Description of Historic Place

McKenzie House, a 2½-storey brick-clad dwelling built in ca. 1901, was home for many decades to the founder and owner of A.E. McKenzie Co., a major seed supplier based in Brandon. Situated well back on a roomy oversized corner lot, this elegant Queen Anne Revival-style residence is a highly visible and readily recognizable fixture on stately Victoria Avenue. The site's municipal designation applies to the exterior of the house and the six lots on which it sits.

Heritage Value

McKenzie House is a fine example of substantial Queen Anne Revival domestic architecture. Removed from the street at the end of a long driveway through a spacious lawn, the residence set the tone for the development of Victoria Avenue as it became the alternative to Brandon's downtown residential core. With its simple, graceful plan, variety of well-defined windows, wraparound porch, railed balcony and a second-floor sun porch, the house retains much of its original grandeur and opulence. The site also is valued for its long association with Dr. Albert E. McKenzie, founder of A.E. McKenzie Co. Ltd., which was established in 1897, quickly dominated the seed market in Western Canada and remains one of Brandon's oldest commercial institutions.

Source: City of Brandon By-law No. 6058, April 22, 1993

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the site's heritage character include:
- its location, facing north, well back from the street behind a curved 'carriage sweep' driveway, overlooking a large lot at the corner of Victoria Avenue and 5th Street in a downtown Brandon residential area that contains many graceful heritage homes

Key elements that define the McKenzie House's restrained Queen Anne Revival-style exterior include:
- the simple, yet elegant massing based on a rectangular plan, with a pavilion on the east side, two-storey bay window on the west and attached rear garage supporting a second-storey sun porch and balcony
- the picturesque roofline with moderately steep pitches, including the full-width front gable adorned with brackets and topped by a pediment; lower cross gables, with bracketed eaves; a small hip-roofed dormer
- the open wooden verandah that rounds the corners from the front to the side elevations, with Tuscan columns, balustrades, dentils under the eaves, a northeast portico with columns and a railed balcony, and west-side pediment fronting a smaller balcony
- the variety of windows, including Palladian, bull's eye, round-arched, tall rectangular openings, a four-part ribbon window on the east side and the multi-paned transom and sidelights around the entrance porch
- the subdued colour finishes and details, including light tan brick, generous wood trim painted white, stone sills and shingle cladding in the gable ends

Key elements that define the dwelling's interior include:
- the side-hall plan offering access to large rooms with high ceilings
- the entrance foyer graced by an open corner staircase with fine walnut woodwork, including well-crafted balusters, raised decorative designs along the side and a semi-circular moulding over the enclosed closet
- the west-side living room with a large fireplace, a plaster ceiling adorned with edge mouldings and dentils that match those on the verandah eaves, and double walnut French doors to the dining room
- the generous walnut woodwork, including wide window casings and baseboards and grillework that conceals the original radiators in the dining room
- other details such as the oak flooring in the living and dining rooms