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Bow Residence

320 Tempe Crescent, North Vancouver, British Columbia, V7N, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1995/07/10

Exterior view of the Bow Resience, 2004; Donal Luxton, City of North Vancouver, 2004
Oblique view
No Image
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Other Name(s)

n/a

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1925/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2005/02/25

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

The Bow Residence is a one storey low-slung wood-frame British Arts and Crafts cottage, with a distinctive bellcast hip roof, deep eaves and shingle cladding, situated on a steep hillside with commanding views to the south.

Heritage Value

The Bow Residence is valued for its association with its architect and original owner, William Bow. Scottish-born Bow (1882-1956) had apprenticed with Sir John Burnet and Son, Scotland's leading architectural firm. After Bow finished his articles, Burnet kept him on as Junior, Senior, and later, Chief Draftsman. Seeking greater opportunities, William entered the competition for the new University of British Columbia, in which he placed second. This encouraged him to emigrate to Vancouver in 1913. Bow was for many years a resident of North Vancouver, and through his connections received numerous commissions on the North Shore. At the time this house was designed, Bow was a partner in the firm Benzie and Bow, known for its residential and institutional designs including the North Vancouver General Hospital. Bow and his family lived in this house from 1925 until he retired in the 1940s.

Architecturally, the house is valued as a very pure example of British Arts and Crafts residential design. Its most distinctive feature is a tall, prominent bellcast hip roof with a distinctive curved ridge. The oversized roof with its generous eaves give the house a unique appearance, in keeping with the Arts and Crafts idiom. This massiveness of the roof diminishes the house, reducing its apparent scale to that of a modest cottage.

Source: Heritage Planning Files, City of North Vancouver

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Bow Residence include its:
- location, set on a ridge with distant views of downtown Vancouver
- rectangular plan form, horizontal proportions and regular massing
- distinctive oversized hip roof with curved ridge and deep bellcast at eaves, with cedar shingle cladding
- elements of the British Arts and Crafts style, such as the use of local materials, prominent roof form and picturesque detailing
- projecting oriel bay window at front facade supported by scroll-cut brackets, with leaded casement windows
- inset entry, with original door and sidelites
- cedar shingle siding
- tall brick chimney
- multi-paned double-hung wooden-sash windows
- mature landscape setting with laurel hedge and rhododendrons

Recognition

Jurisdiction

British Columbia

Recognition Authority

Local Governments (BC)

Recognition Statute

Local Government Act, s.954

Recognition Type

Community Heritage Register

Recognition Date

1995/07/10

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Function - Category and Type

Current

Historic

Residence
Single Dwelling

Architect / Designer

Benzie and Bow

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Heritage Planning Files, City of North Vancouver

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

DiRs-6

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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