Description of Historic Place

The Stone House is a one and one-half storey Craftsman bungalow distinguished by a side-gabled roof and a full-width open front verandah, located on a corner lot at Abbott Street and Riverside Avenue. The lot also contains an early garage, mature coniferous trees, foundation plantings and perennial beds. Located in Kelowna's historic Abbott Street neighbourhood, this house is part of a grouping of others of similar age, scale and style.

Heritage Value

The Stone House is significant as a demonstration of the economic activity and wealth of Kelowna in the 1920s and 1930s, when fruit production became the driving economic engine of the area. The house was built during Kelowna's second phase of residential expansion, and reflects the city's development as the population and economic base increased, due to the growth of the fruit industry. The house was built for Mrs. Mary Rose Stone (1868-1943), and by 1943 was owned by Albert James McNair and his wife, Jessie. Albert McNair (1879-1973) sold his fruit and vegetable shipping business to Associated Growers of BC in 1923, then managed Associated's Kamloops branch until 1934. He then bought the Eldorado Ranch in Kelowna, and retired to this house after he sold the ranch in 1943.

Built in 1922, the Stone House is additionally valued for its early twentieth century, Craftsman influenced architecture. The most popular housing style between 1910 and 1930, the Craftsman style was typified by rational space planning, the use of natural materials and a mix of traditional design elements inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement. Decorative brackets, exposed rafters ends, and a rich contrast in the textures of siding, shingles and planed wood trim identify the Craftsman influence on this residence.

Source: City of Kelowna, Planning Department, File No. 6800-02

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Stone House include its:
- setting, on a corner lot with an alley behind;
- residential form, scale and massing, as expressed by its one and one-half storey height and square plan with rear lean-to extension;
- medium-pitch side gabled roof with central gabled dormer on the front facade;
- concrete block foundation and wood-frame construction;
- Craftsman details, such as its shingle cladding, planed wood trim, triangular eave brackets and exposed rafter tails;
- front verandah with closed balustrades, square columns and front gabled roof over;
- internal red brick chimney;
- asymmetrical fenestration with 4-over-1 and 3-over-1 double-hung wooden-sash windows, bay window on the north facade with 2-over-1 double-hung wooden-sash windows; and
- associated landscape features such as the early garage, front lawn and mature trees.