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Frederick & Edna Cunningham House
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/landmark522
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Description
- Set back from Douglas Road, the Frederick and Edna Cunningham House is a picturesque wood-frame one and one-half storey British Arts and Crafts-style residence, clad with rough-cast stucco and featuring half-timbering in the gable ends. Set far back on a large east-sloping site in a mature landscap…
- Associated Dates
- 1923
- Formal Recognition
- Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register
- Street View URL
- Google Maps Street View
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Geographic Access
- Douglas Road
- Associated Dates
- 1923
- Formal Recognition
- Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register
- Enactment Type
- Bylaw No. 10470
- Enactment Date
- 04/11/1996
- Description
- Set back from Douglas Road, the Frederick and Edna Cunningham House is a picturesque wood-frame one and one-half storey British Arts and Crafts-style residence, clad with rough-cast stucco and featuring half-timbering in the gable ends. Set far back on a large east-sloping site in a mature landscape setting, it is located in the Douglas Road neighbourhood located in the central valley of Burnaby.
- Heritage Value
- Considered a landmark in the Douglas Road neighbourhood, the Cunningham House is valued as a good example of a British Arts and Crafts-style residence. The house blends into its surroundings, which are extensively landscaped with rockeries, lawns, shrubs, trees and perennial beds. The two majestic copper beech trees, over 60 years old, are among the best specimens of their type to be found in Greater Vancouver and are protected under covenant. The Cunningham property is significant as one of the last estate homes remaining on the old Douglas Road, at one time noted for its beautiful estates set within the rural character of Burnaby’s Central Valley. Insurance agent Frederick Woodman Cunningham (1882-1963) and his wife, Edna Elizabeth Cunningham (1884-1982), built this country residence in 1923. Fred was the only son of James Cunningham, a pioneer of New Westminster who arrived in 1862 and served as the City’s Mayor from 1872 to 1874. The landmark flagpole that once stood in the garden was moved to this site when Fred Cunningham's prestigious family home in New Westminster at Third Avenue and Seventh Street was demolished in 1938. Kept within the family until 1982 and largely maintained in its original condition, the Cunningham House is an excellent example of one of Burnaby's best estate homes from the 1920s and was designated by the City of Burnaby in 1996.
- Defining Elements
- Key elements that define the heritage character of the Cunningham House include its: - location on Douglas Road, in Burnaby’s Central Valley - views from the property to the east and towards the North Shore - residential form, scale and massing as exemplified by its one and one-half storey height and rectangular plan - side gabled roof with front gabled dormer and cedar shingle cladding - British Arts and Crafts elements such as its rough-cast stucco, tapered porch columns, large eave brackets, exposed purlins and half-timbering - irregular fenestration including double-hung 1-over-1 wooden-sash windows, multi-pane wooden-sash casement windows and multiple-assembly windows in the gable ends - front entrance porch with shed roof - two internal red brick chimneys - early cedar-shingled garage at side of house - associated landscape features, including two landmark Copper beech trees and landscaped rockeries at the front of the property
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Douglas-Gilpin Area
- Function
- Primary Historic--Single Dwelling
- Primary Current--Single Dwelling
- Community
- Burnaby
- Cadastral Identifier
- 003-118-746
- Boundaries
- The Cunningham House is comprised of a single residential lot located at 3555 Douglas Road, Burnaby.
- Area
- 4446.5
- Contributing Resource
- Building
- Ownership
- Private
- Street Address
- 3555 Douglas Road
- Street View URL
- Google Maps Street View
Images
Interview with Elsie Ansdell by Eric Damer September 18, 2012 - Track 1
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/oralhistory287
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date Range
- 1910-1946
- Length
- 0:09:17
- Summary
- This portion of the recording pertains to the Brown-Johns first settling in Burnaby. Elsie (Brown-John) Ansdell discusses land clearing for the family home, each of her parents and her brothers.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Summary
- This portion of the recording pertains to the Brown-Johns first settling in Burnaby. Elsie (Brown-John) Ansdell discusses land clearing for the family home, each of her parents and her brothers.
- Date Range
- 1910-1946
- Photo Info
- Elsie Brown-John (bottom, far right) with her class at Kitchener Street School, [1936]. Item no. 549-001.
- Length
- 0:09:17
- Subjects
- Land Clearing
- Geographic Access
- Napier Street
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Vancouver Heights (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Willingdon Heights Area
- Interviewer
- Damer, Eric
- Interview Date
- September 18, 2012
- Scope and Content
- Recording is an interview with early Burnaby resident Elsie (Brown-John) Ansdell conducted by Burnaby Village Museum employee Eric Damer, September 18, 2012. Major themes discussed are: settling in Burnaby and the early years of the Brown-John family.
- Biographical Notes
- Elsie (Brown-John) Ansdell’s father, a trained carpenter and cabinet maker, Victor Brown-John came to Canada from Wales in 1910. He cleared three lots at Napier and Gilmore Streets and built a two-roomed house. In 1912, he was joined by his wife and two eldest sons, Victor and Archie. Twin boys, Frank and Roy, were born in 1914 in the Burnaby home and their fifth son, Clive, was born in 1915. From 1916 to 1919 Victor John-Brown left Burnaby to serve overseas. Elsie Brown-John (later Ansdell) was born in 1921. Her younger brother, Gwyn "Jerry" was born in 1923. In 1925 Victor Brown-John suffered a fatal accident while working as a longshoreman in Northern British Columbia. Elsie attended Kitchener Elementary and North Burnaby High School. She married during the Second World War and moved to South Burnaby to raise her family whilst continuing to work in various department stores both in Vancouver and Burnaby.
- Total Tracks
- 4
- Total Length
- 33:02
- Interviewee Name
- Ansdell, Elsie Brown-John
- Interview Location
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Interviewer Bio
- Eric Damer is a lifelong British Columbian born in Victoria, raised in Kamloops, and currently residing in Burnaby. After studying philosophy at the University of Victoria, he became interested in the educational forces that had shaped his own life. He completed master’s and doctoral degrees in educational studies at the University of British Columbia with a particular interest in the history of adult and higher education in the province. In 2012, Eric worked for the City of Burnaby as a field researcher and writer, conducting interviews for the City Archives and Museum Oral History Program.
- Collection/Fonds
- Community Heritage Commission Special Projects fonds
- Transcript Available
- None
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
Images
Audio Tracks
Track one of recording of interview with Elsie Ansdell
Track one of recording of interview with Elsie Ansdell
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_Archives_Oral_Histories/_Unrestricted/MSS171-001/MSS171-001_Track_1.mp3