Description of Historic Place

The historic place is a two-storey, Edwardian Vernacular Arts and Crafts style house, built in 1912, located in the James Bay neighbourhood of Victoria, B.C.

Heritage Value

Built in 1912 by local builder George Cramer, 50 Lewis Street has aesthetic value as an excellent example of the Edwardian Vernacular Arts and Crafts style, which displays the typical features of front facing gable roof with side dormers, recessed porch and angled bay window on the main floor, and art glass in one or more wood sash windows. It also has historic value for its association with Mr. Cramer who was an active builder with his cousins, John and George Playfair. These local builders were responsible for the construction of more than 20 houses in Victoria from 1910 to 1929. The house at 50 Lewis Street is the oldest survivor and the only example of this style on Lewis Street.

This house has historic and aesthetic value for contributing to the historic character of Lewis Street, a small dead-end street in the James Bay neighbourhood with an intact historic streetscape of houses of a variety of styles, built at the beginning of the twentieth century. The street is narrow with no sidewalks, and the proximity of the houses to the street creates a small, intimate urban scale which recalls the early years of the development of Victoria as a city. James Bay is significant as Victoria's oldest residential neighbourhood, and illustrates the early pattern of neighbourhood settlement as pioneer farms were subdivided to form the first suburbs. The close proximity and compact nature of this unusually intact historic streetscape offers a window into what a typical James Bay street might have looked like prior to World War Two. The house has further historic value as a representative example of the modest working class homes which sprang up due to the close walking distance to the industrial activity around Ogden Point which was fueled by the economic boom prior to World War One.

The garage has aesthetic and historic value as well. It appears to have been constructed at the same time as the house with similar materials including double bevel wood siding, a flattened hipped roof, and original doors of vertical tongue and groove wood siding. A rare surviving example, it is representative of the emerging role of the automobile and its effect on City streetscapes of the period.

Character-Defining Elements

The elements that define the character of 50 Lewis Street include all elements of the Edwardian Vernacular Arts and Crafts style including, but not limited to:

House

- Gable roof form with side dormers
- Recessed porch and angled bay window on the main floor
- Wood sash windows
- Art glass
- Double bevel wood siding
- Wood shingles and wood trim

Garage

- Double bevel wood siding
- Flattened hipped roof
- Original doors of vertical tongue and groove wood siding