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W.H. Sheppard House
Edmonton
Other Names:
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Berghoffer Residence
Sheppard House
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Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The W. H. Sheppard House is a 1912 two and one-half storey building situated on a single lot in Edmonton's Strathcona district. The brick home embodies the Georgian Revival architectural style and features symmetrical massing, a steeply sloped hip roof crowned by a widow's walk, and wide wooden porches on the first and second storeys of the north elevation.
Heritage Value
The heritage value of the W. H. Sheppard House lies in its association with prominent Strathcona businessman and politician, William Sheppard, and in its elegant Georgian Revival architecture.
Born in Ontario in 1863, William Henry Sheppard travelled through the United States and Canada in his youth as an itinerant worker and building contractor. In 1894, Sheppard arrived in Strathcona and set down roots. In the decade after his arrival, he became a prominent entrepreneur in his new community, managing several hotels and becoming heavily invested financially and professionally in the area's brewing industry. His business successes helped to establish his social prestige and paved the way for his entry into local politics. Sheppard served several terms as a Town Councillor for Strathcona and in 1906 was elected Mayor. In 1907, he constructed the impressive Sheppard Block on Whyte Avenue - a reflection of his commercial achievements and prominence among Strathcona's elite class.
In 1912, Sheppard constructed a stately new home in Strathcona. The residence evinces the clear influence of the highly popular Georgian Revival architectural style that reached its peak in Canada in the early twentieth century. The style is embodied in such features as building's symmetrical massing, columned porch, and gable roof dormers. The W. H. Sheppard House's solid symmetry, harmonious proportions, and austere classical detailing impart the residence with the aura of stately elegance - an aesthetic ambience well-suited to projecting the social prestige and financial success of its owner. Situated within the historic Edmonton district of Strathcona, the home expresses the early twentieth century aesthetic ideals of the area's elite residents.
Source: Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch (File: Des. 336)
Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements of the W. H. Sheppard House include such features as:
- mass, form, scale, and style;
- hip roof with side gables;
- crowning wooden, balustraded widow's walk;
- two gable dormers on north elevation;
- wide overhanging eaves and brackets;
- red stretcher bond brick facade and quoins;
- stone lintels and sills;
- rusticated stone base;
- fenestration pattern and style, including rectangular sash windows and large semi-circular window in west elevation gable end;
- large wooden porches on first and second levels of north facade which feature a semi-circular, central projection and fine woodwork on balustrades, columns, and posts;
- bay window on main floor of north facade;
- original interior layout;
- original wooden doors, mouldings, trims, frames, wainscoting, staircases (including balustrades and newel posts), and flooring;
- original fireplace, radiators, boiler, bathtub plumbing, fixtures, and fittings;
- original furnishings, including built-in china cabinet in dining room.
Location
| Street Address: |
9945 - 86 Avenue NW |
| Community: |
Edmonton |
| Boundaries: |
Lot B, Block 94, Plan 6361HW |
| Contributing Resources: |
Building: 1
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ATS Legal Description:
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Mer |
Rge |
Twp |
Sec |
LSD |
4
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24
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52
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28
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12
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PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):
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Plan |
Block |
Lot |
Parcel |
6361 HW
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94
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B
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Latitude/Longitude:
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Latitude |
Longitude |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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53.521560 |
-113.488221 |
GPS |
NAD 83 |
UTM Reference:
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Northing |
Easting |
Zone |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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Recognition
| Recognition Authority: |
Province of Alberta |
| Designation Status: |
Provincial Historic Resource |
| Date of Designation: |
1981/12/17 |
Historical Information
| Built: |
1912 to 1912 |
| Period of Significance: |
N/A |
| Theme(s): |
Developing Economies : Trade and Commerce
Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life : Architecture and Design
Governing Canada : Politics and Political Processes
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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: |
HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE
William Sheppard was deeply involved in the social, political and economic development of early Strathcona. He arrived in 1894 and worked in the hotel business for several years. In 1895, he purchased an interest in the Yellowhead Brewery and eventually became one of the three most influential brewery owners in the province.
Sheppard served Strathcona for several terms, both as a Councillor and Mayor, and was a leader of the local elite. His house, built in 1912, remains as one of the grandest residential structures in Strathcona.
The Sheppard House was in the mainstream of neo-Georgian residential design which reached its peak early this century. The years from 1910-25 saw revival of interest in the 18th century Georgian concern with architectural simplicity, solid symmetry, harmonious proportions and austere detailing. These concerns became highly influential in Britain and slightly later in Canada and were commonly expressed in residential architecture.
The most distinctive features of the Sheppard House are the three gable-roofed dormer windows, the wooden 'widow's walk' and the large wooden porch which runs across the main facade on two floors.
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Additional Information
| Object Number: |
4665-0506 |
| Designation File: |
DES 0336 |
| Related Listing(s): |
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| Heritage Survey File: |
HS 28639
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| Website Link: |
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| Data Source: |
Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch, Old St. Stephen's College, 8820 - 112 Street, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P8 (File: Des. 336) |
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