2213 20 Ave SW
Owners: R & J Little since 1976
Note: Former neighbor remembers our house was here when her house, #2217, was built in 1906
Purchased in January of 1976 after lot had been subdivided for one of 1st infill homes in Calgary. Lot is unique as it goes from 20 Ave., 150’, to 21 Ave. 36 years and 4 children later the renovations include :
- Newer front steps, cedar roof, porch front entrance and walkout balcony
- Added back deck, mudroom, gardens and garage
- Interior has newer flooring, windows, wiring, plumbing, heating, insulation, fireplaces, finished attic & basement and two additional bathrooms .
The basic layout has remained the same with the finishing details such as window and door frames, lights, staircase and many other details kept in the early 1900 homestead style .
Photo graphs of:
Front 20 AVE VIEW
BACK DECK & YARD
BACK 21 AVE VIEW
Homestead Style (Vernacular)
The first North American interest in classical buildings occurred from around 1779 to 1860, after he American Revolution when the republican concept of Rome fires the public imagination in the United States, first for public buildings and then for homes. Well-known examples are the Gone with the Wind columned mansions built in the southern states before the Civil War. This was too early to directly affect developments in Western Canada .
However, numerous simpler vernacular approximations to these houses were subsequently built throughout N. America, particularly in rural areas, and remained popular long after the demise of the formal style. The type ultimately became a favourite for inexpensive working-class houses built on narrow city lots. They are typically 1 ½ or two storeys tall, with a front-gabled roof and a porch that can be recognized as approximately the form of a Greek temple .
It is doubtful that the builders of these homes were thinking of a Greek temple when it was constructed, but its simplicity to mid-19th Century houses that were designed on classical models is clear. It is close to symmetric and has a modestly pitched front-gabled roof, in this case with an incomplete pediment and cornice returns. There is a board frieze under the eaves, while corner boards represent pilasters. The porch even has three square supports approximating Corinthian columns with stylized fretworks foliage in the capitals .
Info from the Victoria Heritage Foundation website .
Known home owners for 2213 :
1915 – Mrs. Minnie Berney
1916 – John C.McClelland
1030 – Arthur W. Key
1933 – Joseph A. Sherin
1976 – Robert & Joan Little
Info from Henderson Directory
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