Description of Historic Place

The Simpson House is a one and one-half storey Craftsman bungalow, located on lake-front property on the west side of Abbott Street amongst houses similar in size and age in Kelowna's historic Abbott Street neighbourhood. There is a substantial brick drive with a double car garage at the front of the house.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of this house is associated with Stanley Merrium Simpson (1886-1959), who moved to Kelowna in 1913 and started a one-man millwork shop on Water Street that grew to become one of Kelowna's major industries. Simpson turned out storm windows, screen doors and fruit ladders, but soon recognized the growing market for packing boxes. Simpson's holdings eventually grew to include sawmills, a veneer plant and a box factory that produced 20,000 units a day to supply the fruit industry. At its height, Simpson's business provided employment to 800 men and women. Businesses such as Simpson's helped to establish Kelowna as an important regional service supply centre. It reflects the city's development as the population and economic base increased due to the growth of the fruit and logging industry.

Built in 1921, the Simpson House is valued for its Craftsman style architecture. The most popular housing style between 1910 and 1930, the Craftsman style was typified by rational space planning, the use of natural materials and a mix of traditional design elements inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement. This bungalow is an example of the popular pattern book homes constructed at the time, or a direct interpretation of such a design, and was built by prominent local contractor Alexander Cormack Bennett (1882-1953).

Source: City of Kelowna, Planning Department, File No. 6800-02

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Simpson House include its:
- setting on a large lakefront property;
- form, scale and massing, as expressed by its one and one-half storey height and rectangular plan;
- side gabled roof with broken pitch and central gabled front dormer;
- wood-frame construction and concrete foundation;
- additional exterior elements, such as its triangular eave brackets, scroll cut bargeboards, and an internal red brick chimney; and
- associated mature landscape features.