Aitchison Residence

The Aitchison Residence at 1024 Keefer Street is a one and a half storey wood frame, late Victorian cottage with prominent arched gable on the eastern edge of the Strathcona neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia.

The aesthetic value of the Aitchison Residence is exemplified through its late Victorian cottage style, accentuated by a large arched gable end above a full porch. This style is found in pattern books of the era and similar houses in the surrounding area.

Built in 1894, the site has historical value as the home of William Aichison, the plant superintendent at the BC Sugar Refinery as well as other employees of the plant.

The Aitchison residence holds cultural and social value as it is an example of the piecemeal development and densification of the eastern edge of the East End, tied to the industrial activity on the waterfront and the expansion of public transportation, and for its association with BC Sugar Refinery. Additionally, the house is representative of the modest accommodation built throughout Strathcona, once known as the East End, by and for a working and middle-class population drawn to the development of the area.

The elements that define the heritage character of Aitchison Residence are the:

- continuous residential use

- form, scale, and massing

- details of a late Victorian cottage including: arched front gable with tongue and groov soffit, scroll work and prominent finial; main floor set half a storey above grade shed roof over altered porch with original offset entrance; original window openings and single and double sash assemblies; original front door with modified infilled window; drop siding with a larger cove than modern boards, above a wide belt board; brick chimney with decorative corbelling at the ridge line