Located atop a hill on the southern shore of picturesque Deer Lake, the Alfred and Ruth MacLeod Cottage is a one and one-half storey, wood-frame, rustic Arts and Crafts-style bungalow. The cottage is well-maintained, but has been altered through the enclosure of much of its original wraparound vera…
Located atop a hill on the southern shore of picturesque Deer Lake, the Alfred and Ruth MacLeod Cottage is a one and one-half storey, wood-frame, rustic Arts and Crafts-style bungalow. The cottage is well-maintained, but has been altered through the enclosure of much of its original wraparound verandah. Its sits on the brow of a steep slope, with panoramic views north to Deer Lake.
Heritage Value
The Alfred and Ruth MacLeod Cottage is valued as a significant example of the early development of summer estates in Burnaby, specifically in the Deer Lake neighbourhood, that attracted residents from the burgeoning cities of New Westminster and Vancouver. Access to the area was facilitated by the construction of the Burnaby Lake Interurban tramline, which opened in June 1911. This modest, rustic cottage illustrates the desire for a simple country lifestyle and retreat into nature of those who settled on the south shore of Deer Lake. While the grand mansions on the north shore of Deer Lake are set in formally landscaped gardens, the informality of this cottage demonstrates reverence for its natural, wooded surroundings, oriented towards views of Deer Lake.
The Alfred and Ruth MacLeod Cottage is important for its connection with prominent New Westminster insurance and real estate broker, Alfred W. MacLeod, and his wife, Ruth. The MacLeods had recently constructed a large city home, and built this cottage as a summer residence in 1913. In 2005, the Alfred and Ruth MacLeod Cottage was purchased by the City of Burnaby and today constitutes part of the Deer Lake Park Heritage Precinct, which is Burnaby's most significant collection of historic sites.
Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage character of the Alfred and Ruth MacLeod Cottage include its:
- secluded setting on the brow of a steep hill on the southern shore of Deer Lake, with expansive views of Deer Lake to the north
- residential form, scale and massing as expressed by its one and one-half storey rectangular plan, side-gabled roof, hipped roof over original verandah and two shed dormers
- associated landscape features such as mature coniferous and deciduous trees surrounding the property
The Dr. William & Ruth Baldwin House is a two-storey modern post-and-beam structure, located on the southern shore of Deer Lake in Burnaby's Deer Lake Park. The site is steeply sloped, and the main entrance of the house is at the top of the slope facing onto Deer Lake Drive.
The Dr. William & Ruth Baldwin House is a two-storey modern post-and-beam structure, located on the southern shore of Deer Lake in Burnaby's Deer Lake Park. The site is steeply sloped, and the main entrance of the house is at the top of the slope facing onto Deer Lake Drive.
Heritage Value
The Baldwin House is valued as a prime example of Burnaby’s post-Second World War modern heritage and progressive architectural style, as well as for its personal connections to internationally-acclaimed architect, Arthur Erickson.
Inspired by the modern domestic idiom established earlier in the twentieth century by Frank Lloyd Wright and Richard Neutra, Erickson conceived his architecture as responding directly to the site. A cohesive expression of simple orthogonal lines and ultimate transparency, this structure reduces the idea of post-and-beam West Coast modernism to its most refined elements. A fine example of the evolving talent of Erickson’s earlier work, this house is a landmark modern house in Burnaby and is unique in terms of siting and context.
Having just won the 1963 competition for the new Simon Fraser University in Burnaby with his partner, Geoff Massey, and having built fewer than half a dozen homes previously, Erickson’s reputation was growing and his skill as a designer of modern buildings was in great demand. The same year that Erickson/Massey Architects designed SFU, Dr. William Baldwin and his wife, Ruth, personal friends of Erickson, commissioned him to design this house. Erickson was already familiar with the site; as a child he had spent time at this spot when his family visited friends who lived on Deer Lake. Both the Baldwin House and the university were completed in 1965. SFU became internationally famous; the Baldwin House was also considered an architectural success and was recognized in publications of the time.
Only a single storey of this two-storey house is visible from the road, as it is built into the hillside in response to its steep site and proximity to Deer Lake. Like many other Erickson designs, this structure was conceived as a pavilion. Constructed of glass and wood, its transparency facilitates visual access to the lake’s edge, acting as an invitation, rather than a barrier, to the landscape. The house blends into the natural surroundings and the site includes other man-made landscape features such as a reflecting pool. As a reaction to the often grey quality of light in the region, Erickson exploits flat planes of water as a source of borrowed light.
