1606 East 15th Ave

Thomas Bell House

As promised, I am sharing some of my new findings about our neighborhood, Cedar Cottage. It turns out there is a man by the name of James C. Johnstone who makes his living as a house historian (cool job eh?) who has researched the history of over 800 homes in Vancouver. He is also Chair of the Friends of the Vancouver City Archives Society and of the Strathcona Residents' Association. He has researched one Cedar Cottage house on the corner of 15th avenue and Fleming and if you've ever walked around Clark Park you would definitely notice it, the Thomas Bell House.  In his blog "When an old house whispers.." Mr. Johnstone shares some really interesting findings and photographs about it.

This beautiful home was built sometimes around 1906 for retired sheet metal company owner, Thomas Bell just across from John Fleming's house, a Cedar Cottage land owner and house plasterer (hence Fleming Street-neat!). Thomas Bell, born in Ontario, lived there for a while with his family until 1918 when it was bought by the Peden family and then by the Scottish-born lithographer Frank C. Smith and his wife Margaret in 1919.


Frank and Margaret lived there until the later '40s. After his wife's death, Frank remarried, but willed the house to his housekeeper Pearl Dixon upon his death. (oh, scandal!?) She lived in the house from 1954 to 1960 and married Roderick G. Mackenzie. When Pearl died the house was willed to the Catholic Church and was run as a home for children. In 1974, the government took over and from 1985 to 1996 in was operating as a group home. Luckily, the Thomas Bell house survived possible demolition since then and the current owner has lovingly restored it.

That's Pearl in the yard and the Catholic Church in the back.