The Lochiel Houses

28 Lochiel, now 244 Frank

 
      Lochiel Street ran west of Elgin for all of one block when the area was first being developed in the late 19th Century — it would eventually become part of Frank Street. Houses on the north side of Lochiel were razed to make way for Jack Purcell Park, more recently a dog park.
     On the south side of Frank, two small Victorian-era houses sit huddled together. Both are at least 130 years old, if the date on the map below is to be trusted. The 1885 city directory lists three households* on Lochiel, but the street numbers are not given.
     #244  (formerly 28 Lochiel) is made of brick, parts of which are veneered with faux masonry, now painted a silvery-grey. Goad calls this a 1½-storey, but I'd give it a two. The mansard-styling on the second storey facade creates the appearance of a tiny, side-gabled house, but the building is actually flat-roofed and at least twice as deep as it's wide.

Goad, January 1888, sheet 54 — Elgin runs along the right margin

 
     Goad shows #s 28 (pink for brick) and 32 (yellow for wood) on the south side of Lochiel. The vacant lot at the corner of Elgin would soon be occupied by The Elgin Apartments (#370 Elgin), eventually, home to the Manx Pub. Both sides of #28 abut the property line, which explains why the current 244 Frank appears glued to the walk-up apartment block on its east flank.

32 Lochiel, now 248 Frank

 
     Built of wood and standing at an uncontested 1½-storeys, 248 Frank is the more modest of the pair. This house is set further back than it's neighbour, allowing it to hide behind a profusion of barely-tamed shrubs. The wooden trim is delightful notwithstanding the loss of a finial, and the vertical siding is plastic — I went up and gave it a poke just to be sure.

*Captain Joseph Reed; H.R. McDonald (caretaker, Model school); Luke Williams (asst. engineer, Normal School)