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Smeltzer House
Sherwood Park
Other Names:
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Smeltzer House Centre for Arts and Culture
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Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The Smeltzer House site consists of three elements: the 1920 main house, the 1920 garage and the spruce tree shelter belt located along the north and west sides of the main house. The main house is a two-storey brick Foursquare style residence with a pyramidal roof and a verandah with square piers. The garage was constructed concurrently with the main house and is a one-storey brick building with a hipped roof. Two rows of spruce trees located along the north and west sides of the house were planted when the main house and garage were constructed and are included in the Smeltzer House site. The Smeltzer House site is located at the north-east corner of Broadmoor Boulevard and Glenmore Avenue in the hamlet of Sherwood Park, Strathcona County.
Heritage Value
Smeltzer House is significant for its association with prominent early settlers Maurice and Eliza Smeltzer, for its distinctive Foursquare design, and as a well-known landmark in Strathcona County
The Smeltzer House site is valued for its association with Maurice and Eliza Smeltzer, who were early settlers in what was then known as the Salisbury area. Maurice Smeltzer established himself on NE 28-52-23-W4M on November 14th, 1892. In 1899 he married Eliza Pithie. Maurice and Eliza’s farm began to prosper with the turn of the 20th Century and they were soon able to purchase the adjoining NE quarter, and the NW quarter of 27-53-23-W4M. The large, luxurious house Maurice constructed for his family on NW 27-53-23-W4 in 1920 further demonstrated the Smeltzer’s success. Maurice and Eliza Smeltzer remained in this house until their deaths in the 1930s. Maurice and Eliza Smeltzer’s success as farmers and their influence on the early community due to their relative wealth had a positive impact on early development in the district. The large, elegant main house and garage the Smeltzers built remain a tangible reminder of their presence.
The Foursquare design of the main house is an important architectural contribution to the built heritage of Strathcona County. The Foursquare design was popular in western Canada at the beginning of the 20th Century for its economical use of interior space and overall simplicity of design. Foursquare design elements incorporated into this particular residence include the symmetrical façade, the hipped roof, the open verandah with a hipped roof and balcony on the front façade. Design elements in the interior of the home include nine foot ceilings, maple hardwood floors leaded glass windows and a coal-burning fireplace with a green glazed terra cotta tile and wood mantle. Both the interior and exterior design and construction of the main house express popular design trends from the early 20th Century in Alberta, and are a tangible architectural representation of the relative wealth and social standing of the Smeltzer family.
The Smeltzer House site is valued as a well-known landmark in Strathcona County. The main house, garage and shelter belt serve as a key feature for Sherwood Park’s Heritage Mile and are a prominent landmark within the community.
Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements of the Smeltzer House site are expressed in the form, massing, and materials of the main house and garage as well as in the presence of the treed shelter belt on the property and include such features as:
Main House - Exterior
General
- The symmetrical front and rear façades
- The pyramidal roof with a low pitch
Masonry
- The red brick exterior with running bond and tinted mortar
- The brick lintels and sills
- The two corbelled brick chimneys
- The brick belt course
Balconies
- The second storey balcony above the front verandah with a hipped roof
- The closed railing with shingle cladding on the front balcony
- The second storey balcony above the rear verandah without a roof
- The closed railing with asphalt shingle cladding on the rear balcony
Doors/Woodwork
- The original wood doors
- The laurels and bow wood appliqués on the doors
- The pattern, style and construction of all original windows and doors
- The broad wooden soffits beneath the eaves
Verandahs
- The solid wood verandah with a hipped roof on the front façade
- The replaced closed tongue and groove wood railing with wood brackets that span between the posts on both the interior and exterior of the front verandah
- The replaced bead board inside the railing of the front verandah
- The v-board and tongue and groove wood soffits and ceiling of the front verandah
- The brick pedestals with concrete caps beneath square, tapered piers that support the front verandah roof
- The bead board inside the railing of the front verandah
- The wood soffits and ceiling of the front verandah
- The solid wood verandah on the rear façade with a hipped roof
- The closed vertical wood railing on the rear verandah with wood brackets
- The brick pedestals with concrete caps supporting square, tapered piers supporting the rear verandah roof
- The original light fixtures in both verandahs
Main House - Interior
First & Second Floors
- The double-hung windows and interior window trim
- The door frames
- The baseboards
- The existing chair rails
- The original metal register covers
- The maple flooring on the first floor and fir flooring on the second floor
- The leaded glass piano window
- The leaded glass windows in the parlour
- The wood window and door surrounds with simple entablatures
- The original kitchen cupboards and kitchen cupboard hardware
- The coal-burning fireplace with a green glazed terra cotta tile finish and wood mantle
- The coat closet beneath the stairs on the first floor
- The wooden balustrade and newel post
- Crown moulding and picture rail
Basement
- The framing
- The cold storage room
- The double layer interior/exterior brickwork
Garage
- The red brick exterior with running bond and tinted mortar
- The pyramid roof
- The wood soffits
- The brick lintels and sills
- The wood window trim
- The pattern, style and construction of all original windows and doors and door openings
Shelter Belt
- The spruce tree shelter belt located along the north and west sides of the main house
Location
| Street Address: |
1 Broadmoor Boulevard |
| Community: |
Sherwood Park |
| Boundaries: |
Parcel D, Plan 6447KS |
| Contributing Resources: |
Buildings: 2
Landscape(s) or Landscape Feature(s): 1
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ATS Legal Description:
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Mer |
Rge |
Twp |
Sec |
LSD |
4
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23
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52
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27
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PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):
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Plan |
Block |
Lot |
Parcel |
6447KS
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D
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Latitude/Longitude:
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Latitude |
Longitude |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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53.522276 |
-113.319248 |
GPS |
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: |
2013/12/04 |
Historical Information
| Built: |
1920 To 1920 |
| Period of Significance: |
1920 to 1939 |
| Theme(s): |
Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life : Architecture and Design
Peopling the Land : Settlement
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| Historic Function(s): |
Residence : Single Dwelling
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| Current Function(s): |
Commerce / Commercial Services : Studio
Leisure : Historic or Interpretive Site
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| Architect: |
Cyril Fry
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| Builder: |
Marshell Hughes
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| Context: |
This site is located at the north-east corner of Broadmoor Boulevard and Glenmore Avenue in the hamlet of Sherwood Park, Strathcona County. |
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Additional Information
| Object Number: |
4664-0368 |
| Designation File: |
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| Related Listing(s): |
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| Heritage Survey File: |
HS 20245
HS 108102
HS 108103
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| Website Link: |
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| Data Source: |
Strathcona County, Planning and Development Services, 2001 Sherwood Drive, Sherwood Park, AB T8A 3W7 |
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