Brookhouse Residence

1872 Parker Street was built in the early 1900 period of optimistic expansion in Vancouver and is an example of Queen Anne Revival style of prominent homes in Grandview. Built on a double corner lot, the house has an asymmetrical façade with prominent corner turret, steep pyramidal roof, prominent verandah with second floor balcony, bay windows and stained glass. Originally clad in narrow wood siding, it was later covered in cement shingles.

Grandview was promoted as a new suburb as early as the late 1890’s driven in part by the availability of the Vancouver Westminster interurban tramway that ran down Park Drive (later renamed Commercial) in 1891. It wasn’t until streets were graded, that some municipal infrastructure begun about 1904-5 that development began in earnest.

A building permit was issued to real estate speculator, George N. Jordan in 1908 for the construction of a frame dwelling with a value of $5000 at 1872 Parker Street. Henderson’s City of Vancouver Directory 1908 lists one house on the 1800 block of Parker Street, in 1909 there were four listed, and by 1912 there were eleven shown on Goad’s Fire map as the neighbourhood filled in. At the time, Vancouverites were moving to suburbs both east and west of the established city. The Brookhouse Residence along with other large and modest homes were built in Grandview during this boom period before the economic slowdown of 1912. As time passed new political and economic focus was centered on westside neighbourhoods and after World War II the Grandview area saw an influx of immigrants. Brookhouse Residence along with other larger homes were divided into smaller apartments or rooming houses reflecting the economic conditions of the time.

From 1917 to 1922, the house was owned by a series of business people including furniture manufacturers Francis H. Barber and C. R. Goldy, and assistant bank inspector Hugh Bailie. The house is named for prominent residents, Albert A. and Jessie Brookhouse who occupied the house from 1922 until Albert’s death in 1948. Albert along with his business partner Harry Cowan operated Cowan & Brookhouse, a successful publishing enterprise. He was a staff member of the Vancouver Sun newspaper, served as President of the Vancouver Printers’ Board of Trade and in his retirement edited and published the official British Columbia Provincial Police magazine, The Shoulder Strap, from his home study. From 1922-1926 Thomas H. Butler, former assistant police chief and father of Jessie Brookhouse, also lived and managed the Merchant’s Police Patrol at the house.

The Brookhouse family sold the house in 1949 and subsequently the house was converted into a rooming house and remained so until 2012. The interior was altered when the building was converted to a boarding house, although several original features and materials reflecting its earlier grandeur survived.

In 2016 the house was listed in the ‘B” category on the Vancouver Heritage Registry and was retained as part of a multi-family strata project. The heritage façade with narrow wood siding, soffits and original stained-glass windows has been restored while the interior has been renovated into six strata units and four new townhouses built on the site. The renovation project received City of Vancouver Heritage Award of Merit in 2019.

Research credit: Laurie S. (November 2025)

Source

Heritage Vancouver Society, British Columbia City Directories, Grandview Heritage Group, Georgia Straight