NORTH SHORE HERITAGE BLOG
Have you ever wondered about the tall, boxy homes with the unusual roofs on the North Shore? Join us in exploring the ‘American Foursquare’ for Part 3 of our architecture series. Learn why this now old-fashioned looking housing style was considered modern in its day, how it came to be a popular housing style across North America and where to find some examples on the North Shore.
This blog documents the history of the Holdcroft family who lived at 832 Cumberland Crescent for 57 years and whose daughters attended the Crosby School for Girls, located at 745 Grand Boulevard in North Vancouver. Using Mary Holdcroft’s own typewritten document called “Memories of North Vancouver in the ‘20s and ‘30s” as a source, the blog includes many excerpts to provide an animated history of her family, their home, their neighbourhood and as the title implies, life in North Vancouver in the early 20th century. The blog is interspersed with a large number of photos of their house, their family and the Crosby School for Girls as well as some city and landscape photos taken by Mary’s father, John Barber Holdcroft, an amateur photographer who lived in North Vancouver during WW1, and again from 1924 until his death in 1975.
Have you ever found yourself wandering the streets of your neighbourhood, admiring the homes, both old and new, only to wonder what style of architecture a certain home might be? Well, we at North Shore Heritage are here to help! In Part 2 of our architecture series, we will be looking at the rare Moderne style.
When you look at the house at 1220 Queens in West Vancouver, what do you see? A beautiful example of the West Coast Modern architectural style? Indeed, it is that. However, it also represents a piece of cultural heritage, as it was the home of long-time, Vancouver Sun editorial cartoonist, Len Norris, a master of political satire. And it was designed by Duncan McNab, who was a part of the West Coast Modern architectural movement that took hold of Vancouver in the 1950’s and 1960’s. So, this house is valuable not only for its architectural style but also for its affiliation to two individuals who were famous in their own right.
Have you ever found yourself wandering the streets of your neighbourhood, admiring the homes, both old and new, only to wonder what style of architecture a certain home might be? Well, we at the North Shore Heritage Society are here to help! Over the coming months, we will be writing about the different styles of architecture found in the Lower Mainland. First up is the Craftsman style of architecture.
Francis Caulfeild's love of nature helped shape the unique coastal community, now known as Olde Caulfeild, in the early 1900s. Learn how he built a traditional English village in an untraditional way, modifying his ideas to fit the West Vancouver landscape by following the natural contours of the land, and discover why “the cow is always right”.
According to the West Vancouver Survey of Significant Architecture, Lewis Construction Company, headed by Bob Lewis, was the most successful design-build firm in the post war building boom that blanketed West Vancouver with hundreds of mostly post and beam structures. But who was Bob Lewis? A Google search of his name yields absolutely nothing. No Wikipedia entry. No biographical account. How could this be for a man of such fame and success? Well, I was bound and determined to find out more so I donned my gumshoes, charged up my electric car and embarked on what I now call My Bob Lewis Odyssey. Sit back and enjoy the ride!
The distinctive heritage home that anchors the east end of Ottawa Gardens was built in 1907 as a show home by the North Vancouver Land & Improvement Company for its Ottawa Gardens development. The house is now well into its second century of life but came close to being lost due to neglect. Click here to find out how it was saved.
Dollarton’s Cates Park/Whey-ah-Whichen has been a North Shore forest and seaside escape since the 1950’s when squatters’ shacks were removed and the park established. Recently, amid sweltering temperatures, the park’s beaches were crowded with young people who had made their way there along the Malcolm Lowry Trail. Perhaps some wondered, who is Malcolm Lowry and why is there a trail in his name?
