Description of Property

The 0.024-hectare property at 105 Erie Avenue is comprised of a two-and-a-half storey brick residence constructed circa 1893. The property is located near the northeast corner of Erie Avenue and Stinson Street, in the historic Stinson neighbourhood in the City of Hamilton.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest

The property located at 105 Erie Avenue is comprised of a brick residence constructed circa 1893.  The property has design value as a representative example of the vernacular Queen Anne Revival architectural style in Hamilton, and displays a high degree of craftsmanship in the form of its first-storey tiled fireplace, decorative wooden brackets with sunbeam design, stained-glass transoms, dentilated cornice, and Ionic columns.

The historical value of the property lies in its direct association with Hamilton builders Brown & McBeath, who originally constructed the residence in 1893, and with prominent Hamilton architect Alfred Wavell Peene (1869-1940), who is attributed to the circa 1908 rear addition and alterations. Peene’s most well-known works include the Royal Connaught Hotel and the former Hamilton Public Library, now the Ontario Court of Justice. The building at 105 Erie Avenue also illustrates the theme of economic and industrial prosperity in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century Hamilton. The building was constructed at the turn of the twentieth century for working Hamiltonians who were establishing the Stinson Neighbourhood as a place for middle- and upper-middle-class dwellings. The 105 Erie Avenue property was home to several owners and tenants including the Bartmann family, who owned the property for over 80 years until 1988. This continuous ownership is significant and has played a part in maintaining the historic integrity of the building over time.

The contextual value of the property lies in its role in supporting the historic character of Erie Avenue and the Stinson Neighbourhood. The building is visually and historically linked to its surroundings as part of the surviving late-nineteenth to early-twentieth century residential streetscape that makes up one of Hamilton’s historic neighbourhoods.