1611 W 63rd Ave

This Gabled Vernacular house was built in 1908 but does not show up in city directories until later.

James G. Cunningham is listed as the owner in 1917 and 1921 with another James Cunningham listed as a resident. One of the Cunninghams is also listed as the owner and architect of two properties on the same block, likely 1671 W 63rd Ave. and 1659 W 63rd Ave. The various jobs of James Cunningham were blacksmith in 1921, a fur farmer in 1928, a clerk for Holden Co. in 1930, a stenographer for Sankey and White in 1933 and the secretary treasurer for Powell River Co. in 1939. Although he did start as a carpenter, the original owner, James G. Cunningham, worked more consistently for the British Columbia Provincial Police and was promoted from constable to sargeant in 1926,

Between 1942 and 1952, Harry A. Ray and wife Margaret owned the house. Harry was the vice president of Acme Steel Co. of Canada Ltd until he retired in 1947. The next owners of the house were Sidney F. Jacobs, the secretary treasurer of Tyee Machinery, and his wife Frances M., who continued to own the house until at least 1955 when public records cease to be available.

The identifying features of this Gabled Vernacular house are the clapboard and shingle siding, a column on one side of the door, a steeply-pitched gabled roof, double-hung windows, a porch, trim boards and the two-and-a-half-storey height of the building. The house was built at a time when increased transportation connections through road and railway with the nearby municipalities of Steveston and New Westminster spurred the industrial development of Marpole and other nearby Vancouver neighbourhoods.

Source

British Columbia City Directories 1860-1955, VanMap, Heritage Vancouver Building Permits Database, VHF’s House Style Webtool, Elizabeth Walker: Street Names of Vancouver, City of Vancouver: Marpole Community Plan.