Description of Historic Place

180 Sydney Street is one of four houses that make up one of the few row houses in Charlottetown. The home was an addition to the houses next to it but it is unclear when 180 Sydney Street was built. The designation encompasses the building’s exterior and parcel; it does not include the building’s interior.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of 180 Sydney Street lies in its association with the Towan family; its part in one of Charlottetown’s few examples of row housing; and its importance to the streetscape.

180 Sydney Street, possibly constructed by Paul Towan, was an addition to the two attached brick homes next door. It appears that Towan had originally owned the attached homes but sold either a portion of, or both of them to merchant, Jonathan Metcalf in the late 1870’s. Towan, a local mason, originally bought the land from John Pidwell in 1848.

The Towan Family lived in 180 Sydney Street for many years. According to an 1887 Street directory of Charlottetown, the Towans were living at the 180 Sydney Street location. Phillippa Towan is listed as living at the address in 1909. Part of one of the few examples of row houses in Charlottetown, 180 Sydney Street is a vital part of the four part row house. The row house is an important part of the Sydney Street streetscape.

Sources: Heritage Office, City of Charlottetown Planning Department, PO Box 98, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7K2
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Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements illustrate the heritage value of 180 Sydney Street:

- The size and shape of the home
- The placement and style of windows particularly the paired windows of the first floor and the grouped windows of the second floor
- The placement and style of the doors
- The simple, attractive contrasting trim running throughout the building’s exterior
- The pitch of the rooflines and the cornice on the façade section
- The placement and style of the chimney
- The home’s wooden siding
- The home’s position as part of a row house
- The location of the building on Sydney Street