Description of Historic Place

The historic place is the one-and-one-half-storey wood-frame Muirhead House at 763 Bernard Avenue, built in the Queen Anne style in 1910, during the initial development of Kelowna's North Central neighbourhood.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Muirhead House is found primarily in its architecture. There is value as well in its reflection of changing development and land use patterns in this inner-city area.

The Muirhead House is a well-preserved example of the Queen Anne style, characterized by its asymmetrical composition, vertical proportions, octagonal tower, and bay window. As one of the more substantial and striking homes in the North Central neighbourhood, the Muirhead House reinforces the strong heritage character along Bernard Avenue.

The residence was constructed during the initial period of Kelowna's neighbourhood development after incorporation in 1905. This was a time of strong economic growth, when the upper Bernard Avenue area was being developed with substantial houses to accommodate the more affluent members of Kelowna's business and social societies. The house was built in 1910 by I. Mawhinney, who had come to Kelowna from Northern Ireland. It was sold in 1912, and became the residence of W.F. Muirhead by 1916. In the 1940s it was owned by Michael Wickenheiser (wife Elizabeth), a millworker at S.M. Simpson Ltd. Elizabeth, listed as a widow, was still there in 1956, along with Frank Wickenheiser, a helper at Calona Wines, presumably her son.

The house was adapted for multiple-family accommodation in the 1960s, and has further value for reflecting the changing land use in the North Central neighbourhood.

Source: City of Kelowna Planning Department

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Muirhead House include its:
- strong presence on the street
- residential form, scale, and massing
- Queen Anne-style character, seen in features such as the asymmetrical composition, vertical proportions, octagonal tower with a finial, bay window, and flaring 'bellcast' eaves
- decorative wood arch at gable end facing street
- narrow, horizontal V-joint wood siding on the ground floor and wood shingles on the second floor
- decorative two-over-one and three-over-one double-hung wood-sash windows and plain wide wood trim
- mature landscaping in side yards