A guide to the buildings north of Union
Published Monday January 21st, 2008
Appeared on page C4
Here is a guide to the buildings in the area of the police-justice complex, from Hazen Avenue to Wellington Row:
1-5 Hazen Avenue
(Vito's)
* Built 1891
* It's been a "liquor establish ment," a spice mill, a cigar factory, a business college, a school board office, a day centre and, since 1981, a restaurant
* One former occupant introduced lacrosse to Saint John in 1889
* Has no role in police-justice complex
2-19 Hazen Avenue
(Former YMCA-YWCA)
* Built mid-1950s
* Coming down to make way for 13-courtroom justice complex, slated to be completed in 2010
* Heritage advocates have not expressed any concerns over this building; stands on the site of a former mansion
* Deputy Mayor Michelle Hooton, chairwoman of heritage board, happy with proposed design of justice complex
* Province not providing public consultations
3-20 Hazen Avenue
(Saint John Arts Centre)
* Built 1904
* The Carnegie building, one of 2,500 libraries donated by American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie across the U.S. and Canada; became Aitken Bicentennial Exhibition Centre, then Saint John Arts Centre
* Building includes an intricate stained-glass skylight over its three-storey high rotunda style foyer
* The building will remain amidst police-justice complex
* Arts Centre board worries that access to the centre will be diminished
* City officials laud almost $2 million in work being done on the building
4-50 Carleton Street
(Relatively small building behind Arts Centre)
* Built 1938
* Residential home
* Then-pastor of nearby St. John's (Stone) Church lived there from 1944 to 1957
* Obtained by city as part of parking lot swap with Aliant
* Could possibly be torn down; Coun. Chris Titus felt it was likely
5-97 Union Street
(Broderick Building)
* Built 1903
* Owned by Broderick family from construction until recent sale to the city
* First occupant was Dr. Edward James Broderick, physician, musician and noted speaker
* Purchased by the city in April for $290,000
* Could possibly be torn down; Coun. Chris Titus felt it was likely
6-101 Union Street
(An automotive service centre)
* Could possibly be torn down; Coun. Chris Titus felt it was likely
7-63-65 Carleton Street
(Run-down blue building next to dentist's office)
* Built pre-1863
* Bought by Saint John Parking Commission, will come down
* 63 Carleton was home to world-famous wood carver John Rogerson; 65 Carleton was home to Zebedee Gabel, a founder of the New Brunswick Baptist Seminary and a board of directors member at Acadia College
* Building was examined for physical heritage value, alternate use or rehabilitation possibilities and none found, city officials say
* Anything salvageable will be given to Habitat for Humanity
* Could be site of parking or sold to a developer
* All other buildings on that side of Carleton will not be affected
8-68 Carleton Street
(Former CFBC building)
* Built in 1800s, date uncertain
* Former home of Henry Bowyer Smith, collector of customs at the Port of Saint John; his father was lieutenant-governor of Prince Edward Island and his uncle was a British admiral
* Also former home of James Robertson, of Manchester, Robertson, Allison (MRA) department store at the corner of King and Germain streets
* First CFBC broadcast happened in this building, in 1946, when CFBC was a CBC affiliate
9-76-78 Carleton Street
(Shaarei Zedek synagogue)
* Built 1872
* Has been home to both the Jewish community and, in its early years, the Calvin Presbyterian Church
* Could potentially come down; Mayor Norm McFarlane said it won't be needed, but Jewish leader says he expects it and, furthermore, wouldn't mind
* The synagogue and the museum are being purchased together for the price of $475,000
10-27-29 Wellington Row
(Saint John Jewish Historical Museum)
* Built before the Great Fire of 1877
* Has been Jewish museum since 1986
* Was bought with understanding that city would buy synagogue as well
* The synagogue and the museum were bought for the combined price of $475,000
11-10 Peel Street
(Kaye residence)
* Built pre-1863
* First occupant was James J. Kaye, a prominent lawyer in the Maritime provinces
12-7, 15, and 19
Wellington Row
(Sometimes called the Jelly Bean buildings or the Bubble Gum buildings because of their colourful paint jobs)
* These woodframe buildings are of Second Empire design, as can be told from their Mansard (sloped) roofs, placing their construction between 1860 and 1890
13 - 105 and 109
Union Street
(Various current uses)
* Built pre-1863
* 105 Union was former home of Benjamin Appleby, who set up successful shipyard at Riverside in the early 1830s
* 105 contains businesses
* Each building owned within the same family
14- 115, 117, 119 Union Street
(Various current uses)
* Built pre-1869
* Was a three-family complex occupied by William G. Lawton, a well-to-do England native in the dry goods business
* 117 Union Street was purchased for $185,000, while 119 Union Street was purchased for $218,000. In both cases, staff said it was "slightly more" than the appraised value, but less than the city would have spent using expropriation