The Andy Johnson House is a large, one and one-half storey plus above-ground basement wood-frame mansion on a rubble-stone granite foundation with a red terra cotta pantile roof and an octagonal corner turret. The building stands in a prominent location on a corner lot on Kingsway, one of Burnaby’s…
The Andy Johnson House is a large, one and one-half storey plus above-ground basement wood-frame mansion on a rubble-stone granite foundation with a red terra cotta pantile roof and an octagonal corner turret. The building stands in a prominent location on a corner lot on Kingsway, one of Burnaby’s main transportation and commercial corridors, and stands adjacent to the Burlington Square Development.
Heritage Value
The Andy Johnson House 'Glenedward' is a valued representation of a prominent upper middle-class family dwelling from the pre-First World War era. Andrew M. Johnson (1861-1934), an early Vancouver pioneer, and his wife Margaret built this house in 1912, in an imposing style favoured by the newly wealthy of the prewar boom period. Born in Norway, Andrew Johnson arrived in Vancouver just months after the Great Fire of 1886 and went into partnership with J. (Ollie) Atkins in a transportation company that became the Mainland Transfer Company, eventually the largest of its kind in Vancouver. Johnson also operated Burnaby's historic Royal Oak Hotel, once located on the opposite corner from his estate.
Additionally, the Andy Johnson House is significant for the high-quality design and construction of both the house and its landscaped setting. Designed in the British Arts and Crafts style, the house exhibits a rare degree of opulence in building materials, including imported terra cotta roof tiles, oak and walnut interior millwork, and stained glass manufactured by the Royal City Glass Company. The rubble-stone foundations and perimeter walls were obtained from two massive granite glacial erratic boulders found on the property. The house has been relocated closer to the corner, but the encircling stone walls, the gate posts and gates manufactured by the Westminster Iron Works and some of the original plantings have been retained. A grouping of three giant Sequoias, other mature deciduous trees and massings of shrubbery indicate the type of landscape setting considered appropriate for an estate house in the early years of the twentieth century.
Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage character of the Andy Johnson House include its:
- corner location on Kingsway at Royal Oak Avenue
- residential form, scale and massing as expressed by the one and one-half storey height, above-ground basement, octagonal corner turret and rectangular plan
- British Arts and Crafts details such as the use of natural indigenous materials, half-timbering in the gables and dormers, picturesque roofline, cedar shingle siding, extended eaves, native granite rubble-stone foundation with red-coloured mortar, and granite piers and chimneys
- additional exterior features such as the central front entrance, elaborate wrap-around verandah, porte-cochere and balcony at second storey lighted with original cast iron electric lanterns
- red terra cotta pantile roof cladding
- fenestration, such as double-hung 1-over-1 wooden-sash windows with stained glass and leaded lights in the upper sash
- original interior features such as fireplaces, wainscoting finished with oak and walnut millwork, and three-quarter sawn oak flooring
- associated landscape features including three giant Sequoias. granite walls, granite gate posts and wrought iron gates
George Searby Buxton (1867-1955), an English-born carpenter, built this Arts and Crafts dwelling and resided here with his wife and local teacher Mary Isabel Buxton (née Nattriss, 1865-1941). George and Mary are both buried in the picturesque St. Helen’s Anglican Church cemetery in Surrey. The house retains this style’s characteristic elements such as half-timbering, an oriel window and turned verandah supports, as well as its distinctive windows, which are casements in the lower portion of the frame and a fixed multi-paned sash in the upper. The original siding has been covered with a later coat of stucco. The house survives in well-maintained condition.
Carpenter Henry J. Adams constructed this side-gabled, shingle-clad bungalow circa 1913, with his neighbour, George S. Buxton (1867-1955), who was also a carpenter. The house is distinguished by its beautifully-detailed wraparound verandah, which is supported by square, tapered columns, and its distinctive semicircular window in the projecting front gable. Other details include a subtly flattened arched opening under the gable, leading to the central front entry.
The years 1911-1912 saw great expansion and settlement in Burnaby and large public works projects were undertaken to service the growing community. One project that was determined to be a necessity was the construction of a proper highway between New Westminster and Vancouver. The Province and the Municipality agreed to share the costs of construction (with Burnaby paying 25% and the Province 75%) and so Kingsway was built to improve the current Vancouver Road. The road was named after the famous King's Way in London, England.
Marlborough Elementary School was built in 1950 and was the second elementary school to be built in Burnaby after the start of the World War Two housing boom. Its design helped establish the general plans for future schools built in the city during this period - no basements, second stories or high stairways. Classrooms could easily be added, in line, as the need arose. There were additions made to Marlborough in 1952, 1961, 1967 and 1971.
The Marlborough Neighbourhood is another residential area that was witness to rapid growth and subdivision during the 1950s and 1960s, creating primarily single-family housing stock. In the 1970s and 1980s, as the commercial district around Kingsway grew, so too did higher density housing projects such as townhomes and condominiums.
