Description of Historic Place

949 Meares Street is a wood frame one-and-one-half storey Classical variation of a bungalow located in the Meares Street cluster, adjacent to Pioneer Square Cemetery in Victoria's Fairfield neighbourhood. The designation includes several interior features and the metal fence on the street front of the property.

Heritage Value

949 Meares Street, built in 1901, is valued for its architecture and interior features, as an illustration of the growth of middle class home ownership in the early twentieth century, and for its position in a cluster of homes of similar massing.

949 Meares Street has value as an example of a Classical variation on a bungalow. The paired posts on the full verandah reflect Classical influence while the horizontality and the verandah itself reflect its bungalow antecedents. The mature landscaping and metal fence on the street front enhance the street presence of the residence.

Built for florist George Mowat, the historic place illustrates the type of housing being built at the turn of the twentieth century for the growing merchant class. By 1908, the home was owned by Mrs. Agnes McKinnon, who had previously lived next door at 957 Meares. She moved to this smaller house after the death of her husband.

There is heritage value in the interior of this home, which was painstakingly restored in 1993. The interior has been retained in virtually original condition. Designated interior features include the living room, dining room, woodwork, hardware and fixtures.

This historic place is further valued for its position as one of a series of four houses of similar mass built on the Christ Church Trust lands adjacent to Pioneer Square Cemetery. Individually, the houses have heritage merit, but their significance is enhanced by their location within a unified heritage streetscape.

Source: City of Victoria Planning Department

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of 949 Meares Street include its:
- characteristics of the bungalow style including full verandah, overhanging eaves, bay windows, horizontality, central entrance, bellcast roof with hipped dormers, dentils and elaborate finishes
- characteristics of the Classical style, including paired square chamfered posts with double brackets
- form and pattern of fenestration, including upper dormer with latticed lead lights in upper portion
- corbelled chimney
- interior features, including living room with fireplace, original wood floors, dining room with pocket doors and wood wainscoting, kitchen pantry, original heating grates and hardware
- mature landscaping
- metal fence on the street front of the property
- location, set well back from the street
- relationship with neighbouring houses to the west, including uniformity of massing, setbacks and scale