Jones Residence

Built around 1907 and renovated around 1913, the Jones Residence is a superior, sophisticated example of Craftsman style architecture and ornamentation. The original part of the house, now clad in twin-coursed shingles, has an open front verandah, with tapered columns and an arched opening. The addition to the north has a projecting semi-octagonal bay at the front. Throughout the ground floor beveled glass transoms have been used in the casement windows. Pointed verge boards and exposed rafter ends are also hallmarks of the Craftsman style. The house has now been duplexed but its essential form remains intact.

The Jones Residence is a rare surviving example of the type of superior housing that predominated in this area, known as Nob Hill, from its first development around 1870 until around 1910. Here, the city's commercial and professional elite built substantial homes. By the early 20th century, Nanaimo's middle classes were relocating to areas further north and west, away from the city centre. Today, the neighbourhood is a mix of apartment buildings, boarding houses and single family houses and has lost much of its upscale character, but surviving early residences, such as this building, testify to the original nature of the area.