Jones Residence
406 East 2nd Street, North Vancouver, British Columbia, V7L, Canada
Formally Recognized:
1991/10/28
Other Name(s)
Jones Residence
William Dallas Jones Residence
Links and documents
Construction Date(s)
1906/01/01
Listed on the Canadian Register:
2005/02/25
Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The Jones Residence is a one and one-half-storey plus basement wood-frame residence located above street level on East 2nd Street in North Vancouver. It is the last known surviving example in the City of North Vancouver of a prefabricated house built using the modular system developed by the B.C. Mills Timber and Trading Company.
Heritage Value
The Jones Residence is significant as a rare surviving example of an early prefabrication system. During the Edwardian era, the western provinces were experiencing unprecedented population growth, and in response, in 1904 the Vancouver-based B.C. Mills, Timber and Trading Company patented a modular prefabricated building system that could be adapted to provide everything from modest one-room cottages to churches, schools and banks. Wall panels were assembled from the short mill ends of lumber and siding, until then just waste material that piled up in the millyard. These panels were bolted together on site, with the joints between the panels covered by distinctive vertical battens. Wall panels were assembled at the mill, pre-painted, and packaged with the other components and the instructions necessary to assemble the building. The disassembled building was then shipped to the waiting customer. As western settlements became established, labour and materials were more freely available and local construction companies could be more competitive in their costs. By 1910 this prefabricated system was rendered obsolete.
The Jones Residence is also significant as an example of working class housing of the era. Modest in scale, the choice of a prefabricated system for this house demonstrates that the system was financially viable for different levels of income. The original owner was William Dallas Jones (1856-1943), a conductor on the B.C. Electric Railway and from 1913 to 1933 a ticket taker on the North Vancouver ferry.
Source: Heritage Planning Files, City of North Vancouver
Character-Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage character of the Jones Residence include its:
- rectangular plan form and regular massing
- prominence on the street, due to the steeply sloping south-facing lot
- prefabricated design and wooden construction
- lapped wooden siding on ground floor assembled in bolted pre-fabricated panels, with narrow vertical battens covering joints
- bellcast front gable roof with hipped dormer and cedar shingles in gable end
- inset corner porch with classical columns
- projecting bay window facing street
- wooden-sash windows
- mature landscaping and a river rock retaining wall
Recognition
Jurisdiction
British Columbia
Recognition Authority
Local Governments (BC)
Recognition Statute
Local Government Act, s.967
Recognition Type
Heritage Designation
Recognition Date
1991/10/28
Historical Information
Significant Date(s)
n/a
Theme - Category and Type
- Peopling the Land
- Settlement
Function - Category and Type
Current
- Residence
- Single Dwelling
Historic
Architect / Designer
B.C. Mills Timber and Trading Company
Builder
n/a
Additional Information
Location of Supporting Documentation
Heritage Planning Files, City of North Vancouver
Cross-Reference to Collection
Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier
DhRs-279
Status
Published
Related Places
n/a