Alvo Von Alvensleben House
The Alvo von Alvensleben House. This photo was taken in 1982c. Alvo von Alvenslebens house is a craftsman style house built on the corner of Harris and McNeil roads, where it still stands today and is on the Pitt Meadows Heritage Register. Von Alvensleben was born in Neu Gattersleben, Germany in 1879, and came to B.C. in June of 1904. Working several odd jobs to begin with (such as a farm laborer, night watchman, hunter) he saved and formed the real estate and finance company in 1907 called Alvensleben Finance and General Investment Company. His business thrived in Vancouver and he was able to build homes and take up properties all over the Lower Mainland, including this house in Pitt Meadows (that he never ended up living in). Unfortunately for Alvensleben the First World War stripped him of many of his assets including the property he had built in Pitt Meadows. He was in Europe at the onset of the War and was unable to return to Canada, so he settled in Seattle. In 1917 when the U.S. entered the war, he was arrested as an enemy “spy” and interned at Fort Douglas (Utah) from 1920 until he was released. Following the war, he was acquitted of the charges. In 1939 he became naturalized as an American citizen. He would never return to Canada, and never saw the success that he found in Vancouver. Other families have taken up this property in subsequent years such as the Kinchler, Veltin, Ashley and McBride families.
Details:
Latitude: 49.2710168908280
Longitude: -122.68868626308
Direct Link: https://www.pittmeadowsmuseum.com/locations/alvo-von-alvensleben-house
