HVS Newsletters 1999
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Volume 8 Number 2 February 1999 HERITAGE Vancouver Newsletter The B.C. B u n g a l o w By Susanna Houwen Colonial bungalow built by the British TRUE BUNGALOW IS 1900s, the bungalow was seen as a house form that was practi- CHARACTERIZED BY cal for British Columbia’s climate.6 While some areas of British ITS LOW-SLUNG Pre-fabricated B.C. Bungalow Columbia were relatively well-settled, there were other areas pyramidal roof over that were virtually untouched. Therefore, there were two types Aa single storey of inter-penetrating inner and outer spaces of bungalows built in British Columbia: homes built by work- through the use of a verandah which surrounds the building; ers away from their workplaces as symbols of increased eco- living spaces flowing together without the use of a central hall.1 nomic freedom, and those built by employers near the work- It was a form of housing that had been used throughout the place to house or attract a labour force. The difference between British colonies since its practicality was discovered in Bengal bungalow building in these two areas can be shown by compar- India in the late eighteenth century; bangla or bangala referred ing the terms B.C. Bungalow, and California Bungalow., The to indigenous Bengali huts.2 It was suitable for both heavy rains California Bungalow, whatever its size or quality of workman- and high temperatures. A verandah on all sides meant the occu- ship, denoted the sort of house that was associated with the rise pants would always be able to fmd a side in the shade and pre- of the suburban phenomenon, and eventually came to apply to vented the walls from absorbing the heat of the blazing sun.3 any small house built in the suburbs. During the rainy season, the verandah shielded the walls from On the other hand, the B.C. Bungalow was associated with the driving rain, thus reducing the absorption of moisture into settlement architecture and company housing. The B.C. the interior walls, and it allowed doors and windows to be Bungalow was a one-storey house of squarish plan capped by a open. pyramidal roof, with a verandah or porch space at the front When Europeans adapted the bungalow they closed in sec- only a square building is the cheapest way to plan a house tions of the verandah and used the remaining sections for infor- because it results in the least wall space for the greatest floor mal entertaining. In New England the bungalow became associ- area.7 This style came into its own as the mass-produced, mail- ated with a retreat from care and was used primarily for vaca- order house. A company wishing to locate its works far from an tion cottages. This association was further reinforced by the established labour force could order pre-cut materials by rail, bungalow’s popularity in California, thus becoming almost syn- and set up rows and rows of identical bungalow style housing onymous with “sun and fun.”4 In many of these American vaca- almost overnight.8 In western Canada, the bungalow form was tion cottages “the living room rises to the rafters the lack of chosen for its popularity and, in tum, was made popular by its insulation and great open upper space would be a drain on heat use in pre-fabricated housing. These houses were not symbols coming from the one fireplace in the house, but it was meant to of freedom to the inhabitants, but of their employment. be occupied only during the summer months.”5 However, in the See Bungalow on page 2 PNE/Hastings Park Mark Your Calendar Upcoming By Susanna Houwen Continuing Events attended a workshop on the Electric Generation, an exhibit on reuse of building materials last the history of the introduction of autumn and was surprised to electricity to the Maple Ridge area at Vancouver’s fmdI myself in a step-by-step slide the Haney House Museum, south end Public Spaces show on the dismantling of the BC of 224th Street in Maple Ridge. Pavilion. Seeing its deconstruction 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. Saturday and only reinforced what an incredible Sunday. Admission is by donation. structure it was. Clear wood columns, cut from first growth timber, supported Now until June 19, 1999 the structure continuously from foun- Unearthed From the Silence, an dation to roof, and showed no signs of exhibit on the Japanese Canadian rot. A recent City publication states community of Steveston, BC, and that work has now started on the the effects of the internment at the greening of the former location of the Richmond Museum, 7700 Minoru BC Pavilion. Ten acres at this location Gate. 9:00 A.M. to 9:30 p.m., Monday will be known as the “Sanctuary,” and to Friday, 10:00 A.M. to will be formed by a pond and marshes 5:00 P.M. Saturday and Sunday. planted with sedges and grasses. It is Admission is by donation. 