Coburn House
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Description
- The Coburn House is a two and one-half storey plus basement Foursquare farm house. Prominently situated on a rise of land along the east side of Boundary Road overlooking Kingsway, it stands among single-family houses later constructed on its subdivided farm land.
- Associated Dates
- 1910
- Formal Recognition
- Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register
- Other Names
- Minerva Jane Coburn House
- Street View URL
- Google Maps Street View
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Other Names
- Minerva Jane Coburn House
- Geographic Access
- Boundary Road
- Associated Dates
- 1910
- Formal Recognition
- Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register
- Enactment Type
- Bylaw No. 9184
- Enactment Date
- 08/05/1989
- Description
- The Coburn House is a two and one-half storey plus basement Foursquare farm house. Prominently situated on a rise of land along the east side of Boundary Road overlooking Kingsway, it stands among single-family houses later constructed on its subdivided farm land.
- Heritage Value
- The Coburn House is important as a surviving representation of Burnaby’s early settlement period, when the municipality was largely an agricultural and residential suburb. It was built in 1910 by carpenter William Kirkham for Minerva Jane Coburn (1868-1940), and three years later the builder and client were married. Together, they operated the Surprise Poultry Farm, and were frequent participants at the local Central Park Farmers' Institute Exhibitions.
This house is valued as an excellent and well-preserved example of a substantial Edwardian era Foursquare farm house. Significant due to its generous size, dominant symmetry, the prominent verandah that wraps around the front and both sides, and the three roof dormers, this house retains a high degree of original material and integrity. The elevated siting of the house, its tall proportions and symmetrical appearance combined with its fine condition make this an excellent example of its type.
- Defining Elements
- Key elements that define the heritage character of the Coburn House include its:
- prominent location on Boundary Road, on an elevated site overlooking Vancouver
- residential form, scale and massing as expressed by its cubic massing and tall, dominant roof form
- Foursquare style as exemplified by its symmetry, square floor plan, pyramidal bellcast roof and three hipped dormers
- Edwardian era construction details such as narrow bevelled wooden siding, broad horizontal eave band with scroll-cut eave brackets, and simple window surrounds
- wraparound verandah encircling three main facades, with hipped roof, square columns and closed balustrades, connected to one storey extension at rear
- projecting bay window on the main floor south facade
- original double-hung 1-over-1 wooden-sash windows, some in double assembly on the ground floor
- internal red brick chimney
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Central Park (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Garden Village Area
- Function
- Primary Historic--Single Dwelling
- Primary Current--Single Dwelling
- Community
- Burnaby
- Cadastral Identifier
- 002-653-427
- Boundaries
- The Coburn House is comprised of a single residential lot located at 5170 Boundary Road, Burnaby
- Area
- 541.91
- Contributing Resource
- Building
- Ownership
- Private
- Street Address
- 5170 Boundary Road
- Street View URL
- Google Maps Street View
Less detail
BC Tel Building
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- October 16, 1977
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Public Library Contemporary Visual Archive Project
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.5 x 17.5 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the BC Tel Building (now the Brian Canfield Centre), located at Kingsway and Boundary Road. The photograph is taken facing north and shows the pedestrian overpass over Kingsway and the mountains in the background.
BC Tel Building
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- June 4, 1978
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Public Library Contemporary Visual Archive Project
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 17.5 x 12.5 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the exterior of the BC Tel Building, located at Kingsway and Boundary Road, and the lawn and roads in front of the building. The photograph is taken from a high point across the intersection, facing southeast.
BC Tel Building
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- June 4, 1978
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Public Library Contemporary Visual Archive Project
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.5 x 17.5 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the exterior of the BC Tel Building, located at Kingsway and Boundary Road. The photograph is taken from across a lawn and railway tracks, facing southeast. The railway tracks are visible in the bottom left corner of the photograph.
BC Tel Building
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- June 4, 1978
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Public Library Contemporary Visual Archive Project
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.5 x 17.5 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the exterior of the BC Tel Building, located at Kingsway and Boundary Road, and the lawn and neighbourhood surrounding the building. The photograph is taken from across the lawn, facing north. Boundary Road is on the left side of the photograph and the mountains are visible in the bac…
Boundary Road and Kingsway
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [1959]
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 16.0 x 25.3 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of buildings at Boundary Road and Kingsway, southwest corner. A typed description on the back of the photograph reads, "The new Hemlock (automatic) and old Dexter (manual) exchanges. / B.C. Telephone Company."
Boundary Road and Park Avenue station
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1912 (date of original), copied 1992
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 10.1 x 14.9 cm print
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of Boundary Road, Park Avenue Interurban station, and the surrounding area, looking north from Kingsway. The Coburn house, built in 1906, is at the top of the hill on the right, current address 5170 Boundary Road.
Farrington Chicken Ranch
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1920 (date of original), copied 1986
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.7 x 17.8 cm print
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the Farrington brothers' chicken ranch near Central Park at 3907 Chesham Avenue (later renumbered 5384 Chesham Avenue). Brothers Thomas Farrington and Richard Farrington founded Wheat Sheaf Poultry Ranch in 1919. The laying house is at the left, and the family home is at the right.
Farrington Laying House
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1920 (date of original), copied 1986
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.7 x 17.8 cm print
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of Farrington brothers' chicken laying house. Brothers Thomas Farrington and Richard Farrington founded Wheat Sheaf Poultry Ranch in 1919. It was located at 3907 Chesham Avenue (later renumbered 5384 Chesham Avenue).
Home of Richard and Clara Thorpe
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- [1911]
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Village Museum Photograph collection
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 10x 14 cm, mounted on card 15 x 22.5 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the home of Richard and Clara Thorpe. Nancy Davis Allard is standing, holding baby Dorothy Thorp (later Spain) upright in a buggy at the foot of the stairs. Two unidentified woman are also visible sitting at the top of the stairs.
House at 5170 Boundary Road
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- September 9,1976
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Public Library Contemporary Visual Archive Project
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 11 x 16 cm mounted on cardboard
- Scope and Content
- Photograph shows a house at 5170 Boundary Road on the corner of Burke Street. The house was constructed in 1911. The home is known as the Minerva Jane Coburn house.
Kingsway
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1920
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : sepia ; 12.6 x 17.7 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of Kingsway looking east at Boundary Road. A sign on the right reads, "Burnaby / Vehicles must slow down at all schools and intersections marked thus: X." A sign on a building at the left reads, "Arctic Ice Cream." Central Park is on the right.
Kingsway
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1920
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : sepia ; 12.6 x 17.6 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of Kingsway looking east at Boundary Road. A sign on the right reads, "Burnaby / Vehicles must slow down at all schools and intersections marked thus: X." A sign on a building at the left reads, "Arctic Ice Cream." Central Park is on the right.
Olive Farrington Barber
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1928 (date of original), copied 1986
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.7 x 17.8 cm print
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of Olive Farrington Barber in front of the Farrington brothers' chicken shed. Brothers Thomas Farrington and Richard Farrington founded Wheat Sheaf Poultry Ranch in 1919. It was located at 3907 Chesham Avenue (later renumbered 5384 Chesham Avenue).
Switchboard
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1943
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 20.0 x 25.5 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the interior of a switchboard, probably the Dexter exchange at Boundary Road and Kingsway. A typed description on the back of the photograph reads, "A Manual Switchboard, typical of about 25 years ago. / Dexter, 1943. / B.C. Telephone Company."