The refined and purposeful design, transparency, openness of plan and adjacency to the lake combine to give the house a floating appearance at the water's edge. The concept of a floating house set within an accompanying garden was inspired, in part, by the palaces and house boats of Dal Lake in Kashmir and the famed nearby Mughal Gardens. Although Erickson never visited Dal Lake, he travelled extensively throughout India, and specifically mentions the Kashmir reference in relation to this house. There is a rich complexity of other allusions worked into the fabric of the house, unified by a feeling for the conjunction of light, water and land at this special location.
Widely renowned as Canada’s most brilliant modern architect, Erickson’s reputation is important to the development and growth of modern architecture in Canada and North America.
Defining Elements
The elements of the Baldwin House that define its character are those materials and details which respond to the location of the building and determine the relation between landscape and building, combining to create a single cohesive site. These include its:
- close proximity to water
- orthogonal plan and massing, with flat tar-and-gravel roof
- stepped down massing orienting the house towards the water
- post-and-beam construction, with the width of the beams matched to the width of the posts
- wood and glass used as primary building materials
- transparency and light achieved by the abundant use of glass
- large undivided sheets of single glazing
- butt glazed glass corners
- abundant and generous balconies, which blur the transition from interior to exterior
- horizontal flush cedar siding
- use of salvaged brick for chimneys
- use of chains as downspouts
- built-in rooftop barbeque
- built in furniture and fittings dating to the time of construction, such as original hardware, benches, bathroom vanities and kitchen cabinets
- landscaped site including reflecting pool, plantings and a dock protruding into the lake
The R.M. Edgar House is a particularly large wood-frame Craftsman-inspired bungalow on the south shore of Deer Lake, built as a family estate home. It has a symmetrical front elevation, a deep wrap-around verandah, and a pyramidal roof with massive dormers on each face. Set on a large lot and isola…
The R.M. Edgar House is a particularly large wood-frame Craftsman-inspired bungalow on the south shore of Deer Lake, built as a family estate home. It has a symmetrical front elevation, a deep wrap-around verandah, and a pyramidal roof with massive dormers on each face. Set on a large lot and isolated from its neighbours, the house is surrounded by a manicured naturalistic landscape.
Heritage Value
The R.M. Edgar House represents an alternative reading of the aesthetic and lifestyle values of those who settled on these lakeside estates in the early twentieth century. By comparison with the grand mansions, set in formally landscaped gardens, on the north shore of Deer Lake, the R.M. Edgar House demonstrates a reverence for the natural, wooded environs, and a deliberate orientation near a stream running through the property.
The house is important for its connection with Robert McBeth Edgar, not only a successful and wealthy businessman (partner in the real estate firm Hampton and Edgar) but also an active supporter of the Liberal party, Dominion Returning Officer for Vancouver, and Burnaby Councillor for six years; his contribution to Burnaby and British Columbia was far-reaching and significant.
The house illustrates the desire for a simpler lifestyle and retreat into nature of those who settled on the south shore of Deer Lake and also this community's attraction for those of an artistic temperament. Maude Edgar was a poet and broadcaster; and the Edgar's daughter - Ann, known as 'Bebe' - was an accomplished sculptress. This was the first house built on the south shore of Deer Lake.
Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage character of the R.M. Edgar House include its:
- overall bungalow massing and its location facing Deer Lake and backing onto a wilderness of Douglas Fir and moss-covered rocks, with a stream running through the site
- remnants of the original landscaping such as the box hedge, rockeries and granite retaining walls
- the surrounding naturalistic landscape augmented by ornamental cedars, maples, and rhododendrons
- square floor plan with a deep enclosed verandah under a prominent broad hipped roof
- symmetrical gable dormers
- internal brick chimneys, including one at the centre peak of the roof
- Craftsman-influenced exterior with such characteristics as: woodwork brackets on the square verandah pillars; deep overhanging roof eaves; and exposed rafter tails
- multiple-assembly 12-paned casement wooden-sash windows in the dormers with 6-paned transoms
- rustic Arts and Crafts interior with such items as Douglas fir paneling and large granite fireplace in the Drawing Room
P.I.D. No. 001-178-024 and P.I.D. No. 001-178-016
Legal Description: Parcel 'D' (Explanatory Plan 4272) District Lot 85, Group 1, New Westminster District and Parcel 'W' (Explanatory Plan 255) District Lot 85, Group 1, New Westminster District
Boundaries
The R.M. Edgar House is comprised of a single municipally-owned property located at 6450 Deer Lake Drive, Burnaby.
