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South Face

Click here to tour the inside of Roedde House

Hello, I am glad you could make it outside.  I am sorry about the weather, I was hoping for more sun, but it appears that it isn't going to happen for this tour.  What kinds of questions do you have about the architecture of Roedde House?  I have prepared a small tour and I hope you find it enjoyable and educational.

The Roedde House was built in 1893 in a North American Queen Anne revival style, rumoured to have been designed and built by the famous architect, Francis M. Rattenbury.  When the house was constructed, the land around the Roedde House was only roughly cleared of trees, which then stopped at Nicola Street at the west end of the block. West of Nicola Street would have been entire acres of untouched forest. To the south of the house was English Bay, which you would be able to see if you stood in the house's cupola. From this high vantage point, you would have also been able to see Stanley Park, and have had a grand view of the harbour.

Brackets are decorative support pieces that serve to fill in space and create a beautiful spacing between support beams and add more of a curve to the openings.

When it is said that the Roedde House is an example of the Queen Anne revival style, it is typically "nostalgic" and "eclectic", which was fashionable during the late 19th century. That means people liked different sources or influences in what the houses looked like, and the features of it, which reminded them of their homeland. Also, although its name indicates a borrowing from England, the North American Queen Anne style of architecture is very dissimilar to an earlier British style.

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