City designates Lanz Residence as Municipal Historic Resource

“From 1907 to the beginning of World War One, Lethbridge enjoyed a period of rapid economic and population growth. This 1909 house was built near the height of the economic boom, before the slowdown caused by World War One, local droughts and the recession in the early 1920s.”

Before 1918, the home was one of the most popular residential building plans in Alberta. Foursquare homes are usually two-storeys and feature a symmetrical façade that hints at the four-rooms-per-floor design within. The Lanz is unusual because instead of using wood or brick, which were common building materials in Lethbridge at that time, it was constructed from concrete blocks made to look like stone.

The City of Lethbridge noted that the choice of building materials might have been influenced by the strong, dry wind gusts and the prevalent use of timber at that time, which made fire a threat in Lethbridge. The materials, as well as the offset open front porch with classical Ionic columns combine to make this residence a unique part of Lethbridge’s built heritage.

Character-defining elements of the home include a hipped roof, concrete block construction, cast stone lintels and sills, rusticated concrete block foundation, composite Ionic-Corinthian columns atop rusticated concrete block piers supporting the hipped roof on the front porch, brick chimney and the pattern, style and construction of all original window and door openings.

The first recorded tenant was insurance broker D. Ferguson. The residence remained vacant for a few years in the mid-1910s, but was soon occupied by William R. Pilling, manager of Southern Brokerage Ltd., who took ownership of the house in 1917. Other early residents included machinist Paul A. Schendel and fireman Edwin S. Richardson.

by Justin Goulet

City designates Lanz Residence as Municipal Historic Resource

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