Description of Historic Place

The Gahan House is located on historic Sydney Street. The beautiful, three storey brick Second Empire influenced building once belonged to John Gahan, a prominent local merchant. The home has had a variety of uses throughout the years but now houses the Gahan House Brewery, Pub & Mercantile. The designation encompasses the building’s exterior and parcel; it does not include the building’s interior.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Gahan House lies in its association with local merchant, John Gahan; its Second Empire influenced brick construction; and its importance to the streetscape.

John Gahan had lived in a wooden home on the site of the current Gahan House until 1880, when he built the current brick, Second Empire influenced home. Gahan arrived in Charlottetown in the 1850’s and built a successful business importing tea, wine and other goods. His thriving business was located next door on the corner of Queen and Sydney Streets. Gahan died in 1885, leaving the home to his widow, Marguerita Gahan, who remained in the home until she sold it to Edward Kelly. Kelly was a successful local businessman who owned a great deal of property throughout Charlottetown.

Shortly after Kelly died in 1922, the property was taken over by the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation, which used the home as a home for the aged. They later added a piece on to the back, or south side, of the structure for use as a convent for the cloistered order, the Sisters of the Precious Blood. In the 1960’s, the home was converted for use as a boarding house, a role in which the building served for the next forty years. In 2000 the home was renovated and converted into the Gahan House Brewery Pub & Mercantile.

Sources: Heritage Office, City of Charlottetown Planning Department, PO Box 98, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7K2
#1474

Character-Defining Elements

The following Second Empire influenced character-defining elements illustrate the heritage value of the Gahan House:

- The size and shape of the brick exterior, including the extension of the south side
- The placement and style of the tall, round headed windows, as well as the bay windows with their freestone trim
- The placement and style of the doors
- The brick and freestone trim around the second floor windows of the façade
- The freestone trim around the bay windows, the freestone lintels and sills, as well as the band of freestone along the foundation
- The small porches on the east and west sides of the building
- The Mansard roof with its cornice and gabled dormers breaking the roofline
- The Mansard roofs over the bay windows and porches

Other character-defining elements of the Gahan House include:
- The location of the building on Sydney Street