the Franconna

322 Frank Street (originally 74 Frank), July 2016

 The Franconna (with a total of three n's) Apartments, previously the Belgrave Terrace Apartments, was built in 1903 as a home for lumberman Robert Hurdman on the occasion of his retirement. He died a year later. Chris Ryan has done a terrific job of researching the history of the building and its subsequent owners. He includes the story of the Franconna's bizarre, mismatched rear annex, part of which was shaved off, creating one of the oddest looking buildings on Gladstone. That's the annex in red brick to the right of the image. Read Chris's article, "A (Bel)grave Situation" here.

Genteel with a touch of shabby — view full-size to see where roof, dormer-gable and turret-bay have been hacked into to accommodate skylights and air conditioners.