Description of Historic Place

The Patterson House is a one and one-half storey plus basement wood-frame Edwardian era residence with a full-width front verandah and symmetrical saddlebag dormers. It is located adjacent to a ravine park and is part of the Winston Gate development.

Heritage Value

This house is significant for its associations with the Patterson family, who were early Burnaby pioneers. Dugald Campbell Patterson (1860-1931) and Frances Mabel Patterson (1872-1960) arrived in 1894 and settled in the Central Park district. In 1910, they relocated to the Edmonds District and built this family residence on Edmonds Street near Kingsway. The Pattersons were community-minded citizens who served Burnaby through their involvement with local municipal affairs and politics. Dugald Patterson served as a School Trustee in 1912-13 and was one of the first residents to lobby council to preserve the local ravines as parks. The family name is remembered and honoured by the naming of Patterson Avenue and the Patterson SkyTrain Station located in the Metrotown area.

Additionally, the Patterson House is significant as a fine example of a vernacular Edwardian era family house. The typical design of the Patterson House was taken from an Edwardian era pattern book, and demonstrates how standardized plans were commonly used by local owners and builders to expedite the construction process. This house has survived in an excellent state of preservation. Although moved from its original site, it remains as an intact representation of a middle-class Burnaby residence of the Edwardian era.

Source: Heritage Site Files, City of Burnaby, Planning and Building Department

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Patterson House include its:
- vernacular residential form, scale and massing as exemplified by its one and one-half storey plus basement height, front gabled roof with hipped return over front verandah, symmetrical saddlebag dormers and rectangular, side hall plan with an asymmetrical front entry
- typical Edwardian era construction features such as the deep boxed eaves, lapped wooden siding and cedar shingle roofing
- projecting front gable peak, clad in decorative random-coursed square shingles, with eave brackets under and a louvered attic vent
- projecting elements on the main floor including a square bay on the east side and a semi-octagonal bay to the west side
- full-width open front verandah with irregularly-spaced square columns
- closed balustrades with drainage scuppers on the front verandah and rear side porch
- regular fenestration, including double hung 1-over-1 wooden-sash windows with proportionately smaller upper sash, triple assembly of windows in the front gable, and leaded glass in main floor front window
- original front door with inset bevelled glass light