Built for Vancouver bookbinder Gustav Roedde, the house is thought to have been designed by Francis Rattenbury, the architect responsible for the Parliament Buildings and the Empress Hotel in Victoria (see Excursions). The home's most distinctive feature is its rooftop cupola. It was from here, at the end of the 19C, that residents could watch the sea lanes for incoming vessels. Now, alas, West End development has blocked the view.