Description of Historic Place

The historic place is the two-storey, wood-frame Copeland House, located at 784 Elliot Avenue in Kelowna's South Central neighbourhood.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Copeland House is due in part to its association with Robert Andrew Copeland, who was active as an early land developer and Kelowna alderman; and for the transition of the building from a family home to a rooming house, and then to apartment units, as inner-city population densification occurred. Additionally, it has architectural value as a good example of a Foursquare-style house.

The house has value for its association with Robert Andrew (Bob) Copeland (1864-1955), married to Jane (Belle) Copeland, who built the house when he came to Kelowna in the spring of 1907. He had previously operated a hotel in Grenfell, Saskatchewan, for twenty years, and had served as an auxiliary in the Northwest Rebellion. Copeland became a director of the Central Okanagan Land Company and served as a city alderman from 1911 to 1916. Copeland Place was named for him (767 Copeland Place was originally the barn and 789 Copeland Place the ice house formerly associated with the Copeland House).

In 1917 the Copelands left Kelowna and took up farming in the Lumby district. Bob was president of the United Farmers of British Columbia from 1919 to 1921. In 1942, the Copelands sold the farm and returned to retirement in Kelowna.

This building has historic value as it reflects change in an evolving neighbourhood. It was apparently still a single residence in 1938, owned by W.R. Miller. In 1941 it was listed as a rooming house, owned by Jacob Vohl. During the acute housing shortage of WWII, in 1942, owner Ethel Yegl (later Mrs. Ethel Bryan) remodeled it as eight apartments, with two rooms each. The 'Elliott Apartments' went through a series of at least fifteen owners between 1940 and 1965.

The house is a good example of a Foursquare-style residence, with its square plan and medium-pitched hipped roof. The type is clearly legible, although its external details have been considerably modified over the years.

Source: City of Kelowna Planning Department

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Copeland House include its:
- location on Elliot Avenue in Kelowna's South Central neighbourhood
- residential form, scale and massing, as expressed by two-storey height and square plan
- medium-pitched hipped roof
- hipped roof protecting over entrance door and porch
- symmetrical fenestration, with one-over-one, double-hung, wood-sash windows, with wide wood trim, some of which may be more recent in application (the later metal-sash windows are not character-defining elements)
- diamond-shaped painted wood symbols applied to the front elevation on both levels
- uniform off-white painted stucco
- mature landscaping around the perimeter of the property, with a private front lawn