Description of Historic Place

The Humphreys Residence is a one and one-half storey wood-frame Dutch Colonial Revival style house, most notable for its side gambrel roof with shed dormers in the front and rear. It is set in a mature garden and situated on a corner lot at Grand Boulevard and 15th Street in the traditional garden suburb development of Grand Boulevard.

Heritage Value

The Humphreys Residence is valued as a part of the Grand Boulevard development, North Vancouver's most prominent garden subdivision, which was designed to attract affluent and prominent families to the North Shore of Burrard Inlet. Planning and development was initiated in 1906 by the North Vancouver Land and Improvement Company, one of the most significant property developers in North Vancouver, responsible for much of its residential character. Following the lessons of the disastrous fires caused by that year's San Francisco earthquake, Grand Boulevard was laid out as a generous fire break. Prestige was guaranteed through construction cost standards and restrictions on buildings and landscaping. Grand Boulevard is part of a rectilinear system of boulevards and parks known as North Vancouver's Green Necklace, which also includes the suburban garden developments of Ottawa Gardens, Victoria Park and Mahon Park.

Built in 1927, the Humphreys Residence represents the houses built during the second phase of Grand Boulevard's development, in the period between the two World Wars when smaller scale one and one-half storey houses in traditional styles were built on remaining vacant lots. It was built for local merchant, Sydney Humphreys (1882-1954), the proprietor of the London Fish Cannery, and his wife Elizabeth Johnstone Humphreys (1889-1976). The use of the Dutch Colonial Revival style is unusual, and as contractor S.F. Smith is listed as the architect it was likely a plan book design. The Dutch Colonial revival style was commonly seen in the United States between the two World Wars, when period revival styles reached the height of their popularity. Further impetus was given to the use of the Colonial Revival styles during the American Sesquicentennial in 1926, when patriotism was at a fever pitch and architectural fashion favoured the use of traditional, Colonial models. The Humphreys Residence is a rarity, as the Dutch Colonial Revival style was not commonly employed as a residential style in the local context.

Source: Heritage Planning Files, City of North Vancouver

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Humphreys Residence include its:
- location on a corner lot on Grand Boulevard at 15th Street
- setback from the street, in line with neighbouring residences
- residential form, scale and massing as expressed by its one and one-half storey plus basement height, rectangular plan and symmetrical front elevation
- wood-frame construction as expressed by the lapped horizontal wooden siding with cornerboards
- Dutch Colonial Revival style elements including a side gambrel roof with shed-roofed dormers at the front and rear, and shallow front porch with Colonial Revival door surround with entablature, pilasters and sidelights
- additional exterior elements such as the square bay window with leaded diamond paned windows on the south elevation, and two internal chimneys with chimney pots
- fenestration, including: double assembly 4-over-1 double-hung wooden-sash windows; and 3-over-1, 2-over-1, and 1-over-1 double-hung wooden-sash windows at the rear
- associated mature garden setting including fieldstone retaining wall at the front and sides of the property line with steps at the southwest corner, and early garage at the rear