Description of Historic Place

Located in Vancouver’s Fairview/South Granville neighbourhood, 1356 West 13th Avenue is a large two-storey Craftsman style house.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of 1356 West 13th Avenue lies in its contextual and architectural significance.

The heritage value of this building is primarily as a very good example of a large Craftsman style home, and one that is architecturally significant in the neighbourhood of west Fairview (now generally known as South Granville). Built circa 1910, its first occupant in 1913 was Charles Cowan.

The Craftsman bungalow flourished in Vancouver in the first decade of the twentieth century reaching the peak of its popularity – and the size of buildings – by the beginning of World War I. They are found throughout the city in neighbourhoods like Kitsilano, Shaughnessy, and Grandview-Woodlands. Only a few survive in Fairview. Unlike neighbouring Kitsilano, where many buildings of the style and era were built, much of Fairview was redeveloped in stages during the twentieth century with apartment buildings and towers replacing the earlier single family houses. The building at 1356 West 13th Avenue is a rare example of a survivor from the early days of this neighbourhood. With its setback from the street, front porch, and backyard landscaping, set amid medium to high rise apartment buildings, it contributes to the richness and history of the area.

Architecturally, the house features an unusual massing of front gables, with a dominant central street-fronting gable with asymmetrical gables at the second floor projecting bay and at the main front porch. It has wide roof overhangs, eaves brackets, and typical Craftsman style windows and bracketed window hoods. The original front door, sidelights and hardware are particularly fine. Its shingle and wood siding cladding is typical of the period and is largely intact and in reasonable condition, although its paint colour is not characteristic of the Craftsman style. The broad front porch features robust granite piers. The interior features a panelled stairhall, several original fireplaces (one in granite matching the porch piers) and an excellent built-in sideboard and panelling in what was the original dining room of the house.

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define 1356 West 13th Avenue’s Craftsman architectural design include:

- residential form, expressed by the two storeys plus attic and front elevation with stone base, porch, projecting upper floor, eave brackets, detailed window visors, front door with sidelights and hardware, and roof shape with gable configuration
- other alterations include shingle and bevelled siding and multi-paned windows and small lites in upper sash


Key elements that define the interior of 1356 West 13th Avenue include:

- entry foyer dado and beamed ceiling, fir flooring
- stairway balustrade
- stone fireplace and beamed ceiling in northwest room
- buffet, built-ins, dado and beamed ceiling in southwest room
- brick fireplace, dado and beamed ceiling in northeast room
- upper floor hallway fir flooring, stair balustrade

Key elements that define the location of 1356 West 13th Avenue include:

- its orientation in the Fairview/South Granville neighbourhood as one of the few remaining examples of the Craftsman architectural style in the area