Description of Historic Place

The Condie Residence is a two and one-half storey, front-gabled Arts and Crafts residence with a two-storey front verandah. It is situated on the north side of West 11th Avenue, in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood. It is distinctive for its stone foundation, variety of lapped wooden siding and cedar shingle siding, Arts and Crafts detailing, and multi-paned wooden sash casement windows with stained glass panels.

Heritage Value

Built in 1912, the Condie Residence is valued as a representation of Vancouver’s Edwardian-era economic boom. In the years prior to the outbreak of the First World War, rampant speculative development resulted in the consistent style and construction of many of the city’s historic streetscapes. This massive residential expansion was halted by a general financial depression in 1913, coupled with the advent of the First World War in 1914. In the few boom years, however, the character of many of the City’s neighbourhoods was set by the consistent use of Arts and Crafts inspired architecture, typified by rational space planning, the use of natural materials and a mix of traditional design elements inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, such as picturesque rooflines, decorative brackets and a rich textural contrast of siding and shingles. This style was popularized through countless periodicals and plan books, expressing both the traditional aspects of the Arts and Crafts movement as well as modern lifestyles, and this house was likely based on a pattern book design. The Condie Residence represents many of these typical design features, and is part of a consistent streetscape in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood.

The Condie Residence is additionally valued for its associations with local contractor James Bruce Arthur (1853 – 1924), who was responsible for many residential projects in the Mount Pleasant and Kitsilano neighbourhoods. It is one of the larger examples of a number of speculative houses that Arthur built for immediate resale during the boom years, illustrating the way in which these streetcar suburbs were rapidly and consistently developed.

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Condie Residence include its:

- location as part of a consistent streetscape of houses of similar style and age in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood
- residential form, scale and symmetrical massing as exemplified by its two and one-half storey plus full basement height, front-gabled roof, two-storey stacked front verandah, and two-storey projecting side bays
- Arts and Crafts features, including a variety of exterior sidings, such as lapped siding and cedar shingles, rubble stone foundations and verandah column bases with raised tuck-pointing, open soffits, scroll-cut exposed rafter ends, and triangular eave brackets
- variety of wooden-sash windows, including multi-paned casements, some with stained glass panels, and double-hung 1-over-1 sash
- original glazed front door with hardware