Description of Historic Place

The Jasper National Park of Canada, Wardens Residence No.1 is located on the north side of the Poboktan Creek at the Sunwapta (Poboktan Creek) Warden Station. The front of the residence is visible from Highway 93. It is a one-and-a-half storey, L-shaped, log structure with a cross-gabled roof. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Jasper National Park of Canada, Wardens Residence No.1 is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.

Historical Value
The Jasper National Park of Canada, Wardens Residence No.1 is associated with highway development in the National Parks after the First World War. It was built in anticipation of the impending highway routes into Jasper National Park. The highway location contributed to the continued use of the station after the centralization policy during the 1960s, when other locations not accessible by road were closed.

Architectural Value
The Jasper National Park of Canada, Wardens Residence No.1 is a good example of a residence built to a standard residence plan revised to include wood frame and half-log siding, and represents a departure from the more common log construction design of the period. The buildings’ location reflects the trend of locating warden houses at sites that were accessible by road, allowing for the transportation of manufactured building components. The functional L-shaped plan, its craftsmanship and materials respect the rustic architectural imagery practiced within National Parks.

The Environmental Value
The relationship of the Jasper National Park of Canada, Wardens Residence No.1 the highway influences the orientation of four other residences, two summer cabins, a combination workshop, garage and office, a power plant, barn and various outbuildings. The view of the house from the highway and its immediate surroundings remains largely unchanged. The visually conspicuous location is a destination for travelers along the Icefield Parkway and gives the residence its landmark character.

Source:
The Jasper National Park, Warden’s Residence No.1, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Heritage Character Statement, 93-89.

Character-Defining Elements

The character defining elements of the Jasper National Park of Canada, Wardens Residence No.1 should be respected.

Its revised standard residence plan with rustic character and good quality craftsmanship and materials such as:
-its simple massing of a one-storey, L-shaped plan with a cross-gabled roof;
-its front entrance whose composition of roof, brackets, and a symmetrically placed door flanked by two small windows adds focus to the principal entry;
-its living room window grouping, symmetrically placed under the shed-roofed portion of the front façade and the other windows all positioned at the same sill and head height;
-its exterior walls sheathed with half-log siding and the gables and roof clad with cedar shingles;
-its batten boards that highlight the windows;
-its functional interior layout.

Its visually conspicuous location and the manner in which the Jasper National Park of Canada, Wardens Residence No.1 reinforces the character of its mountain park setting and is a familiar landmark within Jasper National Park as evidenced in:
-its location on the north side of the Creek fronting onto the highway;
-its historical relationship to its side driveway, the highway and its immediate surroundings.