THE
BURR
HOUSE
OLD AGE NOT ENOUGH TO SAVE HOUSE was the headline of a newspaper article in 1975. The house in question was at 624 Royal Avenue, known as the Burr House, next to the church on the corner of Royal and Seventh Street, St. Paul’s Reformed Episcopal Church. Then, as now, there was some concern about preserving the city’s heritage. The mansard-roofed house was associated with the family of Raymond Burr. Burr was born in New Westminster in 1917, the son of Minerva and William Burr. However, the family lived at 718 Queens Avenue while Raymond lived in New Westminster. At the age of six, his parents separated and his mother took him to California where he became an actor in Hollywood and was the title character in the successful television series Perry Mason and Ironside. Burr’s father moved to 624 Royal Avenue by 1925. His parents reconciled in the 1950s and lived together at this address. Raymond would return to the Royal City to visit them on a number of occasions, including a 1966 visit to take part in the Centennial celebrations for the Union of the Colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island. Raymond Burr died in 1993 and is buried in New Westminster’s Fraser Cemetery with his parents. In 1973, the house was considered as a possible site for the City Archives. It barely escaped destruction from a 1974 fire at an adjacent building. By this time the house was in poor condition and the estimated $100,000 cost to restore and preserve it was considered to be too high. Mayor Muni Evers tried to contact members of the Burr family about the house, but received no response. In 1975, developers bought the property as part of a proposed motel development, a project that did not materialize. The house was demolished in this same year. The church next door, however, is still standing and became a designated heritage property in 1984.
Raymond Burr with parents during a 1967 visit. IHP10000-0367 (above) Burr House at 624 Royal Avenue before demolition in 1975. IHP10000-0358 (right) Raymond Burr with childhood friend Errol Wintemute at Queen’s Park, ca.1921. IHP9130 (top of page)
Sign promoting Burr’s visit during 1966 Centennial. IHP10000-0366 (above)