White Lodge

White Lodge is a two storey Moderne house with smooth stucco finish and a flat roof, located on Macmillan Road to the east of downtown Penticton. The house is comprised of a series of asymmetrically arranged geometric blocks with an absence of exterior decoration. A porte-cochere is located on the entrance front.

White Lodge, built in 1927, is valued as a rare example of a Moderne building in a rural setting and as a very early example of the style in the Province. The house is virtually unaltered, both externally and internally.

White Lodge is also valued for its association with Major E.C. Holden, an innovative consulting engineer who emigrated from England in 1911. He served on Penticton City Council and was secretary of the Penticton Cooperative. He also designed and built the first cold storage facility in Penticton. The house is a monument to this man, who designed and built it in a style unique in the Okanagan.

Source: City of Penticton Civic File for: 1425 MacMillan Avenue

Key elements that define the heritage character of White Lodge include:

-the prominent location at a bend in the Naramata Road

-the exterior of the house with geometric Moderne styling and an absence of architectural detail

-the prominent porte-cochere

-the horizontal emphasis of design, which is reinforced with wooden lines above the first and second stories

-the International Style windows

-the interior elevator shaft which dates from construction

-the intact interior

-association of the house with E. C. Holden

-mature historic landscaping, including a large copper beech tree in front of the house