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Lanz Residence
Lethbridge
Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The two-storey Lanz Residence is a concrete block foursquare with a hipped roof and an open front porch with four composite Ionic-Corinthian concrete columns. It is located on a residential street in Lethbridge.
Heritage Value
The Lanz Residence is significant for its association with early residential development in Lethbridge, and for its foursquare design.
The Lanz Residence is significant for its association with Lethbridge’s early residential development. From 1907 to the beginning of World War One, Lethbridge enjoyed a period of rapid economic and population growth, spurring the development of municipal services and private enterprise. This 1909 house was built near the height of the economic boom, before the slowdown caused by World War One, local droughts, and the recession in the early 1920s.
Its first recorded tenant was D. Ferguson, an insurance broker. The house remained vacant for a few years in the mid-1910s, but was soon occupied by a William R. Pilling, manager of Southern Brokerage Ltd., who assumed ownership in 1917. Other early residents included Paul A. Schendel, a machinist, and Edwin S. Richardson, a fireman at the CPR.
In the 1930s the Colin H. and Harriet Catherine Ford family moved in and would reside at the house for the next four decades or so. Colin Ford was born in October 1883. He worked for the City, initially with the Street Railway as a motor man and later as a bus driver as the City moved to get rid of street cars. This home would have been very conveniently located near the old street car barn. Harriet Ford was born in September 1875 and passed away in December 1947.
The Lanz Residence is also significant for its foursquare design. Prior to 1918 the foursquare house was one of the most popular residential building plans in Alberta, and they proliferated in urban and rural locales throughout the province. Foursquare homes are typically two storeys in height and feature a symmetrical façade that hints at the four- rooms-per-floor design within. The Lanz Residence is unusual in that instead of using wood or brick, which were common building materials in Lethbridge at that time, it was constructed from concrete blocks fashioned to look like stone. The choice of building material may have been influenced by the strong, dry winds and the prevalent use of timber at that time which made fire a very real threat in Lethbridge. The unusual building materials, as well as the offset open front porch with classical Ionic columns combine to make this residence a unique part of Lethbridge’s built heritage.
Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements as expressed in the form, massing, and materials of the 1909 two-storey Lanz Residence include the:
-Hipped roof;
-concrete block construction;
-cast stone lintels and sills;
-rusticated concrete block foundation;
-composite Ionic-Corinthian columns atop rusticated concrete block piers supporting the hipped roof on the front porch;
-brick chimney; and
-pattern, style and construction of all original window and door openings.
Location
| Street Address: |
721 - 3 Street South |
| Community: |
Lethbridge |
| Boundaries: |
Pt. Lots 12 and 13, Plan 3991O |
| Contributing Resources: |
Buildings: 1
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ATS Legal Description:
PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):
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Plan |
Block |
Lot |
Parcel |
3991O
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Pt. Lots 12, 13
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Latitude/Longitude:
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Latitude |
Longitude |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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49.687206 |
-112.842391 |
Digital Maps |
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UTM Reference:
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Easting |
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Recognition
| Recognition Authority: |
Local Governments (AB) |
| Designation Status: |
Municipal Historic Resource |
| Date of Designation: |
2021/06/15 |
Historical Information
| Built: |
1909 to 1909 |
| Period of Significance: |
1909 to 1914 |
| Theme(s): |
Peopling the Land : Settlement
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| Historic Function(s): |
Residence : Single Dwelling
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| Current Function(s): |
Residence : Single Dwelling
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| Architect: |
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| Builder: |
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| Context: |
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Additional Information
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