3116 W 12th Ave

Overview

Vancouver Heritage Site Finder
Photo Credit: Ed Biggs

Address

3116 W 12th Ave, Vancouver BC

Neighbourhood

Kitsilano

type

Residential

Significance

C: Contextual or Character

Description

Permits for this property were issued in May of 1925 with the owner listed as Mrs. A. D. Mathers. The stated value of the house was $2500. The house was vacant in 1926 and subsequently occupied by George Fargher, a baker, in 1927 The Fargher family continued to occupy the house up until his death in 1953.

The architect of the home is unknown and more research is needed to verify the details behind the construction of this home and its neighbours (3106, 3116, 3126, 3136 and 3146 West 12th Avenue) in 1925. However, some evidence points to the involvement of George Jorgenson, a carpenter living at either 3066 or 3076 West 11th Avenue at the time.

George Jorgenson was fairly active in house-building both before and after WW1 and appears to have built for others as well as possibly on spec. He was married to Birghilde Jorgenson and Mrs B. Jorgenson shows up as the owner for various houses he built.

The original owner of the home, A.D. Mathers was likely Alice D. Mathers, whose husband was Joseph C. Mathers. Joseph Mathers’ occupation was listed as “carpenter” in 1926 and “builder” in 1927, so there is some possibility that he was involved in the home’s construction. In a building permit issued in 1916, it appears that Joseph C. Mathers had previously worked with George Jorgenson on a project at 37th Avenue.

J.C. Mathers had been involved in various aspects of the real estate industry, including sales, property management and construction. He also appears have been involved in spec house construction prior to WW1. His brother was James Bolivar (J.B.) Mathers, who had been the President of Dominion Trust and later Mercantile Mortgage and was very active in the real estate industry (Mathers Avenue in West Vancouver is named after him). At times, J.C. Mathers worked for and lived with his brother J.B. Mathers, and there is some possibility that J.B. Mathers funded the construction of these five houses.

If anyone has more information about the history of this address, please send VHF a message through the Contact Us form.

Source

COV Archives, ancestry.com, Canada Census, BC City Directories 1860 – 1955, Van Map, Heritage Vancouver Permits Database

Map

3116 W 12th Ave

Directions

Directions in Google Maps

Contact

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