Berkinshaw Apartments

This is the Berkinshaw residence. Along with Lougheed House, it is the only surviving mansion on 13th Avenue. It is similar in style to the William Roper Hull mansion that once stood across the street. Notice it sandstone veranda and basement walls, which are typical of the most elegant mansions of the period. The home was built in 1908 by William Birkenshaw, but he only occupied it for a few years. It was later owned by O.S. Chapman president of a local implement and carriage business. He was followed by John Mosley, proprietor of the Imperial Hotel downtown. In 1930 the house was converted to apartments. 50 years later it became a clubhouse for senior citizens living in the Birkenshaw apartments next door, just before its designation as a Provincial Historic Resource in 1981. The house is notable for its refined design which was far less showy than the flamboyant mansions once located in this neighbourhood. Some of the unique architectural features include the triangular Bay windows and its wide eaves topped by dormer windows. If you look even higher, you'll notice its decorative brick chimneys which project upwards and enhance the roofline.