Area
11,661.30
Contributing Resource
Building
Landscape Feature
Ownership
Public (local)
Documentation
Heritage Site Files: PC77000 20. City of Burnaby Planning and Building Department, 4949 Canada Way, Burnaby, B.C., V5G 1M2
The Seaforth Schoolhouse is a one-storey wood-frame rectangular plan building with a projecting entry porch, located in the Burnaby Village Museum.
Heritage Value
The heritage value of the Seaforth Schoolhouse lies in its representation of a one-room school once located in one of the city’s rural districts. The school was constructed due to the demand of increasing population after the First World War, in what was then known as the Lozells District, so isolated at the time that parents were concerned about the danger to their children from wild bears and cougars that roamed the area. The school was named after its sponsor, the Seaforth Chapter of the Imperial Order of Daughters of the Empire. Bowman and Cullerne, the architects for the Burnaby School Board, designed the one room schoolhouse. It was constructed by local contractor, Alphonse J. Toebaert, following the standards of British Columbia public school architecture, which specified the plan and orientation of the building. It indicates the values and the design control of school boards of the time, and the central role of the provincial government in setting educational standards.
The heritage value of this school also lies in its interpretive value within the Burnaby Village Museum. The site is an important cultural feature for the interpretation of Burnaby’s heritage to the public, illustrating the changes in the local school system over time. The school was moved to Burnaby Village Museum in 1983, and was opened to the public after extensive restoration in 1987. Both the interior and exterior have been restored and interpreted to the date of original construction. The North Vancouver School Board donated most of the early desks, and the remainder of the interior artifacts are from the museum’s own collection.
Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage character of the Seaforth Schoolhouse include its:
- rectangular plan
- hipped roof with cedar shingle cladding
- hipped-roof entry porch
- typical school fenestration of the era, with a bank of double-hung 6-over-6 wooden-sash windows on one facade
- cedar shingle cladding
- original and authentic interior elements such as interior mouldings, blackboards and desks
The W.J. Walker House is a rustic cottage at the eastern end of Deer Lake and is now located within Deer Lake Park. It is a one-and-a-half-storey wood-frame shingle-clad vernacular structure.
The W.J. Walker House is a rustic cottage at the eastern end of Deer Lake and is now located within Deer Lake Park. It is a one-and-a-half-storey wood-frame shingle-clad vernacular structure.
Heritage Value
The W.J. Walker House is important as it references the economic activities in the Deer Lake area prior to the development of grand mansions in Deer Lake Park. It is typical of the cottages built by workers in the market gardening and lumber-milling industries that operated around the lake primarily from 1904-1925. This is the only cottage on the shores of Deer Lake remaining from the era when these industries were the focus of the area's development.
The house demonstrates the aesthetic values of Olive Walker and her husband William J. Walker, a ‘rancher’ (market gardener, poultry farmer) who built the house as a retirement home, in the quality of its construction and interior finishing. The Craftsman styling of the house was a popular design vocabulary of the time and reflected the modern taste and values of the owner. The construction of the house also illustrates the use of locally milled lumber.
The extant cold safe at the side of house is indicative of food storage methods in the early twentieth century and provides insight to the everyday domestic lives of people at this time.
Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage character of the W.J. Walker House include its:
- location close to the lake and the site of the Deer Lake Lumber Company where the wood for construction of the house was milled
- Craftsman style characteristics such as the house's orientation (front gable facing the street) and the combination of gable and double-pitched shed roofs
- front entrance with its gabled porch supported by distinctive oversized diagonal brackets, and substantial front door of Douglas fir decorated with hand forged iron plates
- cedar shingle siding
- multiple-assembly wooden-sash casement windows with transoms
- projecting cold safe
- interior finishing that dates to the original construction of the house, such as the diagonally laid tongue-and-groove Douglas fir ceilings, wood panelled walls, and Clayburn brick fireplace
P.I.D. No. 017-105-773
Legal Description: Parcel 'A' (Reference Plan 3703), District Lot 85, Group 1, Except: Firstly: Parcel 'One' (Explanatory Plan 11350) Secondly: Parcel 2 (Reference Plan 35549) Group 1, New Westminster District.
Boundaries
The W.J. Walker House is comprised of a single municipally-owned property located at 5255 Sperling Avenue, Burnaby.
Area
2,005.02
Contributing Resource
Building
Landscape Feature
Ownership
Public (local)
Documentation
Heritage Site Files: PC77000 20. City of Burnaby Planning and Building Department, 4949 Canada Way, Burnaby, B.C., V5G 1M2
A history of the Burnaby school district and individual school buildings in Burnaby, BC, between 1893 and 2013.
