Margaret & Joseph Dick House

The heritage building at 1938 Ferndale Street was built in 1909 for Margaret and Joseph Dick, a marine engineer, who resided in the house until 1925. Around 1927, it was acquired by Alex and Jean Rollo. Alex Rollo was generally identified as either a clerk or a bookkeeper, and worked for the British Columbia Electric Railway. In 1940-1941 it was occupied by James Carruth, who was the proprietor of a security service called Vancouver Night Patrol.

The entire block originally comprised double-fronting lots facing Keefer Street and Turner Street, some of which have since been subdivided (including 1938 Ferndale Street). The house features a full-width porch with squared posts and decorative brackets, front door with sidelights, a square bay on the east side and an angled overhanging bay on the west side, leaded glass windows, and a combination of shingle cladding and narrow lap siding.

The heritage building retains its original character, including form, cladding, windows and entry.

Ferndale Street was previously a part of Keefer Street until it was renamed Ferndale Street in 1929. Keefer Street was named after George Alexander Keefer, who worked a surveyor for the Canadian Pacific Railway before opening a private engineering business.

In 2017, the house was awarded a City of Vancouver Heritage Award of Recognition, recognizing the painstaking restoration efforts in the reinstatement of the front porch.

Source

Charlotte Steele, https://council.vancouver.ca/20150625/documents/phea2.pdf, Elizabeth Walker: Street Names of Vancouver, City of Vancouver Heritage Awards 2017