ARCHITECTURE:
This 1½-storey, side-gabled Craftsman house is rare for Victoria because it is built mostly of stone. The roof is bracketed and has exposed rafter tails; it is dominated by a large shed-roofed sleeping porch with a Tudor arch. There is a full-width, recessed front verandah which is entered from a long, wide, centrally-located concrete staircase; the flared step balustrades are of stone-capped granite. The wooden porch posts are tapered and panelled and set on battered granite piers; wrought-iron rails have been added between the piers. The front door and side lights are panelled. On the left is a shallow, shed-roofed square bay. The gables are shingled above stucco and half-timbering, and a wide belt course separates the gables from the graniteclad main floor. Several windows contain leaded art-glass. The foundation is of random rubble. There are two granite chimneys.
The building permit issued in March 1914 describes the dwelling as an 8-room, 1½-storey frame structure. The estimated cost of construction was $4,000.
ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:
Contractor John Valdimar Johnson (1889-1963) built this house in 1914 for himself and his new wife, Marian Penketh (1891-1957). They lived here until the early 1930s. John, Victoria-born son of Icelandic immigrants Oliver and Gudrun (Finson) of 1439 Pembroke St (Fernwood), was the brother of Byron Ingemar “Boss” Johnson, premier of BC in 1933-37 and 1947-52. John attended Boys’ Central and Victoria High schools. After operating a short-lived farming enterprise in Alberta, he returned to Victoria, and established a trucking and building supply business with Byron in 1919, merging with Evans, Coleman & Evans in 1930, as Evans, Coleman & Johnson Brothers Ltd. Byron lived here with John and Marian until he married Kate Simpson in 1920. John was active in local groups, as president of the Victoria Board of Trade, Victoria Automobile Club, Vancouver Island Associated Boards of Trade, Citizens’ War Services Committee, Victoria YMCA and Victoria Baseball and Athletic Club within a 35-year period. John served on Oak Bay Council for 27 years and was a member of Victoria Rotary Club 1917-63.
Marian’s brother, Thomas Arthur Penketh (1889-1944), owned the house and lived here from the mid-1930s until his death. Born in Victoria, in 1920 he married Henrietta Reed (1897-1954) of Tunbridge Wells, England. Thomas was a customs officer.
OTHER OCCUPANTS:
By the mid-1940s, John Robert Beneman (1915-1961) was the resident. Born in Victoria, John had a military career, retiring as a Chief Petty Officer in 1956. He lived in this house until his death, and never married.
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