The “First Nations cemetery” described on page 109 in Mary Johnson’s recollections was originally written as “Indian” and may refer to the Khalsa Diwan Society’s Sikh cremations at the Vancouver Cemetery.
"Presented
To my valued fried Rev. D. W. Scott. a former neighbor at Capitol Hill with best wishes of the author
George Green
Victoria March 1 1947" [handwritten in black ink on page opposing front pastedown]
"BMMM-WU SIGNED 1st ED 50.00" [handwritten in pencil on page opposing front pastedown]
"By George Green, pioneer resident of Burnaby, and an ex-Councillor. Charter Member of the British Columbia Historical Association, Vancouver Branch, and an Executive Member."
Photograph of Grace Smith (later Grace Pletcher) and pet dog, Pechee. The dog was brought from the Orient by her father, James Smith, engineer on the Empress of Japan.
Photograph of Grace Smith (later Grace Pletcher) and pet dog, Pechee. The dog was brought from the Orient by her father, James Smith, engineer on the Empress of Japan.
Thrilling stories of the Russian-Japanese war : a vivid panorama of land and naval battles : a realistic description of twentieth century warfare ; the awful struggle for Japanese freedom, the peace and safety of the orient, and the protection of helpless China from the greed of foreign foes. Also a complete history of Japan, Russia, China, Korea and Manchuria, including progress, national traits and customs, religion, philosophy, personal adventure, etc.
"with an introduction by General Nelson A. Miles"--T.p.
"The Japanese Point of View by Kogoro Takahira"--p.7
"Graphically illustrated with nearly 100 superb engravings ; consisting of land and naval battles, views of war ships, portraits of Russian and Japanese commanders, pictures of famous cities, forts, temples and snap-shots of every-day life"--T.p.
Author's given name and dates: Miller, J. Martin (James Martin), 1859-1939
Photograph of two different exposures of two different groups seated together on a park bench taken on the same galss negative. Both groups are unidentified. One exposure is landscape oriented, and includes two ladies and five gentlemen. The other is portrait oriented and includes a family comprise…
Photograph of two different exposures of two different groups seated together on a park bench taken on the same galss negative. Both groups are unidentified. One exposure is landscape oriented, and includes two ladies and five gentlemen. The other is portrait oriented and includes a family comprised of two women, two men and two children. The setting of the park bench does not change in the two exposures.
Item consists of a recording of part one in a series of three “Back to the Roots” podcasts about the history of Chinese-Canadian farming in Burnaby and the lower mainland. Part one is titled “A Family Farm”. The podcasts were created by students Rose Wu and Wei Yan Yeong from the Faculty of Land an…
Podcasts hosts: Rose Wu; Wei Yan Yeong
Persons from recorded extracts: Denise Fong; Josephine Chow
Music: prod. riddiman
Podcast Date: October 2020
Total Number of tracks: 1
Total Length of all tracks: 00:13:57 min
Photograph info: Store front of Way Sang Yuen Wat Kee & Co in Victoria, B.C., 1975. BV017.7.191
Scope and Content
Item consists of a recording of part one in a series of three “Back to the Roots” podcasts about the history of Chinese-Canadian farming in Burnaby and the lower mainland. Part one is titled “A Family Farm”. The podcasts were created by students Rose Wu and Wei Yan Yeong from the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia Faculty and while student interns at Burnaby Village Museum. In this series the students connect their knowledge of food systems to their shared Chinese heritage in order to discover how Chinese Canadian history is rooted in their local food systems.
00:00-02:21
The podcast opens with Wei Yan Yeong and Rose Wu introducing themselves and their topic- the Chinese Canadian experience in Burnaby and the people who have made important contributions to the city’s development. “A Family Farm” talks about Chinese-owned businesses which are family run.
“The family-oriented nature of Chinese-owned businesses also extend to many of the early (and current) Chinese-owned farms in the Burnaby Big Bend area. When Chinese men first began farming in BC in the 1860s, a lot of them worked as labourers because they weren’t allowed to own land. After World War II many of these farmers were allowed to purchase lots, thanks to the Veterans Land Grant. These grants allowed returning veterans to purchase small parcels of land with government loans. Eventually, these men would start families on the farm, and many Chinese-owned farms became family-operated businesses where every member, male, female, child, and extended relatives were enlisted to work the grounds. And it was hard work, often from dawn to dusk, 6-7 days a week.”
