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Woodward Cottage
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/landmark496
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Description
- Set far back from Sperling Avenue, Woodward Cottage is a one-storey, wood-frame house with a raised foundation and gabled roofline. It is located within a picturesque lakefront neighbourhood and is part of the Deer Lake Park Heritage Precinct.
- Associated Dates
- 1904
- Formal Recognition
- Community Heritage Register
- Other Names
- Maud & Harriet Woodward Cottage
- Street View URL
- Google Maps Street View
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Other Names
- Maud & Harriet Woodward Cottage
- Geographic Access
- Sperling Avenue
- Associated Dates
- 1904
- Formal Recognition
- Community Heritage Register
- Enactment Type
- Council Resolution
- Enactment Date
- 26/05/2003
- Description
- Set far back from Sperling Avenue, Woodward Cottage is a one-storey, wood-frame house with a raised foundation and gabled roofline. It is located within a picturesque lakefront neighbourhood and is part of the Deer Lake Park Heritage Precinct.
- Heritage Value
- Woodward Cottage, built in 1904, is valued as the oldest house within the Deer Lake neighbourhood, whose construction marked the beginning of Deer Lake's transition from a rural farming community to a residential suburb. At the turn of the nineteenth century, Deer Lake was recognized for its tranquility and beautiful scenery, which, in turn, attracted New Westminster and Vancouver residents to relocate to the area and build family homes. The first owner, Maud Sarah Woodward (1865-1958), originally from England, was a pioneer nurse of Vancouver. In 1903, she purchased this property from her two close friends, Louis and Annie Hill, who were among Deer Lake's first residents. Maud and her sister, Harriet Julia Woodward (1879-1969), were prominent figures in the Deer Lake community and together they established the first post office in Burnaby, which operated out of this house. Due to the lack of any local facilities, in September 1904 Harriet Woodward established a private primary school here for the local children, which continued after 1908 as a kindergarten. The cottage was enlarged several times to accommodate the expanding post office until 1912, when the Woodwards began construction of a new, larger house. Woodward Cottage is also valued for its origins as an innovative prefabricated structure. In 1904, the B.C. Mills Timber and Trading Company patented a modular system in response to unprecedented population growth in the western provinces. This system could be adapted to provide everything from modest one-room cottages to schools, churches and banks. Short mill ends of lumber and siding, which had previously been discarded, were assembled into three or four-foot wide wall panels that could be bolted together. The vertical joints between the panels were covered by narrow battens, which gave these buildings their distinct appearance. The wall panels for the house were assembled at the mill, prepainted and packaged with various other components and the necessary instructions to assemble the building, and shipped via railway to its waiting customer. Woodward Cottage is one of the earliest surviving examples of this ingenious prefabricated system. In the 1930s, the cottage was raised and turned to allow for a new foundation to be built. Despite later additions and alterations, the original cottage form is still recognizable. Woodward Cottage is currently owned by the City of Burnaby and is part of the Deer Lake Park Heritage Precinct, Burnaby's most significant collection of historic sites.
- Defining Elements
- Key elements that define the heritage character of Woodward Cottage include its: - secluded lakefront site, set far back from Sperling Avenue, within the Deer Lake Park Heritage Precinct - residential form, scale and massing as expressed by its one-storey height and gabled roofline - original wood-frame construction and modular wall panels, extant under later stucco cladding - internal red-brick chimney - associated landscape features, including mature deciduous trees
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Morley-Buckingham Area
- Organization
- Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
- Function
- Primary Historic--Single Dwelling
- Primary Current--Single Dwelling
- Community
- Deer Lake
- Cadastral Identifier
- P.I.D. 011-454-440
- Boundaries
- Woodward Cottage is comprised of a single residential lot located at 5141 Sperling Avenue, Burnaby.
- Area
- 6596
- Contributing Resource
- Building
- Ownership
- Public (local)
- Documentation
- City of Burnaby Planning and Building Department, Heritage Site Files
- Street Address
- 5141 Sperling Avenue
- Street View URL
- Google Maps Street View
Images
Interview with Norman Dowad
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19638
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- [1890-2023] (interview content), interviewed 14 Aug. 2023
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Village Museum fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 sound recording (wav) (61 min., 37 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (61 min., 37 sec.)
- Scope and Content
- Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Norman Dowad conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar, Eric Damer on August 14, 2023. 00:00:00 – 00:14:38 Norm shares biographical information about himself and background information on the Dowad family. Norm conveys information …
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Village Museum fonds
- Series
- Museum Oral Histories series
- Subseries
- Many Voices Project Interviews subseries
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 sound recording (wav) (61 min., 37 sec.) + 1 sound recording (mp3) (61 min., 37 sec.)
