Description of Historic Place

The Bahnsen-Bierstock-Marsland House is located at 47 Albert Street and backs onto Caroline Street North, with its main façade looking towards Silver Lake, in Waterloo Park. This two-storey, brown rug-brick house was designed by architect A.W. Holmes in the Tudor Revival style. It was constructed in 1924.

The building was designated, for its historic and architectural value, by the City of Waterloo, under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, By-law 99-107.

Heritage Value

Located on the southeast side of Silver Lake and Waterloo Park, the house has been oriented for an unobstructed view of the lake and park. Designed with the sunroom and many bay windows on the west façade facing the well known lake and park, it allows the residents to enjoy the beautiful view.

The Bahnsen-Bierstock-Marsland House and land is associated with many notable residents responsible for the early development of the City of Waterloo. Abraham Erb, a prominent landowner thought to have established the first schoolhouse and the first scholastic bursaries in Waterloo, owned the land when he first came to the area in 1806.

Jacob C. Snider, who along with his son founded the Village of St. Jacob's, bought the land in 1828. The property remained in the Snider family until John Bahnsen bought the land, in 1923, and built the existing home, in 1924. Bahnsen came to Waterloo in 1911 to become the Managing Director of the newly formed Globe Furniture Company. He is credited with expanding the new firms business, and the Company would later be regarded as the world leader in furniture manufacturing, specifically church furnishings and religious carvings.

The home is unique as it is one of few examples in Waterloo of the Tudor Revival style. Its secluded entrance is rare for the area, as most homes closely front the street. This two-storey home, is constructed of variable brown rug-brick, with the second storey cladding composed of pebbledash and painted wood boarding. The variation of building materials is notable, with the window sills of concrete, brown rug brick cladding, copper eaves and metal window frames. The house also exhibits a unique and unconventional window fenestration.

Sources: City of Waterloo By-law 99-107; Designation Proposal, LACAC, April 28, 1999. Report DS-99-36.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of the Bahnsen-Bierstock-Marsland House include its:
- Tudor Revival architecture, rare in the City of Waterloo
- westward orientation providing a clear view of Waterloo Park and Silver Lake
- sunroom and bay windows of the west façade
- wood boarding over pebbledash
- unique rug-brick masonry
- garage façade to the roofline
- gabled and hip roofline
- wooden doors
- slate roof
- brackets under the copper eaves
- oak doors
- metal window frames
- concrete window sills
- unique and varying window fenestration