02:23 – 07:50
This portion includes excerpts from Oral History interview with Josephine Chow (nee Hong) of Hop On Farms in the Burnaby Big Bend area. The interview was conducted by Burnaby Village Museum researcher Denise Fong. Josephine recalls growing up on the family farm with her six siblings. She tells of how the family pulled together money to purchase twelve acres along Marine Drive in 1951, her family’s background, daily life on the farm , responsibilities on the farm for her and her siblings and of how her mother had to balance working on the farm and providing for a family of ten to twelve people.
07:51 – 08:10
In this portion, hosts comment and reflect on their own experiences. “While it’s likely that a lot of this was done out of necessity and not being able to afford additional paid labourers, having grown up in Chinese households ourselves, we can definitely understand the rationale for these family-operated businesses and how it connects back to the Chinese understanding of family and kinship.”
08:11 – 09:06
In this portion, Rose and Wei provide information on the roots of the Chinese character for family “jia” in mandarin or “gah” in Cantonese. They explain that the term family is composed of two parts: the upper element is like a roof, symbolizing shelter, and the bottom part represents a pig which symbolizes food, whereby the Chinese character for family represents that of a farm.
They provide a quote from the writings of Francois de Martin-Donos “In ancient China, the farm is an enterprise, a shelter that insures one food and work. The farm is a place to rely on, but in return, needs to be maintained, including a set of responsibilities. In other words, “family” is the insurance of a stable life.”
09:07 – 10:27
In this portion, the hosts speak about how traditional Chinese thought is heavily influenced by the teachings of Confucius and Confucius philosophy. They explain how Confucius emphasized five sets of human relationships that form the basis for society: ruler and minister, husband and wife, parents and child, sibling and sibling, friend and friend. Of these five, three are familial relationships also known as Filial piety – the respect and care for one’s familial superiors (such as parents, elders, and ancestors). They speak of how this is one of Confucianism’s main teachings and in this respect caring for family members is seen as a moral obligation. In China housing arrangements are in the form of siheyuan”s — a type of residence that featured a courtyard surrounded on all four sides with buildings. These traditionally housed one large extended family if they were wealthy enough.
10:28 – 13:08
In this portion, hosts provide further information on Josephine Chow’s family experience working and living on the “Hop On” family farm through the decades. An excerpt from the interview with Josephine Chow conducted by Denise Fong is included. In this excerpt, Josephine reflects on her past experiences on the farm and her present day experiences of her siblings running the farm.
13:09 -13:56
Final summary, credits and acknowledgements.
History
Podcast hosts, Rose Wu and Wei Yan Yeong are University of British Columbia students in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems and student interns at Burnaby Village Museum.
See also Interview with Josephine Chow by Denise Fong February 7, 2020 - BV020.6.1
Compilation of Research Resources used by authors Rose Wu and Wei Yan Yeong include:
Why is family important in China?
https://medium.com/@francois_dmd/why-is-family-so-important-in-china-1617b13a67
Burnaby Village Museum - Interview with Josephine Chow by Denise Fong Feb. 7, 2020. BV020.6.1
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/permalink/museumsoundrecording12337
Covered Roots: The History of Vancouver's Chinese Farms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4WHS2Uf3JU
Burnaby Village Museum Shares Chinese-Canadian Farming History This Summer https://westcoastfood.ca/burnaby-village-museum-shares-chinese-canadian-farming-history-this-summer/
Chinese Market Gardeners in the City of Burnaby BC Continue to Practice Urban Agriculture https://cityfarmer.info/chinese-market-gardeners-in-the-city-of-burnaby-bc-continue-to-practice-urban-agriculture/
Chinese Market Gardening in BC https://www.bcfoodhistory.ca/chinese-market-gardening-bc/
Photograph of Mayor Bob Prittie standing in front of the Villa Motor Inn with the Inn's manager, Doug Clark. They are both holding onto the same hand carved plaque that Bob Prittie received from the Inn's sister hotel, the Kushiro Oriental Hotel in Kushiro, Hokkaido. (Kushiro is the sister city to …
Photograph of Mayor Bob Prittie standing in front of the Villa Motor Inn with the Inn's manager, Doug Clark. They are both holding onto the same hand carved plaque that Bob Prittie received from the Inn's sister hotel, the Kushiro Oriental Hotel in Kushiro, Hokkaido. (Kushiro is the sister city to Burnaby). Robert W. Prittie was the New Democratic Party's Member of Parliament (MP) for Burnaby-Richmond from 1962 to 1968. He was a Burnaby Councillor from 1959 to 1962, and served as Mayor of Burnaby from 1969 to 1973.