of the Mount on the small hill nearby." (The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700, p.277) Regardless of whether this is the very spot, the Church of the Beatitudes stands in the general area and in a very similar setting to where Jesus would have stood as he delivered his famous sermon. As Murphy-O'Connor puts it, "from here one can see virtually all the places in which Jesus lived and worked" (p.280).

"The church was commissioned by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and designed by the architect Antonio Barluzzi.



"The church is maintained and overseen by the Franciscan Order." (See Link.)

Link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Beatitudes

Photo 1: Exterior of church-post card purchased in Israel in 1992 by SW.

Photo 2: Interior of church--post card purchased in Israel in 1992 by SW

Photo 3: Mosaic in interior of church taken in 1992 by SW.

Note: See Blog Post July 24 for more about Suzanne Wilson's 1992 trip to Israel

Saturday Travel Feature
Bet She'an, Israel

"The City of Bet She'an stratregically situated at the crossroads of major highways that stretched between the Mediterranean, Damascus and the north, and between Jeruselem and the Galilee, played an important role in the early history of the country.

"Archiologists have uncovered about twenty layers of civilization at the Bet She'an mound.  The city was founded in the fifth millenium B.C.E., on the banks of a small river, Nahal Herod, between the fifteenth and twelfth centuries B.C.E.  It served the Egyptians as an important stronghold.  During the 11th century it was held by the Phillistins who, after defeating the Israelites in battle, displayed the bodies of Saul and his sons on the city walls.
King David conquered Bet She'an from the Phillistines and King Solomn made it one of his administrative centers.

"In the Hellenistic Period it was given the names Sythopolis, City of the Sythians, and Nysa for Dionysos nurse. (Dionysos was the chief god of the city, and according to tradition his nurse was buried here.)  The inhabitants also preserved the ancient name Ben She'an.  The population of the Roman city was mixed, and included Pagans as well as Jews and Samaritans.  When Christianity took hold in the fourth century C.E., most of the inhabitants converted to Christianity, although sizable minorities of Jews and Samaritans remained.  In the early fifth century C.E. Bet She'an became the capitol of the province called Palaestina Secunda, with an estimated population of 40,000.  In the seventh century the city passed into the hands of the Muslems, and in the mid eighth it was destroyed by an earthquake.  Bet She'an never quite recovered its former splendor and importance.  The Crusaders fortified this important crossroads by building a Citidel here.  From then through to the end of the British mandate, Bet She'an had a small but unbroken chain of settlement. With the establishment of the State of Israel the city began to flourish once again.

"Through the ages Bet She'an expanded over a large area and the ancient mound became its acropolis.  At  the height of the city's importance, during the Byzantine Period, it was surrounded by a wall four kilometers long.  The archeologican remains, the majority of which are from the Roman and Byzantine Periods, reveal the magnificance of this ancient metropolis."(See Reference.)

Photo: Taken of Bet She'an, Israel in 1992 by SW.  Suzanne and her high school friend Diane joined a tour of Baptist ministers from Mississippi and Georgia for ten days in Israel.
Reference:  This quote is from the sign posted at the site of the Bet She'an ruins seen in the photo.
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beit_She'an

Friday, July 23, 2010
Just in the City of NV

The City of North Vancouver extends north to the south side of 29th Street. So the house at 235 West 28th Street is in the most northern part of the City of North Vancouver just within its borders.

This house with its white stucco and blue cedar clapboard exterior is one of the typical designs of houses in the area. There is no listing in the Building Permit for the house, but the 1960 City Directory reports the owners to be John P. and Jean M. Moore. John Moore was employed as an estimator by Welsh and Son.

In 1965 William F. and Lois A. M. Hare were the residents. William Hare was a sargeant in the RCMP. By 1971 Nelson E. and Jeanette Teskey were the residents. Again Nelson Teskey was a sergeant in the RCMP. However, by 1980, William F. and Lois Hare were again living in the house and now they were reported as being the owners. William Hare was now a justice of the peace for the Province of B.C.

In 1991 and 1995/1996 Larry L. and Corrine Gillanders were the owners of the 235 West 28th Street home. During this time the Coastline Appraisal Group was also listed at that address. The year 2000 phone book also lists the Gillanders as living at the 235 West 28th Street address.

This 6 bedroom, 2 bathroom home has recently sold for $1,189,000. (See Link.)

Building Permit: Applied for in July 2010.
Photo: Taken in July 2010 by SW.
Link: http://www.kenspong.com/listings.html