After starting the first Oak Theatre in Brandon, Manitoba when talking pictures came along, Andy Digney and his family moved to Burnaby in 1936 and chose the site of their new theatre at the corner of Kingsway and Marlborough. In 1945, Digney sold the theatre but it remained in operation until 1968 when competition forced its closure and demolition. The Oak Theatre - which had opened on August 4, 1937 - was hailed as an artistic masterpiece for its ultra modern white stucco exterior, floodlights and pink-and-green neon marquee. The interior featured a mirrored ceiling, fireplace, and aquarium and had a colour scheme of orchid, royal blue, silver and black.
This home was built as a retirement home for Baptist Missionary Reverend James Black and his family in 1925; the Black family resided in the home until the early 1970s. The Black Residence is a good example of the Period Revival movement that occurred between the two World Wars. At the time, it was considered good taste for a house to have an identifiable historical style. The Black Residence was likely designed by a local architect or built by a contractor using a pattern book plan, and the British Arts and Crafts influence was typical of many middle class homes of the period built in Burnaby. The house was originally located facing Sardis Street with a beautiful garden landscape that was lost when the house was relocated in 2005.
One of the most notorious landmarks in Burnaby was the Royal Oak Hotel, constructed around 1891 at the present-day northeast corner of Kingsway and Royal Oak. Levis Morrison built the hotel, then sold out to Charles Cridland, whose poor hotel reputation prompted Burnaby council to hire its second police constable. The hotel continued to operate until 1973 when it was demolished to build a Safeway store.
The South Burnaby Cenotaph is located in Bonsor Park at the corner of Nelson Avenue and Imperial Street. The cenotaph commemorates those lost in the First World War, Second World War and the Korean War.
The South Burnaby Cenotaph is located in Bonsor Park at the corner of Nelson Avenue and Imperial Street. The cenotaph commemorates those lost in the First World War, Second World War and the Korean War.
The street we know as Kingsway is one of the legacies of the Royal Engineers' military defences for New Westminster. The fear of an American attack prompted the construction of the False Creek trail - later known as Vancouver Road and now Kingsway - in 1860 to connect the capital city to the ice-free salt water harbour at English Bay.
1 photograph : b&w ; 3.0 x 5.3 cm print on contact sheet 20.1 x 26.3 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of 3830 Hazel Street (later renumbered 4662 Hazel Street) during the summer. A woman, probably Mrs. R.W. MacPhaden, is seated on the front steps.
1 photograph : b&w ; 3.0 x 5.3 cm print on contact sheet 20.1 x 26.3 cm
Description Level
Item
Record No.
370-746
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
No known restrictions
Accession Number
BHS1999-03
Scope and Content
Photograph of 3830 Hazel Street (later renumbered 4662 Hazel Street) during the summer. A woman, probably Mrs. R.W. MacPhaden, is seated on the front steps.
1 photograph : b&w ; 3.0 x 5.4 cm print on contact sheet 20.1 x 26.3 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of the view from 3830 Hazel Street (later renumbered 4662 Hazel Street) in the snow. Spud Murphy's car, a Desoto, can be seen in the street and the George family's house is in the background.
1 photograph : b&w ; 3.0 x 5.4 cm print on contact sheet 20.1 x 26.3 cm
Description Level
Item
Record No.
370-747
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
No known restrictions
Accession Number
BHS1999-03
Scope and Content
Photograph of the view from 3830 Hazel Street (later renumbered 4662 Hazel Street) in the snow. Spud Murphy's car, a Desoto, can be seen in the street and the George family's house is in the background.
1 photograph : b&w ; 11 x 16 cm mounted on cardboard
Scope and Content
Photograph shows small businesses in the 4700 block Kingsway looking east along Kingsway. Businesses include William's Cafe, Fire Places Unlimited and Vacuum Self-Service.
1 photograph : b&w ; 11 x 16 cm mounted on cardboard
Description Level
Item
Record No.
556-210
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
Reproduce for fair dealing purposes only
Accession Number
2013-13
Scope and Content
Photograph shows small businesses in the 4700 block Kingsway looking east along Kingsway. Businesses include William's Cafe, Fire Places Unlimited and Vacuum Self-Service.
Photographs of the exterior of Horizon Tower, a high-rise apartment complex located at 4960 Sanders Street. Photographs of the tower are taken from several vantage points.
Photographs of the exterior of Horizon Tower, a high-rise apartment complex located at 4960 Sanders Street. Photographs of the tower are taken from several vantage points.
Photograph of the front steps and the entrance of a three-storey apartment building located at 5130 Irving Street. The photograph depicts the building at night, with the lobby and some of the apartments' windows illuminated from inside. The building was constructed in 1971.
Photograph of the front steps and the entrance of a three-storey apartment building located at 5130 Irving Street. The photograph depicts the building at night, with the lobby and some of the apartments' windows illuminated from inside. The building was constructed in 1971.
Photograph of the entrance of an apartment building located at 5130 Irving Street. The building was constructed in 1971. The photograph depicts the entrance and the lobby from the exterior at night. The lobby is illuminated and a crest featuring an "E" is on the entrance window.
Photograph of the entrance of an apartment building located at 5130 Irving Street. The building was constructed in 1971. The photograph depicts the entrance and the lobby from the exterior at night. The lobby is illuminated and a crest featuring an "E" is on the entrance window.