Search Results | Heritage Burnaby

Heritage Value: In 1908, construction began on the British Columbia Electric Railway Eburne tramline which was to connect Eburne (now known as Marpole) with New Westminster. It opened on September 15, 1909 and its tracks were built across the bog of the Fraser Arm district with little regard to the fact that virtually no one lived there. However, within one year an hourly passenger service, a milk train and three-times weekly freight service used this level fast-running connector. With the completion of the Chilliwack interurban line and various other steam railroads which were funnelled onto this line it became one of the most important industrial freight lines in the Lower Mainland.

Heritage Value: According to the 1911 December 26 edition of The British Columbian: Optimism is the word that applies to the whole community of East Burnaby. The many improvements carried out by the council during the past two years had been the means of making East Burnaby a thriving settlement, and hence one and all are optimistic as to its future. In the clearing and building line, many fine new homes are being erected...Real estate values have advanced with the times, and a notable feature is the number of better-class houses that are being built in this locality, which proves that East Burnaby is becoming very much alive and elevated.

Description: The original rubble stone walls that formed the foundation for a greenhouses adjacent to the Steam Plant Building provided heat to several greenhouses on the estate propoerty. The Root House, which is to the north of the Greenhouse Foundation Wall, provided storage for the farm operation.

Description: The original rubble stone walls that formed the foundation for a greenhouses adjacent to the Steam Plant Building provided heat to several greenhouses on the estate propoerty. The Root House, which is to the north of the Greenhouse Foundation Wall, provided storage for the farm operation.

Heritage Value: The outbuildings at 'Fairacres' are a rare surviving architecturally-designed ensemble of agricultural structures that exist in complementary harmony with the main estate house. Architect Robert Mackay Fripp (1858-1917), an outspoken advocate of Arts and Crafts design, was retained by the Ceperleys to design several original outbuildings on their estate, which was designed as a country estate with a working farm that included over 10 acres of productive berry and vegetable fields, with a large kitchen garden, a root house to store food, an orchard, and greenhouses heated by steam. The agricultural potential of the Deer Lake area made it one of the first parts of the municipality to attract settlement. In 1909, the Ceperleys built three large greenhouses heated by an adjacent steam plant (Fairacres Steam Plant). The greenhouses featured granite foundation walls, including this one which remains intact. The Ceperleys employed a large staff to manage the estate's agricultural production, including Chinese farm labourers. Produce was grown for use at the estate, and for sale at local markets. Agricultural use of the estate continued when a Catholic order of Benedictine monks purchased the estate as part of the Priory of St. Joseph and the Seminary of Christ the King, and continued to farm the land until 1953.

Defining Elements: Key elements that define the heritage character of the ‘Fairacres’ Steam Plant Building include its: - overall spatial arrangement of the Greenhouse Foundation Wall in relation to the Steam Plant Building and the Root House - original rubble stone walls reflecting the Arts and Crafts design aesthetic of the estate buildings.

Cadastral Identifier: P.I.D. No. 004-493-311 Legal Description: Block 3 Except: Part subdivided by Plan 26865, District Lot 79, Group 1, New Westminster District, Plan 536