Have you ever walked past a house on a sunny day and noticed that the house sparkles?
506 East 7th sparkling in the sun!
If so, it is likely a Sparkle Stucco or Bottle Dash Stucco house! Unlike traditional Rock Dash Stucco, which includes beach or river gravel, Bottle Dash Stucco contains different colours of broken glass bottles. And in the case of the house at 506 East 7th Street in North Vancouver, it even contains pieces of broken china! The aftermath of a Greek wedding? Early Upcycling? If only walls could talk!
Pieces of porcelain in the stucco at 506 East 7th Street, North Vancouver.
The exact origin of Bottle Dash Stucco is not completely clear. Initially, homes in Vancouver were built with wood siding but during the 1930’s, stucco became more common in new construction as it was very durable, did not require maintenance and served as a form of insulation too! However, stucco had another advantage as it could be used on top of wood siding to patch a house, if renovations were made that left parts of the house exposed. So rather than trying to fix the wood siding, it was sometimes easier to stucco over the entire house.
Although Rock Dash Stucco was the most common, it is thought that glass was eventually also used to add interest to what might otherwise be a bland exterior treatment. The trend seems to have lasted from the 1930’s to the 1960’s. The colours most commonly seen in Bottle Dash Stucco include:
Brown (beer bottles)
Clear (milk bottles)
Green (pop bottles)
Blue (milk of magnesia bottles)
But one can also see red, turquoise, yellow and purple glass on the walls of some homes including the one at 506 East 7th.
According to an article written by Christine Hagemoen, Stucco Supply Co. was a local supplier of Sparkle Dash. In 1937, they were located at 290 East 6th Street in Vancouver and actually crushed glass at this site.
Stucco Supply Co. Ad showing their 290 East 6th Avenue location.
By 1950, Stucco Supply Co. was located at 937 Main Street and remained there until the 1970’s. Their Main Street address can be seen in this congratulatory ad they published upon the completion of the new premises of Norrish Bros, who appear to be one of their distributors.
Stucco Supply Co. Ad Showing their 937 Main Street location (March 21, 1956)
Bottle Dash Stucco homes are present throughout Canada and the US but seem to be more prevalent in the western parts of the continent. In preparation for this blog post, I searched throughout the North Shore for other examples of Bottle Dash Stucco homes. I found a Salt and Pepper Dash Stucco house at 444 East 6th Street, which contains white quartz and black obsidian.
Salt & Pepper Stucco Exterior of 444 East 6th Street, North Vancouver
However, the house at 506 East 7th was the only Bottle Dash Stucco home I could find. The big question though is whether bottle dash was part of the original construction or was added during a later renovation. I came across three clues that make me believe that the stucco was added after the original construction.
The first clue can be seen on the house itself. The lower part of the chimney has been covered with the Bottle Dash Stucco while the brick of the upper part remains untarnished.
Bottle Dash Stucco on the bottom of the chimney at 506 East 7th Street, North Vancouver
The second clue comes from a search in the BC Directories which indicates that the house was built in 1927 and its first owner was David Cantelon who was the President of Cantelon Lumber and Shingle. As a businessman selling lumber and shingles, it seems highly unlikely that he would build a house with a stucco exterior.
The third clue was provided by the current owner, John Pinto, who indicated that the upper window at the front was originally a widow’s walk, but at some point, it was removed and the window was enclosed. This could have been the time at which the house was updated with a Bottle Dash Stucco exterior.
Photo showing the former Widow’s Walk at 506 East 7th, now an enclosed room on the upper floor.
So, it seems the mystery of the Bottle Dash Stucco is solved! It is not original to the house at 506 East 7th Street. However, while talking to the current owner, another mystery popped up. He was told by his realtor that the chain link fence, still standing today, was built by a former owner who was employed by BC Gas using their piping supplies! This prompted me to research the provenance of the house which is outlined below.
1927-1947 – The first owner was David Cantelon who was the President of Cantelon Lumber and Shingle until 1933 when he retired and unfortunately died a year later. His wife, Elizabeth, lived in the house until 1947.
1948-1960 – Owned by Montague and Kathleen Aldous. Montague was the Assistant Manager of North Shore Packaging and then later the Foreman and Department Manager at BC Packers
1961-1962 – Owned by John Barcsak, a tailor, and his wife Mary
1963-1986 – Owned by Peter Van Gaalen, an engineer and later President of Viking Automatic Sprinkler, and his wife, Afra
1987 – Today – Owned by John E. Pinto, originally a pressman
According to my research, none of the owners worked for BC Gas but I am guessing that Peter Van Gaalen built the fence, as Viking Automatic Sprinklers likely also would have used metal piping in their business. Here’s a photo of the gate. You can be the judge!
Metal Gate at 506 East 7th, possibly made from piping from the Viking Automatic Sprinkler Co.
I close now with a question for you: do you know of other Bottle Dash Stucco homes on the North Shore?
Fast Facts:
The house at 506 East 7th Street is listed on the City of North Vancouver Heritage Register
The word “Dash”, as in Bottle Dash, stems from the fact that decorative rock or glass pieces are thrown or “dashed” onto the final wet coat of stucco with a scoop and then pressed into the wet mixture with a trowel.
The verb “Dash” was defined in the 1500’s as “to scatter or sprinkle”. An associated word is “Slapdash” which, in the 1790’s, was a rough-coat or coarse plaster when used as a noun but when used as an adjective meant “offhand or careless”. It is still used today in this way.
Widow’s Walk – This was a railed rooftop platform often having an inner cupola/turret that was built on the upper floor of 19th century coastal North American houses so that the wife of a seaman could watch for their spouse to return to the harbour but often, the man would not return, leaving his wife a widow.
Viking Automatic Sprinkler, where Peter van Gaalen worked, was incorporated in Canada in 1941 but was operating in the US as early as 1925. They installed fire protection systems in commercial structures and insurance was cheaper if you had one of these systems.
A common form of advertising in the 20th century for vendors selling products such as stucco and fire protection equipment was to congratulate a customer or distributor on the recent completion of their building, with specific reference to the vendor’s products as in the Stucco Supply/Norrish Bros. Ad above and the Viking Automatic Sprinkler/W.H. Malkin Co. ad below.
Addendum:
Jackie, one of our readers, advised us that she used to live next door to this house and indeed, the fence was built by Peter van Gaalen. She also advised us that her house was built in the 1960’s on the former tennis court of the home at 506 E 7th and that the foundation still exists. Below are some photos that show the foundation, now the base for a unique bike fence!
508 East 7th, built in the 1960’s, to the east of 506 East 7th
The foundation of the former tennis court of the home at 506 East 7th, now in front of 508 East 7th and now supporting a very unique bike fence.
Sources:
The Bottle Dash Houses that still Glitter in the Vancouver Sun, Christine Hagemoen, Feb 7, 2017, Scout Magazine
Beer Bottle Dash – The Best Exterior Finish, Rob Randall, Feb 12, 2017, VibrantVictoria.ca.