Description of Historic Place

The Millican Residence is a two-storey wooden Italianate multiple dwelling located at the foot of the hill at the end of residential Summer Street below Mount Pleasant in Saint John.

Heritage Value

The Millican Residence is designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture, for its association with past occupants and for its association with the Jewish community in Saint John.

The architectural value of the Millican Residence is found in its excellent exterior preservation. It is a good example of a late, decorative use of the Italianate style in Saint John. The elaborate treatment of the central upper windows with blind pediment dormer above also show an interest in the more fanciful ornamentation of the Queen Anne Revival style, which was common by the time of this building’s construction. Oral history exists of reminiscences about the construction methods of this building, speaking to its solid foundations and explaining the sturdy, true survival of a well-made heritage building.

The Millican Residence was built in 1899 for James Millican, a veteran Intercolonial Railway (ICR) conductor. James Millican was in the railway service for 55 years, retiring in 1907. He took trains in and out of Saint John and throughout the Maritimes. He organized the Order of Railway Conductors in Saint John and was president of this organization for many years. James Millican died at this home in 1915.

This was the long-time home of Benjamin Hoffman. Benjamin and his brother, Myer Hoffman, bought this home shortly after the death of Mrs. Millican and Benjamin remained here until his death in 1948. Hoffman Bros. was a top tailoring firm with a shop on Main Street. Myer Hoffman founded Hoffman’s Tailors in 1911 and was later joined by his two brothers Benjamin and Morris. Their shop was known for its superb tailoring. This tailor shop was one of the most prominent of the Jewish businesses that flourished in Saint John between the 1920's and 1960's. Almost all of their work was done by hand. The Hoffmans were born in Minsk, Russia.

The Hoffmans' tenure of the Millican Residence adds to its heritage value through its association with the progress of the Jewish community of Saint John. Around the same time that the Hoffmans' move here, several other successful and professional Jewish families moved to Summer Street. Oral history of the area celebrates their community pride, evident in such actions as banding together to have their street privately paved, and ordering trees from Lebanon to plant along the street. The tree in front of the Millican Residence is reputedly one of the few Summer Street trees still surviving from a community tree planting program said to have taken place circa 1925 with the trees ordered from Lebanon.

Source: Planning and Development Department – City of Saint John

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of this Italianate building include:
- flat roof with bracketed cornice and small shed roof overhang;
- central bay with triangular pediments above entrance and above roofline;
- window placement and proportions;
- vertical sliding wood windows;
- 2-over-2 wood storm windows;
- wood siding (clapboard front and shingled side);
- wood corner boards and plinth band;
- slightly off-centre entrance allowing for #70 (right side) to be larger than #72 (left side);
- entrance portico with bracketed pediment;
- paired windows with shared frames on both storeys of #72;
- wider spacing between the two windows on each storey of #70;
- elaborate decorative framing of paired central upper-storey windows;
- central triangular pediment above the roofline with brackets and wooden panels beneath;
- rear ell;
- interior carved wood and tile fireplaces in upper and lower apartments;
- mature tree at the street reputedly part of the circa 1925 tree planting program by the Jewish community.