By the 1950s, the Burquitlam Neighbourhood was becoming a residential and commercial centre for the northeast section of Burnaby. The Sullivan Heights area was developed as a single-family residential area with the Lyndhurst School opening in 1954. The completion of the Lougheed Highway in 1953 encouraged more commercial and retail development and fostered the growth of the neighbourhood throughout this period.
The historic growth of Edmonds as a neighbourhood was based on its strategic location on the early interurban line between Vancouver and New Westminster. Even by 1980 when a survey of the residential neighbourhoods was conducted, a full 25% of homes in the area predated 1930. The 1950s was a period of strong housing development, with both single-family and multi-family units being constructed. Although Burnaby's City Hall was moved from Kingsway and Edmonds in the early 1950s, Edmonds remained an important centre in the community.
As with many areas of Burnaby during this period, the years after World War Two marked a rapid growth in residential development in the Alta-Vista Neighbourhood. Subdivisions like Sussex and Suncrest were built and new schools and amenities were constructed to meet the demands of increased population.
By the late 1920s, the Fraser Arm Neighbourhood in Burnaby was developing into an industrial and manufacturing district. In 1931, the Canadian National Railway built a bridge over the Fraser River from Burnaby to Lulu Island and advertised that over 30 industries were currently operating along the North Fraser. Along with industries, this district remained an important agricultural area for the Lower Mainland. Chinese market gardens continued to develop and thrive and in 1926, the Vancouver Sun estimated that that Chinese farms in the Lower Fraser Valley then supplied 90 per cent of all green vegetables consumed in the Vancouver market area.
After a lull in construction during the World War I period, East Burnaby Neighbourhood's growth resumed during the 1920s when many homes and businesses were constructed. The post-World War Two period also saw rapid construction and the creation of new housing developments in response to a population boom. The neighbourhood remained a primarily single-family residential area.
Burnaby North and Burnaby South were the first high schools built in the City. Before the high school opened, Burnaby students had to travel to Vancouver if they wished to pursue education beyond an elementary level. In 1921, arrangements were made to use the basement of the Presbyterian Church for instruction of local students. By 1922 the Burnaby North High School opened at its first permanent location (4375 Pandora Street - which is now Rosser Elementary). In 1945, the Willingdon Avenue site was built and was used until a new building was constructed in 1961 on Hammarskjold Drive. From 1962, the school was used as Burnaby Heights Junior High school, but it closed in 1982 and the junior high students went to the new Burnaby North on Hammarskjold.
Burnaby South and Burnaby North were Burnaby's first high schools. The first rooms of the school were built in 1922 on the same grounds as the Kingsway East Elementary School. In 1940, a two-storey building was erected and additions were made in 1963, 1967 and 1972. Kingsway East closed in 1925 and its buildings were used by the high school for Industrial Arts and Home Economics. In the early 1990s, a new "urban education centre" (Burnaby South/B.C. School for the Deaf) was opened, replacing the old Burnaby South High School.
Designed in a vernacular architectural style, the New Haven Barn is a large gambrel-roofed barn located on the Edwardian era McGregor Estate 'Glen-Lyon,' overlooking the rich farmland of the Fraser River floodplain and near a ravine and forested area adjacent to Marine Drive in South Burnaby.
Associated Dates
1939
Formal Recognition
Heritage Designation, Community Heritage Register
Other Names
Home of the Friendless, New Haven Borstal Home for Boys and Youthful Offenders, New Haven Correction Centre
Designed in a vernacular architectural style, the New Haven Barn is a large gambrel-roofed barn located on the Edwardian era McGregor Estate 'Glen-Lyon,' overlooking the rich farmland of the Fraser River floodplain and near a ravine and forested area adjacent to Marine Drive in South Burnaby.
Heritage Value
The site is historically significant for its association with early social welfare and correctional reform. The estate was sold in 1926 to an inter-denominational religious organization called the Home of the Friendless, which used it as their B.C. headquarters. The organization was charged with several cases of abuse and neglect in 1937, after which a Royal Commission was formed that led to new legislation to regulate and license all private welfare institutions. 'Glen-Lyon' was sold to the provincial government, and was dedicated in 1939 by the Lt.-Gov. E.W. Hamber for use as the New Haven Borstal Home for Boys and Youthful Offenders (later renamed the New Haven Correction Centre). The Borstal movement originated in England in the late nineteenth century, as an alternative to sending young offenders and runaways to prisons by providing reformatories that focused on discipline and vocational skill. This site’s role as the first North American institution devoted to the Borstal School philosophy was historic, and influenced corrections programs across Canada. The New Haven Barn is a significant feature from its development in 1939 as the Borstal School, designed by Chief Provincial Architect Henry Whittaker of the Department of Public Works, and is the only remaining structure of its kind in Burnaby.
Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage character of the New Haven Barn include its:
- gambrel-roofed barn with roof vent with finial, sliding hay loft and access doors, small multi-pane windows, and lapped wooden siding