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Walton L. Smith Residence
Edmonton
Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The 1914 two-storey Smith residence is a wood frame construction with strong Craftsman design influences. It has horizontal wood siding on the lower level, and wood shingles on the upper levels and façade. The roof is a slightly bellcast, medium pitch gable, with exposed rafters and decorative brackets on the front-facing gable. An offset closed porch with a slightly bellcast gable roof is on the right hand side of the façade. The Smith residence is located on two mid-block lots on a residential street in the Westmount neighbourhood.
Heritage Value
The Smith residence is significant as an early example of wood frame construction building, its Craftsman design influences, and its association with a long-term occupant who typified middle class residents who came to the neighbourhood in the early years of the First World War.
The one and one-half storey residence is valued aesthetically for its Craftsman design influences. Design elements include the horizontal wood siding on the lower levels of the north and south elevations, and the wood shingle siding on the upper levels of the north and south elevations, and the façade. The upper level of the façade in the gable peak features wood shingles with a fishscale design in alternate lines. The gable roof is slightly bellcast, has a medium pitch, and deeply projecting eaves. Rafters are exposed, with decorative brackets on the front-facing gable, and on the gable over the front enclosed porch. There are two, twopaneled windows on the upper level of the façade, each in a 12 over 1 arrangement. Above the windows is a flat hood with exposed wood rafters and brackets. A large window is located to the left of enclosed porch (screened from view), and there is a small multi-paned window to the right of the entrance inside the closed porch. Windows on the north elevation have moulded wood lintels and sills. The closed porch has a gable slightly bellcast roof with projecting eaves, exposed rafters, and brackets, and wood shingle siding. There is decorative wood paneling above the porch door, and a stylized address marker.
This residence was constructed following application for a building permit at the site on May 14, 1914. Robert W. Hedley, the applicant, was prominent in Edmonton affairs. Born and educated in Ontario at the University of Toronto and Hamilton Normal College, he then taught until moving to Edmonton in 1912. Hedley was Art Supervisor for the Edmonton Public School Board from 1914 until 1929. He designed the art course for Alberta high schools in 1922. Hedley taught art at University of Alberta summer sessions, and was appointed to the Normal School staff in 1929, serving as a lecturer in art and math. Hedley retired in 1937, but remained active in the local art scene, becoming director of the Edmonton Museum of Arts from 1943 to 1951. Hedley organized the western Canadian art circuit, adult and children’s classes and a women’s society to support the Edmonton Museum of Arts. He received an Honourary LLD from the
University of Alberta in 1953, a citation from the College Art Association of America in 1955, and became the first Albertan to receive a Fellowship from the Royal Society of Arts. He was an arts critic for the Edmonton Journal for many years. Hedley died on November 16, 1965, having never lived in the house he originally applied to build in 1914.
The first resident listed in 1915 was Sidney T. Lawrie, Royal Trust Company manager. Lawrie lived at this address until just after the First World War, and resigned as Royal Trust manager in 1927. J.S. McCutcheon, a representative of the Chevrolet Motor Company then lived here in 1919. The house was vacant in 1920.
Walton Larue Smith lived in this house from 1921 until his death on September 28, 1964. Born in 1890 at Comber, Ontario, he moved west to Delburne, North-West Territories (Alberta) in 1904, where he started teaching in a one-room school at Blackfalds when only 17 years of age. He taught in summer and attended the University of Alberta in winter to gain his Bachelor of Arts (1915) and Master of Arts (1918). Smith began to work for the Edmonton Public School Board in 1920, and would teach at King Edward Park School, Victoria High School, and Westglen High School. When he retired in 1955, he was principal of Westglen High School. The Edmonton Journal observed that Smith “established a provincial record of 48 years of consecutive teaching, except for a year as a private secretary.” He served as a president of the Edmonton Local, Alberta Teachers Association, and Retired Teachers Association. He also was active in church affairs, and was instrumental in opening many of the United Churches in the city in the decade following the Second World War.
The Smith residence is one of many similar Craftsman Influenced houses built in the neighbourhood in the first quarter of the 20th century, and demonstrates the popularity of this style in the early days of west Edmonton and other prestigious neighbourhoods.
Character-Defining Elements
The character defining elements as expressed in the form, massing, and materials of the 1914 two-storey Smith residence include:
-wood frame construction, with Craftsman design influences;
-horizontal siding on lower level; wood shingles on upper levels, façade, and porch;
-wood shingle siding with alternating fishscale design in front-facing gable peak;
-slightly bellcast, medium pitch gable roof with deep projecting eaves;
-decorative wood triangular knee brackets and exposed rafters on roof and on roof of porch;
-soffits, fascia, and verges in original wood;
-two, two-paneled windows on the upper level of the façade, each in a 12 over 1 arrangement;
-projecting roof over upper windows with exposed with exposed wood rafters and brackets above upper level windows;
-closed porch with slightly bellcast gable roof with projecting eaves, exposed rafters, and brackets, and wood shingle siding; and
-brick chimney.
Location
| Street Address: |
10822-123 Street NW |
| Community: |
Edmonton |
| Boundaries: |
Pt. Lots 13 and 14, Block 26, Plan RN22 |
| Contributing Resources: |
Building
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ATS Legal Description:
PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):
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Plan |
Block |
Lot |
Parcel |
RN22
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26
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14
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Latitude/Longitude:
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Latitude |
Longitude |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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53.553246 |
-113.534629 |
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NAD83 |
UTM Reference:
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Northing |
Easting |
Zone |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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Recognition
| Recognition Authority: |
Local Governments (AB) |
| Designation Status: |
Municipal Historic Resource |
| Date of Designation: |
2019/06/18 |
Historical Information
| Built: |
1914 to 1914 |
| Period of Significance: |
1914 to 1914 |
| Theme(s): |
Peopling the Land : Settlement
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| Historic Function(s): |
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| Current Function(s): |
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| Architect: |
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| Builder: |
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| Context: |
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Additional Information
| Object Number: |
4664-0067 |
| Designation File: |
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| Related Listing(s): |
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| Heritage Survey File: |
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| Website Link: |
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| Data Source: |
City of Edmonton (Bylaw 18790) |
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