Address: 610 Dunedin Street
Built: 1908
1912 householder: Dr. Alfred Baird, physicianThis Edwardian Arts & Craft style house was erected by William J. McCarter, a Victoria building contractor. A building permit for this property was issued to McCarter on 9 November 1907 for a 1 ˝ storey wood frame dwelling, with seven rooms, at a cost of $2200. The plumbing permit for 610 Dunedin was issued on 9 January 1909, so the home was probably occupied soon after that date. McCarter purchased permits for an adjacent property at the same time, suggesting that his houses were built “on spec” for a real estate market that was on the rise. (McCarter had built other residences in the neighbourhood, including the one at 3065 Albany Street.)
McCarter was a craftsman and his skills are evident on the exterior of this dwelling. Design elements include ornate barge boards over a cutaway bay window, a dentil row setting off the window and recessed porch from the front gable, and fish scale shingles in the apex of the gable. A truncated finial marks the top of the front gable. (Originally, the finial would have been twice as high and finials probably adorned the side roof gables.) The front steps face to the right. The basement level is clad in shingles, the main level and gables are clad in wide board siding.
In 1912, this was the Baird family home. Alfred R. Baird was a medical doctor and conducted his practice from this house. He was born in Quebec and was 42 years old when the family was enumerated in June 1911. He was of English descent and, the enumerator noted, was bilingual in English and French. Dr. Baird's wife, Barbara, was the same age. She was born in Ontario and was of Scottish descent. The three children – 13 year old Grace, 11 year old Marion, and 8 year old Douglas – were born in Manitoba, so the family may have been relative newcomers to Victoria. They were Presbyterians.
The Baird children were attending school, according to the census. Since a doctor's family enjoyed a relatively high social status, the children may have attended a private school. Queen's Academy, a prestigious private school for girls, was located nearby at 2715 Rock Bay Avenue. The school principal was Dr. Stephen Pope, a former provincial Superintendent of Education. The school had an excellent reputation. The daughters of the premier, Sir Richard McBride (who lived on the Gorge Road near the corner of Washington Avenue) attended Queen's Academy and it may have appealed to Dr. and Mrs. Baird.
However, there were no private schools for boys in the vicinity and young Douglas Baird and his sisters may have attended the local public school. In 1912, they would have gone to North Ward School. This imposing, four storey school was built in 1892 on Douglas Street, where the Times-Colonist building stands today. Burnside Elementary School was even closer to the Baird residence. It was located on Jutland Road (then called Oliver Avenue) and opened in 1913. Designed by C. Elwood Watkins, it was built in response to the rapid growth of family households in this part of the Burnside Gorge neighbourhood.