As Prince George mourns one historic structure lost to a downtown fire, another landmark building from the city's distant past was saved from the wrecking ball.
Taylor House, located at 1872 10th Ave., was built in approximately 1920 and is one of the 16 homes listed on the city's exclusive Heritage Registry. Over the years it has been the principal home of a mayor, a judge, an MLA, and even the publisher of The Citizen.
It was recently purchased by Jen and Trevor Higham, veterans of the real estate and home renovation sectors. They were told before the purchase of the Taylor House that it was on the cusp of condemned. The city utilities had been turned off in anticipation of demolition.
"Everyone involved said it was basically a tear-down. We disagreed," Jen said. "We knew it was going to be a huge project, but we also knew what it could be. This is proof of what we can do."
They stripped the interior and exterior both down to the bones. It was almost a complete rebuild, in some ways. Modernizing had to be done in order to accommodate life in the 21st century, so quartz countertops were installed, along with a lot of tile, a wine celler in the basement, a deluxe master bathroom on the main floor, extra windows and doors, built-in drawers in the upstairs bedrooms, a wrap-around back deck and a recreational vehicle pad enclosed in the back yard.
Some key features, however, the Highams refused to touch. The fireplace, the wood flooring, the telephone nook, and the airway grates, for examples.
There was nothing they could do about some of the definitive features of that era, like the narrow hallways and tight staircases, and the signature hip gables and bell roof curving over the front entrance.
"It really does retain the character of that time in history, but we brought it up to modern standards and living needs," said Jen.
It took more than a year. Some major work had to be done a second time when the first round didn't measure up to the standard of the home's place in the community. Dumpster fees alone cost more than $6,000.
One of the reasons the work could be done, incorporating the modern features with the old, is the lack of official designation as a historic home. It is listed only as a place of local cultural interest. Higham said this was a good rule that didn't tie them to perfect replication of the old features, but going through this renovation made her feel even more strongly that buildings of interest in Prince George need more protection.
"I would like to see a lot more of what we have preserved for future generations," she said. "I see a big problem coming with the city's new RS4 zoning regulations. Most of these homes in the Crescents area, and other places of historic interest, are zoned RS2, but the new RS4 will allow for more places like this to be torn down for multi-unit residency and that is going to be the death of many buildings I believe should be preserved like we just did with this one."
The interest from the community during the renovation was immediate.
People would just drop in for a visit when they saw the work underway. Two elders on separate occasions interrupted work asking for a tour because they had once lived there, one with tears in her eyes seeing the preservation effort underway.
Everyone in the community can come for a visit today. The Highams are hosting a gala open house complete with garden musicians and refreshments, and the home is officially for sale listed at $449,000.
