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.
Today known as the
Warren House B&B, the onetime Warren House was built as a two storey Georgian Revival residence for J.J. Warren, President of the
Kettle Valley Railway. See the story of the
Kettle Valley Railway in Penticton. The official headquarters of the Kettle Valley Railway (KVR), it was an obvious decision that the railway's president should be domiciled in Penticton, and in a residence representative of his status in the city.
Two decades before Lakeshore Drive became the fashionable area it did, the KVR began construction on its railway in 1910, completing the Midway to Hope section in 1915. It was in 1912, not long after the railway was begun, that the Warren House was built here. Later, in order to serve the fruit industry in the far south of the Okanagan Valley, a spur line was run from Penticton to Osoyoos, at the Canada-U.S. border.
Warren House
Description of Historic Place:
The Warren House is a large two-storey Georgian Revival structure located on the south side of Lakeshore Drive. The wood frame house features a central entrance with sidelights and symmetrical multi-light windows. The original cedar siding has been clad with stucco.
Heritage Value:
The Warren House is an important part of Penticton's heritage because it retains the historic character of Lakeshore Drive as the prime location of genteel residences built for the monied class in the era of economic growth and maturity of the city during the early twentieth century.
Constructed for J.J. Warren, President of the Kettle Valley Railway, it is symbolic of the wealth and prestige associated with the construction of the railway, which provided an important transportation link between the South Okanagan and the world in 1912. Furthermore, it is valued as a reflection of the former grandeur of this area, which included a group of significant structures such as the Incola Hotel, and the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) station and steamship dock.
Architecturally, Warren House epitomizes the Georgian Revival style, which began to replace earlier Late Victorian and Edwardian styles in the Okanagan at this time.
The house is also valued for its association with J.J. Warren, President of the Kettle Valley Railway, and its proximity to the CPR's Incola Hotel, CPR station, and dock, all built within an 18 month period. The Kettle Valley Railway, owned by the CPR, was under construction in 1912 when this house was built. The terminus of the railway was on the lake shore to the east of the Warren House.
Character-Defining Elements:
Key elements that define the heritage character of Warren House include:
- the two-storey symmetrical form of the house
- the hipped roof and shed dormers
- the central entrance and sidelights
- multi-paned windows
- the prominent location on Lakeshore Drive, well set back and centred on its lot
- association with CPR history, including other historic buildings on the Penticton lakeshore
- physical relationship of the house to Lakeshore Drive
- the contribution of the house to the continuity of the historic streetscap
From Historic Places Canada