Were it not for glacial action in the past, there would not be a Penticton. The city occupies the entirety of a deposit of glacial till which separates Okanagan Lake from Skaha Lake.
As a result Penticton has lakes and beaches at each of its north and south ends.
In the 1930s the north (Okanagan Lake) shore became the most desirable building site in the city for its lake shore location. So, during the '30s some of the city's most prestigious homes were built along Lakeshore Drive, facing the lake and the view well up the lake toward Kelowna.
At 364 Lakeshore Drive West, this 1935 Storybook style house is one of the less pretentious residences to have been built along Lakeshore Drive in the '30s. It betrays its style in the rolled eaves, conical tower and arched and quoined windows and doorway. Altogether, it's quite a cute little house.
Cranna House
Description of Historic Place:
The Cranna House is a turreted stucco house, built in 1935 in a Storybook style in Penticton, British Columbia.
Heritage Value:
Built in 1935, the Cranna House has aesthetic value as a unique South Okanagan example of a whimsical and extravagant form of architecture known as Storybook. This style, based loosely on a mixture of European cottage styles, is associated with the exposure of North American troops to European architecture during World War One, and with the sets of Hollywood films in the 1920s and 1930s.
The Cranna House expresses many Storybook features including the side gabled form with steeply pitched roof and rolled eaves. Other Storybook elements include the use of smooth stucco on the walls and chimney, triple windows with many small lights, the prominent conical tower, and the use of arched windows and an arched doorway in the tower. The heavy board door, decorative quoins around windows and doorways, and the extended battered walls are also important features true to the Storybook style.
The Cranna House is important for its association with the use of Lakeshore Drive as a residential neighbourhood for prominent Penticton citizens in the 1920s and 1930s. The house was built for W.R. Cranna, a successful jeweler who moved to Penticton from Merritt where he had been mayor.
Character-Defining Elements:
Key elements that define the heritage character of the Cranna House include its:
- eccentric Storybook style
- conical tower
- decorative quoins around windows and entrance
- rolled shingle roof
- multi-light windows
- arched entry with heavy wooden door
- buttressed walls
From Historic Places Canada