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Aberthau House (previously known as Rear House) is a spacious heritage mansion in Tudor Revival style, located at the intersection of West 2nd Avenue and Trimble Street in Vancouver, British Columbia, which currently serves as a facility of the neighbourhood’s community centre. Situated on the highlands of the Point Grey neighbourhood, it overlooks English Bay, the Gulf of Georgia, and the City of Vancouver. The first notably large residential property in Point Grey, a distinct municipality from the City of Vancouver until 1929, this edifice was designed by British Columbia’s respected, but largely undiscovered, architect, Samuel Maclure.〔West Point Grey Community Centre. ("History." ) Retrieved on: July 13, 2008.〕 It serves as an example of Tudorbethan architecture, one of Maclure’s famed specialties, the other being the American Craftsman Style. ==History== Initially the residence of James Rear, General Manager of American Life Insurance, the estate’s name, ‘Rear House,’ reflected its owner’s surname accordingly. Architect Maclure was commissioned in 1909 to design the home, and construction was carried out during a four-year period from 1910-1913. Rear’s four children, two boys and two girls, enjoyed the expansive property, which included an automobile garage, a carriage and stable house, an (unfinished, but children-friendly) attic, and a spacious verandah, which extended around two sides of the building, with a stone base and open enclosure above. Five years after the completion of the building, in 1918, Colonel Victor Spencer, son of businessman David Spencer, the founder of the department store chain ‘Spencer’s,’ acquired the mansion, as the Rear family relocated to Pasadena, California. The new owner, veteran from the African War and the First World War, renamed his home ‘Aberthau,’ a Welsh term to indicate “a place filled with light.” To accommodate the new owner’s large family, the building underwent various major renovations, largely contributing to the house’s modern form. Under his direction, a new main doorway on West 2nd Avenue replaced the original entrance at Trimble Street. Further alternations saw to the elimination of the hall fireplace and inglenook, and the addition of the 2nd storey to the East Façade. The most noteworthy renovation however, was the incorporation of a stone verandah as the new family room on the West Façade. Passionately called the ‘Oak Room,’ it functioned as a popular reception area for parties and family gatherings. With the acquisition of lands to the north and east of the grounds, Colonel Spencer extended the gardens and built a tennis court. With its expropriation procedures in 1938, the federal government took possession of the property, so that the 22-room structure could function as the Royal Canadian Air Force Officers’ Mess〔 for the neighboring seaplane base at Jericho Beach.〔RCAF.com (Canadian Stations ). Retrieved on: July 13, 2008.〕 For its purchase, together with of land, the Spencer family received a sum of $94,466.00. The structure suffered several damages during the war times, with a fire destroying the roof and the attic being severely damaged in 1943. However, the collaborative effort of the Fire Department and officers assisted in the aversion of additional destruction. During this period, funds were allocated to modernize Aberthau’s plumbing systems, restore the ruined upper stories, particularly in the north-west corner, and to underpin and strengthen the mansion’s foundations. With the military forces vacating in the spring of 1972, the city of Vancouver, having merged with Point Grey decades before, obtained legal ownership the building when the nearby Jericho Beach was given to the municipality by the federal government. With Aberthau House being turned over to the Board of Parks and Recreation for the provision of intern space of the ‘West Point Grey Recreation Project,’ it was also recognized for its potential as a cultural and recreation centre. Further renovations and alterations were required, and in October 1973, City Council reserved $75,000 for this purpose. An additional sum of $25,000 provided by the Province’s ‘Recreation Facilities Fund,’ was also collected. A year later, with programming starting in September 1974, the newly refurbished cultural and recreation centre officially opened on 16 November by Commissioner May Brown. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Aberthau House」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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