Oliver and 124st - Infill Thread

[constance_chlore]

From the Oliver Historical Walking Tour booklet:

THE HILL HOUSES (1909-1910)
9720 (WILLIAM MACKAY RESIDENCE), 9716 (HUGH MCDONALD RESIDENCE), AND 9712 – 111 STREET NW

Known locally as the Hill Houses, the three houses located on the crest of the hill at 97 Avenue and 111 Street have been landmarks since Oliver’s earliest days. These three sisters now appear merely similar; originally they were identical. Each features a two-and-a-half storey facade, with an offset attic gable and a truncated hip roof. Although hidden by veneer or siding, all are clad in red brick with contrasting stone string courses, sills and lintels. The verticality of their design has been obscured, as have the open porches and second storey balconies that once defined the front entrances.

(There follows a full page on William Mackay and his family.)

It looks like the southernmost (9712) used to host a restaurant called DeVine's that hasn't been operational for quite a while. It also caught fire back in July, which I suppose might explain some of its condition.

Based on what I gathered from conversations online, there have been conversations for decades about tearing all the houses down and building an apartment/condo building, but given that it's right on the edge of the valley (with less and less margin as you go south) it would take a lot for this to work.

 

[Didama]

I work right by there and saw that Reno taking place. What a waste of a good building. They didn’t honour its history or come close to realizing the potential of that location. Looks like they just used the cheapest materials thinking they could flip it quickly due to the location. What a shame