Description of Historic Place

The Charles & Wilhelmina Bergland Residence is a two-storey, wood-frame house set on a hillside on the north side of Eleventh Street, in the historic Brow of the Hill neighbourhood in New Westminster. This historic dwelling features a steeply-pitched, front-gabled roof and a full-width open verandah, and has expansive views of the Fraser River.

Heritage Value

The Charles & Wilhelmina Bergland Residence, built in 1914, is significant for its connection with the Edwardian-era boom of the Brow of the Hill neighbourhood.

Typical of the Edwardian era, this house is symmetrical in form, and features a full-width open verandah, closed cornice returns, and wide eave overhangs. It is also significant for its history of ownership that is typical of the type of speculative development that was common in the years prior to the outbreak of the First World War. The first owner was Charles John Bergland (1863-1942), originally from Sweden, who was employed as a Fireman and Engineer. Charles and his wife, Wilhelmina, purchased this house after it was constructed by R.J. MacLeod at a cost of $1,700. Charles Bergland lived here until his death in 1942.

Source: City of New Westminster Planning Department

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Charles & Wilhelmina Bergland Residence include its:
- setting on a terraced site, with expansive views of the Fraser River
- residential form, scale and massing, as expressed by its two-storey height, with full basement, front-gabled roof, square plan, and full-width open verandah with shed roof
- wood-frame construction, as expressed by its narrow wooden lapped siding with cornerboards, and shingle siding at the basement level
- modest Edwardian-era design, such as its symmetrical façade, steeply-pitched roof with closed cornice returns and soffits, wide eave overhangs, and full-width open front verandah with closed balustrades and square columns
- double-hung one-over-one wooden-sash windows with horns
- internal red-brick chimney
- associated landscape features, such as the perimeter rock wall