Description of Historic Place

The Van Houten Residence is a one and one-half storey Late Craftsman style building located in a neighbourhood just north of the downtown core. The historic place is confined to the building footprint.

Heritage Value

Built in 1924, the Van Houten Residence is a very good example of a Late Craftsman Bungalow, a popular style among Nanaimo's entrepreneurial and professional class during the 1920s. By that time, Newcastle Townsite was firmly established as an exclusive residential suburb. Today, the neighbourhood is a mix of commercial buildings, condominium and apartment complexes and single-family dwellings, but surviving earlier residences such as this building are important evidence of the original character of the area.

The Van Houten Residence is part of a significant grouping of heritage buildings in this neighbourhood.

Source: City of Nanaimo, Development Services Department

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Van Houten Residence include:
- all of the elements of the Late Craftsman style as expressed by the horizontal massing, large, open front verandah with twinned columns, side, jerkin-headed gable roof with front jerkin-headed gable that projects over front verandah, wide lapped wooden siding with a bellcast at the bottom of each wall, multi-paned, double hung wooden sash windows.
- the building's location within a grouping of historic homes in one of the city's historic neighbourhoods.