- Material Details
- Interviewer: Eric Damer Interviewee: Norman Dowad Location of Interview: Burnaby Village Museum Interview Date: August 14, 2023 Total Number of tracks: 1 Total Length of all Tracks: 01:14:37 Digital master recording (wav) was converted to mp3 for access on Heritage Burnaby
- Scope and Content
- Item consists of a recording of an oral history interview with Norman Dowad conducted by Burnaby Village Museum Registrar, Eric Damer on August 14, 2023. 00:00:00 – 00:14:38 Norm shares biographical information about himself and background information on the Dowad family. Norm conveys information about his grandfather Samuel Dowad's immigration to Canada and his father Wilfred Dowad's military service and successes as a property developer. 00:14:39 – 00:17:26 Norm provides background information on his mother’s side of the family. 00:17:27 – 00:31:36 Norm talks about his childhood, growing up in the Deer Lake neighbourhood, his early education in Burnaby and sports that he played. 00:31:37 – 00:39:59 Norm talks about his educational experiences attending Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia and Osgoode Hall law school and information regarding his law career. 00:40:00 – 00:45:03 Norm reflects on his childhood growing up in Burnaby and on his experiences and relationships as a student and in his career as a lawyer. 00:45:04 – 01:01:37 Norm talks about his siblings and shares information about family property development projects as well as career and business successes. In closing he talks about research that he’s done through Archives Canada on his grandfather Sam Dowad and father Wilfred Dowad.
- History
- Interviewee biography: Norm Dowad was born in Burnaby, December 1948 to parents Wilfred “Wilf” (1925-2011) and Cherry Dowad. His father, Wilfred (1925-2011) was born in Winnipeg to parents Samuel “Sam” (Salim in Arabic) Esper Dowad (1895-1969) and Martha (Shaheen) Dowad (1894-1955). Sam and Martha Dowad were both born in a province of the Ottoman Empire which is now present day Lebanon. In 1912, while trying to immigrate to Canada, several of Sam’s relatives including his mother died tragically as steerage passengers on the ill fated Titanic. In 1913, at the age of 18 years, Sam immigrated to Canada to join other family members who'd already arrived here safely. As a new immigrant in Canada, Sam worked with other Labanese immigrants in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the United States. In December 1921, Sam's wife, Martha immigrated to Canada arriving by ship in St. John, New Brunswick. Sam and Martha established their home in Winnipeg where they began to start a family. Their first two children died in infancy and son Wilfred was born in 1925 and daughter Kathleen was born in 1926. While living in Winnipeg, Sam worked as a grocer and in the 1930’s he got work as a farmer in a nearby town. In 1943, Wilf joined the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RCVNR) and served as a gunner on merchant ships during World War II. In 1945, while Wilf was away serving, his parents, Sam and Martha moved to Burnaby. After discharge in 1945, Wilf joined his parents in Burnaby, began working at Fraser Mills and commenced his studies in construction and drafting. In 1949, with his father’s help Wilf acquired a lot next door to his parents’ home and built his first apartment block. After Martha died in 1954, Sam moved to Kelowna where he bought an orchard. Sam remarried in 1957 to Naomi “Mamie” (David) Dowad (1899-1978) who was also from a Lebanese family. Sam and Mamie lived in Kelowna until the mid 1960s when they moved to White Rock. While living in Burnaby, Wilf met and married Cherry Piggott and the couple had six children; Norm, Bruce, Michael, Kathie, Phil and Tom. In 1955, Wilfred Dowad established "W. Dowad Ltd." and over the years he was successful in developing and subdividing land to build housing and commercial developments in Burnaby, New Westminster and Vancouver. Wilf was the first president of the Burnaby Winter club and was an active member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce holding office at the local, provincial and national level. In 1970, Wilf purchased 238 acres of land bordering the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh River and relocated there the following year. While living in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Wilf became actively engaged in local business and community affairs. Wilf was later remarried to Grethe Dowad and he died in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh in 2011.Wilf's six children are the sole owners of "W.Dowad Ltd." and his daughter, Kathie Smillie is the president and CEO. While growing up in Burnaby, Norm Dowad attended Schou Street School, Douglas Road School, Kensington School and graduated from Burnaby Central Secondary School. Following graduation from high school, Norm attended Simon Fraser University for one year, travelled in Europe, attended University of British Columbia and obtained his law degree from Osgoode Hall at York University. Norman has been practicing law for 49 years and has his own law practice that he operates out of Vancouver. Interviewer biography: Eric Damer is a Burnaby Village Museum Interpreter, Museum Registrar, Researcher and Blacksmith. Eric pounded hot steel for the first time in 1977 in junior high. Fifteen years later, he joined Burnaby Village Museum where he has smithed for three decades. He also provides historical research for museum exhibits and special projects. Outside the museum, Eric is a social historian with a special interest in educational history.
- Creator
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Subjects
- Agriculture - Farms
- Education
- Persons - South Asian Canadians
- Migration
- Sports
- Sports - Football
- Wars - World War, 1939-1945
- Names
- Dowad, Norman W. "Norm"
- Dowad, Samuel Esper "Sam"
- Dowad, Wilfred "Wilf"
- Dowad, Naomi "Mamie" David
- Dowad, Martha Elias Shaheen
- Dowad, Kathleen "Kay"
- Rideout, Dr. John Anthony
- Burnaby Central Secondary School
- Douglas Road School
- W. Dowad Limited
- Responsibility
- Damer, Eric
- Geographic Access
- Buckingham Avenue
- Deer Lake
- Street Address
- 5533 Buckingham Avenue
- Accession Code
- BV023.16.16
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- No known restrictions
- Date
- [1890-2023] (interview content), interviewed 14 Aug. 2023
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Burnaby Lake (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Morley-Buckingham Area
- Notes
- Title based on contents of item
- Transcription available
Documents
Audio Tracks
Interview with Norman Dowad, [1890-2023] (interview content), interviewed 14 Aug. 2023
Interview with Norman Dowad, [1890-2023] (interview content), interviewed 14 Aug. 2023
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2023_0016_0016_002.mp3