Key Number:	HS 816319
Site Name:	Otto Reiher Cottage
Other Names:	Reiher Residence
Site Type:	0101 - Residential: Single Dwelling

Location

ATS Legal Description:

			Twp	Rge	Mer
			53	24	4

Address:	11845 - 52 Street NW
Number:	45
Street:	52
Avenue:	118
Other:
Town:	Edmonton
Near Town:

Media

Type	Number	Date	View
Digital scan of Negative Digital scan of Negative Digital scan of Negative	13-R0046-12 13-R0046-13 13-R0046-14	2013/11/06 2013/11/06 2013/11/06	Southeast Northeast Northwest

Architectural

Style:	Craftsman
Plan Shape:	Rectangular Short Facade
Storeys:	Storeys: 1
Foundation:	Basement/Foundation Wall Material: Concrete
Superstructure:	Nailed Frame
Superstructure Cover:	Wood: Clapboard (Bevel or Drop Siding)
Roof Structure:	Medium Gable
Roof Cover:	Wood Shingle
Exterior Codes:	Massing of Units: Single Detached Wings: Rear and Either Side Wall Design and Detail: Corner Board Roof Trim - Eaves: Projecting Eaves Roof Trim - Eaves: Rafters Exposed Roof Trim Material - Eaves: Wood Roof Trim - Verges: Projecting Verges Roof Trim - Verges: Plain Fascia Roof Trim - Verges: Plain Frieze Roof Trim Material - Verges: Wood Chimney Location - Side to Side: Centre Chimney Location - Front to Rear: Offset Front Chimney Stack Material: Brick Chimney Stack Massing: Single Window - Structural Opening Shape: Flat Window - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Head: Plain Flat Window - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Window - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Material: Wood Window - Sill Type: Plain Slip Sill Window - Sill Material: Wood Window - Trim Within Structural Opening - Head: Plain Window - Trim Within Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Window - Number of Sashes: One Window - Number of Sashes: Two, Double Hung Window - Opening Mechanism: Single or Double Hung Window - Opening Mechanism: Fixed Window - Pane Arrangements: Other Main Entrance - Location: Centre (Facade) Main Entrance - Structural Opening Shape: Flat Main Entrance - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Head: Plain Flat Main Entrance - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Main Entrance - Trim Outside Structural Opening Material: Wood Main Entrance - Number of Leaves: 1 Main Entrance - Number of Panels Per Leaf: 1 Main Entrance - Leaves - Special Feature: Shaped Panel Main Stairs - Location and Design: First or Ground Floor, Without Railing Main Stairs - Direction: Straight Main Porch - Type: Closed Porch Main Porch - Material: Wood Main Porch - Height: First Storey
Exterior:	Exterior elements include: front-gabled rear addition; side-gabled wing on rear addition; 1 over 1 wooden-sash windows; 3 over 1 wooden-sash windows; large fixed multi-light window on front enclosed porch; original screen door over front entryway; louvre in gable peak; decorative wooden element in the gable peak
Interior:	Unknown
Environment:	The Otto Reiher Cottage is located on a large, flat corner lot with a carefully landscaped lawn. Associated structures include a large double-door garage
Condition:	The Otto Reiher Cottage is in excellent condition, with its form, scale, and massing intact, aside from the rear addition put on in the early 2000s. The foundation, superstructure, and roof are all in good repair. The paint on the wood siding needs repair
Alterations:	A major restoration of the Otto Reiher cottage was undertaken in the late 2000s. A 400-square foot rear addition was constructed. The basement was dug out and foundation repaired, adding a further 946 square feet. The roof and rafters were repaired, and the windows were replaced to replicate the original style

Historical

Construction:	Construction Date:
Built	1937/01/01
Usage:	Usage Date:
Owner:	Owner Date:
Frieda P. Zaumseil	1936/01/01

Architect:
Builder:	Edward A. Miller
Craftsman:
History:	Frieda P. Zaumseil, a resident of the Town of Beverly, had the Otto Reiher Cottage built as a rental property in 1937. She acquired a building permit from the City of Edmonton in 1936, which lists Edward A. Miller as the contractor. Zaumseil ‘s first tenants were her then-neighbours in Beverly, Otto and Emma Reiher. The Reihers had arrived from Bremen, Germany, in March 1928, traveling on the vessel “York” into Halifax, Nova Scotia, with one daughter. At the time, Emma, born ca. 1909, was just 19 years old. The Reihers made their way to Beverly, where Otto worked as a labourer and eventually an engineer with the Bush Coal Company. They opted to rent Zaumseils house City Park Annex Addition (later Newton) in 1937 with their four children, making the Reiher’s the first tenants of the extant house now known as the Otto Reiher Cottage. The family lived in the cottage until 1941. The following year, Otto Reiher joined the Canadian military to serve in the Second World War. Upon his demobilization, Otto and Emma moved to British Columbia. Otto died on December 1, 1972 and is buried in the Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver; Emma passed away in Victoria on July 8, 1976. Frieda Zaumseil, the original owner of the cottage passed away February 5, 1968 in Edmonton. The Reiher Cottage continued to be a rental property for the at least a decade following the Reiher’s original tenancy. Its second resident was John Barker, a caretaker for the Edmonton Stockyards. Beginning in 2006, owners of the Otto Reiher Cottage, Ryan Catena and his fiancée, Chelsey Brochu, began restoring the property. Through their efforts, they managed to designate the property a Municipal Historical Resource the same year. A double garage with a loft above it was built at the rear of the property in 2009, replacing a smaller garage that was destroyed by arson several years earlier. The Otto Reiher Cottage is a workers cottage with Arts and Crafts-style detailing. With a utilitarian design common of workers cottages, and likely from standard builder’s design, the cottage was designed with a low-pitched roof, overhanging eaves with exposed rafter tails, and a prominent enclosed porch.

Internal

Designation Status:	Designation Date:
(not assigned)	2006/12/12

Register:

Links

Internet:
Alberta Register of Historic Places:	4664-0181