Bright flowers bloom against the backdrop of a crumbling facade of the James Bay house where famed B.C. artist and writer Emily Carr once created her bold work.
The House of All Sorts was built in 1912 after Carr returned from Europe, designed with her home and studio upstairs with two rental units on the ground floor. Beneath the roof, which is in dire need of repair according to owner Peter Wills, on the ceiling of the attic Carr’s work remains—a source of pride for Peter Willis.
Unfortunately, the house is falling out of sorts after years of delayed maintenance due to lack of funding, Willis said. He is calling on the province to help preserve the home at 646 Simcoe St. —not to be confused with Carr House a national historic site on Government Street where the world-renowned artist lived as a child.
“This property isn’t just a house, it’s a living piece of Canadian history,” Willis said. “Emily Carr captured the spirit of this land in her work, and this home helped shape that vision. We’ve worked hard to preserve it and share it with the public, but it’s unaffordable and we can’t do it alone.”
The home adjacent to Beacon Hill Park is privately owned – purchased by Willis’ grandmother and designated in 1974 – and provincially designated heritage.
“It comes with a lot of responsibility and comes with a lot of costs far and above what a homeowner in Victoria and British Columbia would have,” Willis said.
The exterior needs work, the roof replacing, and those 112-year-old paintings on the ceilings should be stabilized, he said, adding art historians estimate that would cost in the range of $100,000.
“I think it’s the province’s moral and ethical obligation to help with that,” Willis said.
While the site remains “a bit unknown” to many, there are many tales of it in Carr’s book of the same name, and visitors frequently walk by. He figures it could achieve the same level of recognition as Bob Marley House or the childhood homes of The Beatles. It’s already on par with B.C. sites Ellice House and Barkerville.
“I want to restore it but I get zero funding from the province,” Willis said. “I’m not asking for a handout. I think I can do it if I get a short term rental exemption. I think that’s a fair ask.
“That would allow me independence for financial funding and it would allow me a little bit of a budget to actually restore the property and maintain the property.”
Learn more about the home at houseofallsorts.com.
