Description of Historic Place

Constructed in 1910, Melissa Park Lodge is an impressive two-and-a-half storey wood frame building occupying a residential lot near the downtown of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia.

Heritage Value

The building now known as Melissa Park Lodge is important for its historic, aesthetic and cultural significance. Melissa Park Lodge is one of two remaining buildings built before the incorporation of Port Coquitlam in 1913. A symbol of social inclusion, the building has operated as a community care facility since 1960.

Melissa Park Lodge has historic significance for its age and association with early Port Coquitlam pioneers and the Essondale institution (Riverview Hospital). Originally a single-family home, the house has valued associations with a number of important Port Coquitlam families. The house was built for Mr. Wallace Fraser, contractor (1874-1955) and his wife Maud Jane (nee McLean 1906-1969). Maud Fraser was a descendent of the first European pioneer family that settled the area. The Frasers lived in the house until approximately 1945, after which time there were a number of different short-term owners. A further association of the historic property is to Charles Davies, local well-known building contractor who was hired to build the house and who is valued for having constructed two important buildings in Port Coquitlam: the Commercial Hotel (1912) and Port Coquitlam City Hall (1914). Charles Davies also served as a City Alderman for 20 years (1926-1946) before becoming Port Coquitlam's seventh mayor (1956-1966).

The Lodge has cultural significance for its strong ties to the community. The house has an interesting connection to the regionally significant Riverview Hospital, known locally as Essondale. In 1960, the house was converted into an outpatient facility that accommodated up to twenty aged persons who were former Essondale patients. It became known as 'Melissa House' and later as 'Melissa Park Lodge'. Many Port Coquitlam residents had connections to this mental health facility through family members, direct employment or support businesses.

The Melissa Park Lodge has aesthetic significance for its style, design and setting. The house is valued for being an early example of an Edwardian Classic Box or 'foursquare' architectural style. It features an overall square plan massing, pyramidal hipped roof with dormer window and outer wood window trims. Although the building has been altered over time, it is still possible to see the original solid and dignified design that offered the Fraser family the appearance of stability. Later additions to the Melissa Park Lodge include a large projecting two-storey wing to the north-east side of the house, vinyl-cased windows and simulated wood shingle siding resulting from its change from residential to institutional use. However, many of the original architectural elements are still visible, such as the pyramidal hipped roof and the front porch, which was closed in at some point and converted to interior space.

Melissa Park Lodge is valued for its landmark status due to the size and classic design of the house and for the large mature cedar trees flanking the front entrance. Its location on Mary Hill Road adjacent to single family and multi-family residential uses, as well as to an elementary school, are also important contextually. Significant views from the site include an outlook to the school yard immediately west of the property and Burke Mountain to the north.

Source: City of Port Coquitlam, Development Service Department, Planning Division

Character-Defining Elements

Key character-defining elements of Melissa Park Lodge include:

Siting, Context and Landscape Qualities
- site on Mary Hill Road, two blocks south of the commercial core
- context within a mix of single-family and multi-family residential properties and adjacent to a school
- view of adjacent school and mountains to the north

Landscape Elements
- two mature cedar trees in the front yard
- a mature deciduous tree in the back yard
- a mature evergreen tree in the back yard

Exterior Architectural Elements
- overall square plan and massing of the Edwardian style
- distinction between old and new additions through massing
- pyramidal hipped roof with dormer window
- wood trim around front door and windows

Interior Architectural Elements
- wood doorway trims and floor moldings
- metal floor grill in hallway near front entry
- original wood doors
- elements of original porch visible inside (window openings, location of original exterior wall and door, size of porch)