Description of Historic Place

The Moog Residence is a modest one-and-a-half storey bungalow located on the corner of Kensington Street and Municipal Avenue in Penticton, British Columbia, in a subdivision for returning veterans following World War II.

Heritage Value

Built in 1945, the Moog Residence has historic value for its association with the social changes that took place when the Federal Government funded the construction of 100 homes for returning World War II veterans.

In response to the urgent need for soldier's housing after World War II, the Penticton Citizens Rehabilitation Committee was formed and members travelled to Vancouver to lobby for housing funds. Once construction funds were secured the municipality was required to sell the land to the Federal Government for $1 per lot. Wartime Housing Inc., a federal agency, provided $360,000 for the scheme, and the old cricket ground and the Westview area were turned into a residential subdivision by Okanagan Constructions. The houses were rented to veterans at an affordable rate and, after a 13 year rental period, they were to be sold.

The Moog Residence has aesthetic value as it exemplifies one of three architectural types that were built in the subdivision and that make this a distinct neighbourhood. While three bungalow designs were incorporated into the subdivision, five roof colours, various trim colours, and a mixture of surface materials were used to create variety. The Moog Residence design type featured a one-and-a-half storey house with steep one-quarter pitch roof and overhanging eaves.

The construction of this entire subdivision in the modern minimalist bungalow form was the first iteration of this design in Penticton. These modest homes create a sense of place which is unique in the city and which expresses the frugal values of a generation that had been through the Great Depression, a world war and which was subsequently struggling to adapt to a peacetime economy. This is evident in the modest scale and rhythm of building setbacks, simple designs, and small lots that comprise the subdivision, and the Moog Residence is an excellent example of all these features.

The Moog Residence is also valued for its association with the Moog family, which comprised two generations of hockey icons in Penticton. Don Moog was a goaltender for the Penticton Vees when they won the World Hockey Championship in 1955. His son, Andy, played 18 years as a goaltender in the National Hockey League, winning three Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers. Andy was also instrumental in raising funds for the Moog and Friends Hospice House in Penticton.

SOURCE: City of Penticton Civic File

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Moog Residence include its:

-modest residential form, scale and massing as expressed by the one-and-a-half storey height and steeply-pitched roof
-setting in a subdivision of similar modest bungalows on small lots
-use of mixed surface materials including wooden boards in the gable ends and stucco on the main floor