231-6457. scheduled to be opened July 1999. The same workshop also showed how the January 27, 1999 former Pure Foods Building, a con- Nancy Knickerbocker will speak to crete Art Deco building, was crushed the Vancouver Historical Society on into rubble and used as fill on the her upcoming biography of the fasci- Pacific Museum waterfront of Burrard Inlet. It certainly nating life of Mildred Osterhout January 20 is odd to be in the other camp! The Fahrni, one of Canada’s pioneer Vancouver’s Unbuilt Spaces new final date for the PNE/Playland is peace-keepers. A 1923 graduate of Up To 1938 September 1999. UBC, Mildred Fahrni walked with Donald Luxton: J.S. Woodsworth, Mahatma Gandhi, Don Luxton has a BArch UBC special- and Martin Luther King advocating izing in architectural history. He works people’s capacity to transform them- selves, and the world, through active as an heritage consultant working with Bungalow from cover municipalities to manage heritage non-violence. Vancouver Museum resources and has completed many heri- 1. Alan Gowans, The Comfortable 1100 Chestnut Street, 7:30 P.M. tage inventories, including heritage inte- House: North American Wednesday. Admission is by dona- riors for the City of Vancouver. He’ll Suburban Architecture (Cambridge, tion. 878-9140. look back at some of the Vancouver Massachusetts: 1986) 77. public spaces that have been lost either 2. Janet Pott, Old Bungalows in February 1999 because they never got past the idea and Bangalore, South India Heritage Week/Awards Night activi- planning stage or because of insensitive (London: 1977) 14. ties contact David Murphy at City re-development. Will he reveal why 3. Peter Moffit, The Australian Hall for details at 873-7056 Vancouver doesn’t have a recognizable Verandah (Sidney: 1976) 33. civic center? 4. Gowans, 77. February 18, 1999 5. Clay Lancaster, The American AGM New Westminster Heritage Bungalow 1880-1935 Preservation Society (New York: 1985) 85. New Westminister Public Library General Meeting Auditorium 7:00 P.M. third Wednesday 6. Moffit, 18. of each month 7. George Allen, The Cheap Cottage and Small House (New York: Thursday February 25, 1999 Vancouver Museum 1919) 54. Working Heritage: The Preservation Ray Whittick Lounge 8. Gowans, 59. of Industrial Sites. An all-day confer- (business meeting 7:30, ence at SFU Downtown. Contact speaker’s program 8:30) There’s plenty of free Heritage Vancouver (Susanna, Peter, parking—please join us! or Jo) to reserve a seat. New members are welcome by donation. Heritage Vancouver The Dirt on Areaways Officers Susanna Houwen By Justine Murdy President Jo Scott-B ave you ever noticed purple or Since the sidewalks and their area- Past-President clear glass blocks set into ways are on city-owned property (with Peter Vaisbord H downtown sidewalks? As a very few exceptions) and since the build- Acting Vice-President child I thought they were delightful ings in question are structurally indepen- Stéphane Hoffman ornaments to cheer up perambulators too dent of the areaway, the City has adopted Treasurer weary to look at the world. Well in fact an unofficial policy of having areaways Brock Piper these glass blocks are illuminating spac- filled in. This is required when a proper- Publicity/Newsletter es underneath the sidewalk—spaces ty owner applies for a development pen- Beverly Cramp which the City of Vancouver refers to as nit. In cases were the areaways are being Speakers Program “areaways.” used for storage or non-essential uses, Ian Fisher Since 1886, property owners in the the City makes areaway fill-ins a condi- Karen Russell downtown core were charged taxes for tion of the Development Permit being Membership sidewalks that aligned their lots, even issued. A new wall must be built from Margot Keate though using the space above the side- the building’s outer wall to the Recording walk wasn’t pennitted. Some clever base¬ment floor, and the areaway filled Joanne Proft owners saw the potential of using the in with sand to prevent methane or natu- Hugh McLean space under the sidewalk to their advan- ral gas build up. Sand is the fill of Corresponding Secretaries tage. By paying a minimal encroachment choice, since it is easy to dig up when Justine Murdy fee to the City, base¬ments could be utilities routed under the sidewalk need Telephone extended into the area under the side- repair. So, that’s some of the dirt on Glen Chan walk. Glass blocks illu¬minated these areaways! (Special thanks to the City Web Page spaces. Early twentieth century business- Surveyor for the ‘inside scoop’).