Hambly House (Westdale, Art Moderne, 1939, ?) - Restoration

[Martin2480]

Art-Moderne house in Westdale, built in 1939 for Jack Hambly, architect still unknown, restored in 2010/2011

Hambly House is a rare example of Art-Moderne residential architecture in Hamilton, featuring:

(1) a horizontal composition with a flat roof
(2) rounded corners
(3) corner windows
(4) horizontal lines
(5) smooth surfaces
(6) horizontal window panes
(7) a porthole window
(8) cruise-ship railings
(9) a prominent door surround

There are four Art-Moderne houses in Hamilton, and only one is listed on the City's Heritage Register. The City is currently reviewing a request to add Hambly House to the Register.

Photo from 2009 (before its restoration)




Photo from 1964




Rounded Corner at Night

[drpgq]

What street is that house on again?

[Martin2480]

At Longwood & Franklin.

[matt602]

That's rather cool, I must say.

[padthai]

Certainly not as cool looking, but I wonder if this one (http://bit.ly/gHL5TA) would be considered one of the four Art Moderne ones.

It's on Lawrence Road at Woodbridge. I always thought it was a bit strange and stood out from the rest.

[Martin2480]

The house at Lawrence & Woodbridge is not one of the four Art Moderne houses that I referred to (they are on Inglewood, Oakwood, Longwood, and Norwood). But it was likely inspired by Art Moderne/ Streamline Moderne and has two typical features of this style: a flat roof and corner windows.

It lacks three typical elements: rounded corners, horizontal banding, and smooth surfaces (the siding may hide the original surfaces and horizontal banding). It also lacks prominent features like horizontal window panes (maybe the original windows had horizontal panes), porthole windows, cruise ship railings, and glass blocks.

It would be interesting to find other houses in Hamilton that were inspired by Art Moderne/ Streamline Moderne. There are probably more than we think.

[realcity]

I like this one
http://maps.google.ca/?ie=UTF8&hq=&h...,214.7,,0,5.45

[Martin2480]

Hambly House, our restored 1939 Art Moderne house at 170 Longwood Rd N, is now for sale for $469,900.

It was designed by Edward Glass, an innovative and talented Hamilton architect, and won two awards last year: a 2011 Urban Design and Architecture Award from the City of Hamilton and a 2011 Heritage Property Conservation Award from the Hamilton Municipal Heritage Committee.

If you know any family who would like to own and take care of Hambly House, please pass it on.

listing on agent's website:
http://www.hamiltonresidentialreales..._59101538.html

complete photo gallery:
www.myvisuallistings.com/fsvt/83920

Hambly House website (architecture, heritage, restoration, etc.):
170longwood.ca

[Duckyboy]

Originally Posted by realcity

I like this one
http://maps.google.ca/?ie=UTF8&hq=&h...,214.7,,0,5.45

I looked at that one when it was for sale a few years ago... backs onto the Escarpment, which is nice. I can't really remember too much of the interior sticking out in my mind, but it was nice overall.

[Duckyboy]

Taxes: $4,234.00 (2011)

...really? That's $350/month JUST IN TAXES! Wow... Hamilton's tax assessments are out of whack.

[Berklon]

Originally Posted by Martin2480

Hambly House, our restored 1939 Art Moderne house at 170 Longwood Rd N, is now for sale for $469,900.

The history is nice, but that's very overpriced for what you get and there's nothing exceptional about the neighborhood either.

A few months back a new house a block or two from this house was on the market for 600k. It couldn't have been more than 2,000 sq. feet. Delusional pricing.

[bigguy1231]

Originally Posted by Duckyboy

Taxes: $4,234.00 (2011)

...really? That's $350/month JUST IN TAXES! Wow... Hamilton's tax assessments are out of whack.

Thats not bad. Just wait until they sell it for over 400k and see what the taxes go up to.

My house is assessed at 251k and my taxes are $3400. Just under $300 per month.

[durandy]

Art Moderne landmark in Hamilton gets updated for modern life
DAVE LEBLANC
Special to The Globe and Mail
Published Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015 12:28PM EST

...
Sadly, this one-storey Westdale landmark, with its single porthole window, lone speed-stripe and one curved wall, had been left empty in the wet spring and humid summer of 2013. And that’s exactly when Lane Dunlop and Tina Fetner came aboard for a look-see.

“It was bad, it was cracked,” says Ms. Fetner of the home’s creamy exterior walls, “and when it rained, the water would get behind the stucco and it would be splotchy.” Not surprisingly, mould was everywhere.

For this boat, water was the enemy.

Luckily, the couple is friends with one of the Hammer’s primo architects, David Premi – their kids had attended the same school and they’d helped Mr. Premi when his house burned down five years ago – and they knew he had the talent, but also the romantic bent to tackle the project. “David’s not just your ordinary architect,” Ms. Fetner says. “The work he’s doing is special and different; it’s really changing the face of Hamilton.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/...ticle27229114/

[durandy]

The Jeff Mahoney article on the 2011 restoration is gone, but the text is at this link: http://www.builtheritagenews.ca/newsletter.cfm?id=155

Anyway, hopefully the old owner is not crushed by this. I do prefer the new to the old.