810 Hendryx Street - Nelson, B.C.
Posted by: 
T0SHEA
N 49° 29.461 W 117° 17.263
11U E 479163 N 5482081
810 Hendryx Street was, for a long time, the residence of the manager of the Nelson branch of the Bank of Montreal.
Waymark Code: WMHM5Q
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 07/22/2013
Views: 2
This Late Victorian house was constructed for Arthur H. Buchanan, who, in the winter of 1892 snowshoed the 80 km. (50 miles) from Northport, WA to Nelson to open the Bank of Montreal in Nelson, beginning with $11.50 in capital. In 1900 the bank acquired the building and named it
Hochelaga, the Indian name for Montreal. It was the manager's residence until 1964, when it was sold to the Roman Catholic Bishop of Nelson.
Though it contains High Victorian elements, such as the large verandah and bay windows, muted treatment of the decorative elements and the uniform cross-gable place it more in the realm of Late Victorian design.
The house occupies number 18 on the Nelson Heritage Register 2011 update.
Description
Hochelaga, at 810 Hendryx Street, is a two and-a-half storey wood house with a generous main floor verandah on the northern two-thirds of the house. It is located on the southwest corner of the intersection of Hendryx and Carbonate Streets in the Uphill neighbourhood of Nelson, B.C.
Value
The house at 810 Hendryx Street is recognized as one of the more important early houses in Nelson for its sprawling nature, fine detailing, location on a large lot of land, and its association with the managerial class in Nelson.
Constructed in 1899 by George MacFarland, Hochelaga was designed by local architect A.E. Hodgins for Arthur H. Buchanan, the first manager of the Bank of Montreal in Nelson. Acquired by the Bank of Montreal in 1900, the building is one of a collection of impressive company-owned houses built for the managerial class in the city. The house is interesting for the story accompanying its construction as much as for its physical attributes. Coverage in the local papers made much of its great size and high building cost, an example of the heady boosterism that accompanied the transition of Nelson from a commercial town to a respectable administrative centre with cultural pretensions in the early 20th century. ”Hochelaga” (the aboriginal Iroquoian name for Montreal) helped distinguish the neighbourhood and the city as a place of cultural refinement at this turning point in the city’s fortunes.
The house is important for its design, exhibiting a transition from High Victorian, seen in the extensive verandah and exterior design details, to Late Victorian, exhibited by the horizontal massing, controlled embellishments and uniform floor plan.
Character Defining Elements
Site
¶ Four lots including corner lot
¶ Northwestern slope; views north and west
¶ Mature planting
Building
¶ Cross-gabled main roof form
¶ Original brick chimney
¶ Extensive single-storey Main Floor verandah
¶ Remaining original wood structure
¶ Turned posts
¶ Remaining original wood windows
¶ Remaining wood cladding, including siding
¶ Remaining exterior wood details: trim, beam casings, decorative mouldings, brackets, soffits, fascias, and bargeboards