Description of Historic Place

Located on the north side of 72 Avenue (originally Newton Road) in the centre of the Newton neighbourhood of Surrey, the Burkart House is a one and one-half storey Late Craftsman bungalow with a hipped roof and a large addition on the west side. The house is located adjacent to the former B.C. Electric Railway right-of-way.

Heritage Value

The Burkart House is valued as an example of the early development of the Newton neighbourhood and for its architecture.

The Burkart House demonstrates the impact of the B.C. Electric Railway (BCER) on settlement patterns in the Newton area. BCER passenger and freight service commenced in this area in 1910, opening this once heavily-forested area to settlement, logging and commercial opportunities. Built in 1920 for two brothers of Swiss origin, Jacob and Joseph Burkart, the Burkart house is immediately southwest of the former location of Newton Station, a stop on the BCER line that once served the nearby Hiland/Sullivan Lumber Company and King & Farris Lumber Company. After 1930, it was home to Lewis Jack and his wife Jane, who had operated a successful store across the street since 1918, supplying the booming local logging industry with groceries, meat, clothing, coal and lumber.

The Burkhart house was originally built as a symmetrical Craftsman Bungalow with a hipped roof, a central front dormer and a full-width front porch with central entry. With increasing densification in Newton, the house was converted to a restaurant in 1974 and underwent a major renovation in 1982 that included a major extension to the west and the infilling of the verandah. Set amidst mature vegetation, the Burkart House is still used as a restaurant.

Source: City of Surrey Planning Department

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Burkart House include its:
- location in the heart of the commercial area of Newton, southwest of the former B.C. Electric Railway right-of-way and former site of the Newton Station
- residential form, scale and massing of the original house, as expressed in its one-and-one-half storey height, rectangular plan, and hipped roof with hipped dormer and closed eaves
- wooden construction with narrow lapped wooden siding and corner boards
- Craftsman-style elements such as verandah columns, now within the enclosed verandah
- original windows such as single and triple-assembly, double-hung six-over-six wooden-sash windows on the west elevation
- mature coniferous trees lining the east side of the property