Four Fourty Seven Nelson Avenue, built in the late 1800’s by notable builder A.B. and James Coleman (Village of Burlington’s major builders who went on to build the Brant Inn and buildings at the CNE grounds in Toronto), features a 2-storied enclosed veranda, large principal rooms and decorative carpentry work. The house, named “The Thomas Dunbar House”, has many notable features (see left), and is sometimes referred to as the “Painted Porch” gingerbread house.

The two-level front verandah, open at ground level but now enclosed at the second level, has decorative carpentry work. The front gable is embellished with the original fish-scale shingles, defined by a lower band with relief rosettes, and bargeboard gable trim of lace-edged cutout wood.

This house is a major contributor to the street-scape of the Nelson Avenue Block, just north of the Burlington Art Center on Nelson avenue, representing a typical summer cottage of the last quarter of the 19th century.