Description of Historic Place

Located on the northwest corner of Nicola and Comox Streets in Vancouver’s West End neighbourhood, 1050 Nicola Street is a two-and-one-half-storey wood frame house. A good example of the Edwardian Builder style, the home remains a key element in the varied streetscape that gives Nicola Street its traditional neighbourhood charm.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of 1050 Nicola Street lies in its architectural and contextual significance.

Constructed circa 1909, 1050 Nicola Street is a good example of the Edwardian Builder Style in Vancouver’s West End. Over the years, alterations have included the addition of a second-storey deck within the volume of the front porch roof, the removal of the front porch stairs and replacement with a reference to the landscaping, the removal of the rear porch additions and modification to windows on the south and east elevations.

The contextual value of 1050 Nicola Street lies in its location in the heart of the West End neighbourhood, a neighbourhood with one of the highest residential densities in North America. The site was the subject of a heritage revitalization project that rehabilitated and relocated the heritage building to the far south west corner of the site, enabling the development of a seven unit infill multiple dwelling surrounding the heritage building. Density bonuses and regulatory relaxations were also granted, in return for legal designation of the heritage building, to ensure its long term protection. The new residential structure echoes the numerous modernist apartment buildings typical of the West End. Despite this, the heritage house maintains its prominence as a corner structure, while at the same time becoming an integrated component of a contemporary streetscape.

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of 1050 Nicola Street’s Edwardian Builder architectural design include:
- its location in Vancouver’s high-density residential West End neighbourhood at the corner of Nicola and Comox Streets
- the two elevations facing Nicola and Comox Streets with narrow clapboard siding
- decorative scalloped shingles in the upper portion of the front gable
- fluted porch columns
- front gable roof
- various forms of fenestration (retaining their original wood frames and with stained glass elements) including a two-storey bay window, and a bay window off the front porch, and dormer window
- second-storey deck within the volume of the front porch
- wide-brimmed eaves