Description of Historic Place

10-12 Haviland Street is a large apartment building and former barrel factory that had been moved from the foot of Haviland Street, north to its present location. The designation encompasses the building’s exterior and parcel; it does not include the building’s interior.

Heritage Value

The historic value of 10-12 Haviland Street lies in its association with amateur horticulturist, Arthur Newbery (1850-1930) and its Queen Anne Revival architectural elements as created by the Island's prominient architect of the late 19th to early 20th Centuries, William Critchlow Harris. The building remains an excellent example of his work in Charlottetown.

10-12 Haviland Street began its life as a cooperage, located on Paoli’s wharf, at the foot of Haviland Street. Sometime between 1887-1890, famous local merchant, Owen Connolly, moved the large building north to its current location. Connolly then renovated the building for use as a double apartment, choosing prominent local architect, William Critchlow Harris' design. The ornate porches and bays were a result of Harris’ work. The most famous resident of 10-12 Haviland was Arthur Newbery, who was instrumental in converting Queens Square from a barren, untidy place to a public garden. Born in Italy, Newbery and his family moved to Charlottetown when he was a young boy. He was appointed Assistant Provincial Secretary in 1879 and remained in this position for over fifty years. In 1884, the Charlottetown Arbour Society was formed. Their plan was to plant trees in Charlottetown’s various squares and along city streets. Newbery was the planner and secretary of the committee that oversaw the development of Queens Square. Newbery not only planned for trees, but gardens, a fountain and a bandstand, which were added throughout the next decade.

Newbery and his family lived at 10-12 Haviland for almost fifty years. Several architectural features have been lost through renovations, however the building looks much as it did when Harris designed it. It still remains an apartment building to this day.

Sources: Heritage Office, City of Charlottetown Planning Department, PO Box 98, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7K2
Record # 1439

Character-Defining Elements

The following Queen Anne Revival influenced character defining elements illustrate the heritage value of 10-12 Haviland Street:

- The symmetrical placement and style of the windows, including the paired windows of the first floor, the grouped windows of the second floor and the paired windows of the gabled dormers
- The placement and style of the doors, including the double doors of the first floor
- The first floor porches and second floor balconies with their ornate trim
- The pitch of the gabled roof
- The gabled dormers with their trim
- The placement of the two chimneys
- The wooden cladding, including the ornate cladding that runs between the second and third floor of the façade
- The trim running throughout the façade and sides of the building