Description of Historic Place

The Old Orchard Park Caretaker's Residence is a modest one-storey, front-gabled Arts and Crafts-style house with an inset corner verandah. It is situated on Old Orchard Park Road near the north shore of Burrard Inlet in Port Moody, British Columbia.

Heritage Value

The Old Orchard Park Caretaker's Residence was relocated to this site from Ioco and is valued as a reflection of the early development of the Ioco townsite, the company town developed by Imperial Oil near its refinery on the north shore of Burrard Inlet. The Ioco townsite site was founded by Imperial Oil in 1914 and was part of the first major development in Port Moody that occurred outside of the immediate vicinity of Moody Centre. The refinery was located in an isolated area, which lacked road access until 1925. Prior to the development of the Ioco townsite, most of the refinery workers either lived in shacks or commuted by ferry from Port Moody. In order to provide local housing for the workers, the land for a residential townsite was subdivided in 1921. Forty new worker's houses, designed by prominent North Shore architects Blackadder & Mackay, were constructed by the Dominion Construction Company, one of Vancouver's most successful construction firms. Fifteen other houses, originally situated on the Ioco grounds, were also moved to the new townsite, creating an instant community. Workers of Ioco were entitled to purchase the houses at cost and then pay for them monthly. Houses were situated strategically according to rank, and lower paid workers were allocated to the western side of the townsite. As described in "Country Life in British Columbia," June 1923: 'The homes have artistry both of plan and setting. Each shingled bungalow expresses in a peculiar way the personality of the builders.' This residence is linked with the birth of Ioco as a community company town, which included a community hall, two grocery stores, a restaurant, a meat market, churches and a school in the 1920s.

Built circa 1921, this historic residence is additionally significant for its modest Arts and Crafts styling. Although modest, this residence expresses the traditional aspects of the Arts and Crafts movement as well as modern domestic lifestyles. Efficient, rational floor plans reflected the reality that most families, especially after the end of the First World War, could no longer afford domestic help. Since its relocation in the mid-1970s, it has been used as the residence for the Old Orchard Park caretaker.

Source: City of Port Moody

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of Old Orchard Park Caretaker's Residence include its:

-residential form, scale and massing as expressed by its one-storey height, full basement, front-gabled roof, rectangular plan with square projecting bay on the north, and inset corner verandah
-wood-frame construction with wooden lapped siding at the foundation level and cedar shingle siding above
-Arts and Crafts details such as triangular eave brackets and exposed rafter tails
-variety of windows including 6-over-1 and 1-over-1 double-hung wooden sash windows