CHI is very pleased to partner with local architectural technologist, designer and digital artist, Christine Bates on House Portraits, a beautiful way to capture the essence of Calgary’s heritage homes. Christine is donating 10% of the proceeds from fall 2020 orders to CHI to support our ongoing advocacy efforts.
House Portraits make an excellent gift for family or friends. Upload a photo of your home to Christine’s web site and she will generate a beautiful, custom water colour digital image. It doesn’t have to be a professional photo; iPhone photos are fine. To order, go to Christine Bates House Portraits. Enquire about custom Christmas cards too!
Reflecting their ongoing love of their home, the Stewarts, long time CHI supporters, recently commissioned their own House Portrait, pictured here, which is the featured example on Christine’s website.
About the Stewart Home
The Stewarts participated in Century Homes Calgary in 2012/3; a banner, mapping and story project that celebrated the centenary of homes constructed during Calgary’s first building boom which peaked in 1912.
This modest Edwardian gable front home is typical of the wood frame houses erected in Lower Mount Royal during the building frenzy of 1909 -1912 to house Calgary’s burgeoning working population. Like other homes of this era, the house sits on a partial concrete foundation and features wood shingle cladding on the upper and horizontal bevelled siding on the lower exterior. The land was purchased from the CPR in 1906 and a 1 1/2 story house built in 1910/11 for an estimated cost of $1500. The property was immediately purchased by Walter E. Avis, an inspector with Alberta Government Telephone Company. Amazingly, the Avis family owned and lived in the house for the next 75 years! Family members are buried in the Burnsland Cemetery. The property has changed hands only twice since then. The interior has been upgraded, but the typical Douglas fir trim is still intact, and the oak fireplace mantel is similar to mail-order mantels advertised in the Robert Simpson Co. Ltd. catalogue of the time for $55.00.
The Century Homes database of hundreds of heritage homes is maintained by the Calgary Public Library. For links, visit Century Homes Calgary
