Description of Historic Place

Set against a sloping backdrop of dense mature coniferous trees, the Gilfillan Residence is a modest, one and one-half storey wood-frame Craftsman-influenced bungalow, set on a ground-level basement. It is located within the low-density residential Pleasantside neighbourhood of Port Moody, adjacent to the road to Ioco, the early Imperial Oil company town.

Heritage Value

The Gilfillan Residence is valued as a reflection of the early development of Port Moody outside of the immediate vicinity of Moody Centre. This house reflects the growth of Ioco, the company town developed by Imperial Oil near its refinery on the north shore of Burrard Inlet. After Ioco Road was opened in 1925, new residents, many of whom were Ioco employees, settled in the Pleasantside neighbourhood. This house is one of the earliest surviving houses in the area.

Built in 1932 for James B. Gilfillan and Mrs. I. Gilfillan, this house is valued as a typical example of working class housing from the Depression era. James Gilfillan had previously lived in Ioco, where he was the proprietor of the Ioco Grocery and Ioco Transfer. At the time he built this house, he was a millworker at the McNair Shingle Mill and the proprietor of the Old Orchard Picnic Grounds. Modest in scale and character, this house demonstrates the late persistence of the influence of the Craftsman style on local residential architecture.

Source: City of Port Moody Heritage Planning Files

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of Gilfillan Residence include its:
- prominent location, highly visible from Ioco Road;
- substantial setback from the street on a large lot;
- residential form, scale and massing as exemplified by its modest one and one-half storey plus basement height, rectangular plan and front verandah;
- front gabled roof with side shed dormer, clad with cedar shingles;
- Craftsman features such as open eaves, triangular eave brackets at the front gable and cedar shingle siding in the gable ends;
- ground-level basement with exterior access door;
- panelled front door with 8-pane window;
- fenestration, including double hung 1-over-1 wooden-sash windows, most in double assembly, and the projecting window bay on the east elevation; and
- original interior features, such as wooden trim and floors, fireplace, light fixtures and claw-foot tub.