MacPherson House

Built around 1895, the MacPherson House was one of the first houses on the 800-block of Union Street, which was at the time named “Barnard St”. This one and-half storey wood framed house is double gabled and has Queen Anne-cottage style features. The combination of its prominent bay window, brackets and decorative shingles and shiplap siding make it a unique in Strathcona. There were few houses on the street before 1899.

The owner and builder of the house is listed as Robert MacPherson, a Scottish-born carpenter who became a local politician and represented the City of Vancouver in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1894-1900. MacPherson chose this lot at the eastern end of a developing neighbourhood to take advantage of the interurban line along Campbell Avenue which had begun operation in 1891. Barnard Street was renamed since it sounded too much like Burrard Street.

This Strathcona home applied to be added to the Heritage Register in 2012 and was added as a C. The house has since been painted in VHF True Colours paint scheme.

The MacPherson house was part of VHF's Heritage Discovery Day and House Tour in 2023.

Source

City of Vancouver Heritage Files, Elizabeth Walker's "Street Names of Vancouver", VHF Files