Intention to Designate 105 Erie Avenue, Hamilton

Description of Property

The 0.024-hectare property at 105 Erie Avenue is comprised of a two-and-a-half storey brick residence constructed circa 1893. The property is located near the northeast corner of Erie Avenue and Stinson Street, in the historic Stinson neighbourhood in the City of Hamilton.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest

The property located at 105 Erie Avenue is comprised of a brick residence constructed circa 1893.  The property has design value as a representative example of the vernacular Queen Anne Revival architectural style in Hamilton, and displays a high degree of craftsmanship in the form of its first-storey tiled fireplace, decorative wooden brackets with sunbeam design, stained-glass transoms, dentilated cornice, and Ionic columns.

The historical value of the property lies in its direct association with Hamilton builders Brown & McBeath, who originally constructed the residence in 1893, and with prominent Hamilton architect Alfred Wavell Peene (1869-1940), who is attributed to the circa 1908 rear addition and alterations. Peene’s most well-known works include the Royal Connaught Hotel and the former Hamilton Public Library, now the Ontario Court of Justice. The building at 105 Erie Avenue also illustrates the theme of economic and industrial prosperity in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century Hamilton. The building was constructed at the turn of the twentieth century for working Hamiltonians who were establishing the Stinson Neighbourhood as a place for middle- and upper-middle-class dwellings. The 105 Erie Avenue property was home to several owners and tenants including the Bartmann family, who owned the property for over 80 years until 1988. This continuous ownership is significant and has played a part in maintaining the historic integrity of the building over time.

The contextual value of the property lies in its role in supporting the historic character of Erie Avenue and the Stinson Neighbourhood. The building is visually and historically linked to its surroundings as part of the surviving late-nineteenth to early-twentieth century residential streetscape that makes up one of Hamilton’s historic neighbourhoods.

The key attributes that embody the cultural heritage value of the property as a representative example of the vernacular Queen Anne Revival architectural style, and a high degree of craftsmanship, and its historical association with the theme of economic and industrial prosperity, and its association with builders Brown & McBeath and architect A.W. Peene include: 

• All four elevations and roofline of the two-and-a-half storey brick residence including its:
  • Hip roof with projecting eaves and brick chimney to the south;
  • Two-and-one-half storey, three-sided projecting front bay with its gable roof including its : 
    • Decorative bargeboard;
    • Returning eaves; and
    • Decorative wooden brackets with sunbeam design.
  • Front (west) and side (north and south) elevations with their:
    • Dichromatic brick work;
    • Segmental windows with buff-brick voussoirs and stone lug sills;
    • Hung wood windows with historic glass and hardware;
    • Wooden window storms and shutters;
    • Double front doors with stained-glass transoms; and
    • Windup turn bell.
  • Two-storey rear brick wing with its:
    • Hip roof with projecting eaves;
    • Flat-headed window openings with paired and tripartite windows; 
    • Hung wood windows; and,
    • Segmentally-arched window and door openings with brick voussoirs.
  • Front porch with its:
    • Broken-course cut-stone columns; 
    • Ionic wooden columns;
    • Plain entablature with dentilated cornice;
    • Pedimented gable with carved-wood design;
    • Wooden bow railing with spindles; and
    • Wooden lattice along porch foundation.
  • Rear (north) one-storey 1908 frame addition with its:
    • Hip roof;
    • Wood siding; and
    • Hung wood windows.
• Interior features, including the:
  • Painted wood interior doors with original hardware in the first and second storeys;
  • Painted wood trim, including window and door trim with decorative moulding, in the first and second storeys;
  • Leaded stained-glass transoms above doorways in the first and second storeys; and,
  • Decorative interior fireplace in the front room of the first storey, including its:
    • Colourful tiled hearth and cheeks featuring natural and religious motifs; 
    • Original cast iron grate and hood; and,
    • Carved black stone surround with natural motifs embedded using rust coloured inserts outlined in gold.

The key attribute that embodies the contextual value of the property as a supporting feature of the historical character of Erie Avenue and the Stinson Neighbourhood and it being historically and visually linked to its surroundings include its:

• Location fronting onto Erie Avenue.