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Online Heritage Inventory

Harrison House

General Information
Thumbnail photograph of Harrison House
Click to see full image
Type of Resource: Building
Common Name: Harrison House
Address: 9560 Cambie Road
Neighbourhood (Planning Area Name): Cambie
Construction Date: 1916
Current Owner: Private
Designated: No

Statement of Significance
Description of Site
The Harrison house is a two-storey home in a residential neighbourhood and is an unusual variation on the Craftsman style. The house is located to the extreme west side of its lot creating a large side yard. The property is long and narrow, displaying a rural character as it stretches away from the rear of the house.

 Statement of Values
The Cambie neighbourhood location of the Harrison house has historical associations with the suburban residential development of Richmond during the first decades of the 20th century. It was built during the First World War when the concern of the city council was to lend financial and spiritual aid to the war effort, which interrupted to some degree the boom that was occurring in pre-war Richmond.
Aesthetically the Harrison house is significant as an unusual and notable variation on the Craftsman style with its side gable roof and asymmetrical front entry, for the pattern of development that resulted in the creation of long narrow lots with an agricultural sense of place, and the unusual location of the house to the extreme west side of its lot.

 Character Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage character of the site include:
· The architectural elements which illustrate the unique variations on the Craftsman style, including the front gable roof with a side gable on the east side, the asymmetry and side stair location of the front entry, full front verandah supported by four square columns, and unusual casement windows.
· The landscape character of the historic place, created by the long narrow lot and the presence of the fields behind the house which recall the agricultural origins of the neighbourhood, the location of the house at the property line on the west side which creates a large open lawn to the east, mature shrub planting in the front yard, and an impressive backdrop of mature cedars on the west side of the house.

 History
The Harrison house is a two-storey home in a residential neighbourhood and is an unusual variation on the Craftsman style. The house is located to the extreme west side of its lot creating a large side yard. The property is long and narrow, displaying a rural character as it stretches away from the rear of the house.

 Architectural Significance
Architectural Style
Craftsman

 Building Type
Domestic

 Design Features
The two-storey house is rectangular in plan. Its foundation material is unknown, but is assumed to be wooden post because of the infill around the verandah at the ground level. The roof is a front gable with a side gable on the east side and is covered in asphalt shingle. The house is considered an unusual variation on the Craftsman style due to the presence of this side gable and the asymmetry and side stair location of the front entry. The cladding on the house is wooden shingle; it is painted a deep red with cream trim. There is a full front verandah supported by four square columns with decorative brackets. The verandah has a shed roof, and is open except for the east side, which has a window installed. All of the windows are multi-paned, wooden sash, casement windows, and are unusual in that the panes in the upper portion of the window are smaller than those in the lower portion. There is a small rectangular shed perpendicular to the house on the south east side; although the details are similar to the main house it is not known whether it was built at the same time.

 Construction Method
Wood frame construction.

 Landscape Significance
Landscape Element
The long narrow lot and the presence of the fields behind the house recall the agricultural origins of the neighbourhood. The house is set back almost to the property line on the west side, creating a large open lawn. There is mature shrub planting in the front yard, and an impressive backdrop of mature cedars on the west side of the house. A small vegetable garden has been installed adjacent to the east side of the house.

 Integrity
Alterations
There are few apparent alterations to the house, although there is some sagging evident and some deterioration of wood surfaces. The shed roof is covered in moss.

 Original Location
Yes

 Condition
The house appears to be in good condition.

 Lost
No

 Documentation
Evaluated By
Denise Cook BLA, PBD (Public History)

 Date
Sunday, September 24, 2000

 Documentation
Inventory Sheets by Foundation Group Designs, January 1990
“Heritage Inventory Phase II” by Foundation Group Designs May 1989
“Richmond, Child of the Fraser” by Leslie J. Ross, 1979
“A History of Canadian Architecture” by Harold Kalman, 1994

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