Description of Historic Place

Located mid-block on the south side of Third Avenue in New Westminster, the Crake House is a large-scale wood-framed house with verandah.

Heritage Value

Constructed ca. 1907, the Crake House, the second house to occupy this lot, is valued as large-scale expression of the Edwardian Vernacular style, a style very popular and used widely in the Queen’s Park neighbourhood during this period of its history.

The house has architectural value as an excellent example of an Edwardian Vernacular-style house, particularly for its hipped roof form, which is reflected in the roof over the verandah, the wood shingle siding, and the covered verandah that runs the full width of the house. Equally important is the extent of original design elements and material that have been maintained through the years.

The house is also valued for its association with Josephine Slater, a well-known local dancer, dance teacher and actress, who was active in the Royal City Players, and for the Lynden Dance School, which Miss Slater operated out of the house for a number of years.

Source: City of New Westminster Planning Department

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Crake House include its:

Siting, Context and Landscape
- typical front lawn, providing a setback from the street and the sidewalk
- narrow boulevard between the street and sidewalk, and from the sidewalk to the front property line

Architectural Elements
- wood-frame construction in the Edwardian Vernacular style
- large-scale, rectangular massing
- hipped roof with gabled dormer
- verandah along the length of the front of the house, with shed roof and square columns
- double-hung wooden windows
- spacing of windows on the first and second floors
- painted shingle siding
- stained-glass lites in the front door and small second-floor window