Description of Historic Place

137-139 Queen Street is a three storey Italianate-Commercial influenced building located in a historically commercial area of Charlottetown. The building was home to one of Charlottetown’s oldest businesses, Rogers Hardware, and is a landmark in Charlottetown. The designation includes the building’s exterior and parcel; it does not include the building’s interior.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of 137-139 Queen Street lies in its association with Charlottetown’s commercial history, its early Italianate Commercial influenced architecture and its importance to the Queen Street streetscape.

Thomas W. Dodd (1819-1902) and Benjamin Rogers (1836-1911) were two successful Charlottetown businessmen who formed a business in 1859 called Dodd & Rogers. From their business on Pownal Street, they operated a general store and sold stoves. In 1867, they each bought a lot with a frontage of 28 feet, on the corner of Queen Street and Grafton Street. They soon had the current building, 137-139 Queen Street, constructed on their two properties.

The choice of the Italianate influenced commercial building style was a popular one in the mid to late 19th Century. It was considered more fireproof than the wooden structures in invariably replaced. The design was also more decorative, being reminiscent of the Venetian arcades of the Renaissance period. 137-139 Queen Street remains one of the City's most well preserved examples of this style.

The southern half of the large building housed Dodd & Rogers and the northern corner store section was rented to various parties including, MacKinnon and McDonald and G. and S. Davies. In 1871, Dr. Simon Dodd, the brother of Thomas W. Dodd, opened a pharmacy on the northern corner section and named it the Medical Hall. Later the Jamieson family would take over the pharmacy’s space.

In 1904, Benjamin Rogers took over the Dodd & Rogers business and changed the name to the Rogers Hardware Company. By 1921, his business occupied the entire building.

The building has undergone several renovations throughout its history. A parapet wall was added in 1888 and “something new in show windows” was fashioned for Dr. Dodd’s section of the building. An addition to the back of the building was added in 1899 and in 1904, another portion was added. Architects, Chappell and Hunter provided plans for an interior renovation in 1921. Contractors, Cudmore and Webster worked on the project and J. Austin Trainor did the painting and decorating.

In 1988, the Rogers Hardware Company left the premises for one of their former warehouses on Grafton Street. A branch of Canada Trust moved into the 137-139 Queen Street building after renovations were made to the interior. The building housed the bank for a time, but has more recently been converted to house the MRSB Group of companies.

137-139 Queen Street is located directly across from where the Charlottetown Market once resided. The area has been commercial for most of its history and is considered one of the main streets in Charlottetown. Located on the corner of Grafton Street and Queen Street, across from two national historic sites, the Confederation Centre of the Arts and Apothecaries Hall, 137-139 Queen Street is vital to the streetscape. A beautiful building that has been well preserved; it is a landmark in Charlottetown.

Sources: Heritage Office, City of Charlottetown Planning Department, PO Box 98, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7K2
#1597

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements illustrate the heritage value of 137-139 Queen Street:

- The brick construction of the building
- The style and placement of the round arched windows of the Queen Street side and the storefront windows with their transom lights. The large windows of the Grafton Street side with their stone lintels and sills
- The style and placement of the doors, particularly the recessed storefront doors as well as the door on the corner of the building
- The storefront with its large sign band, plate glass windows and recessed doorway
- The flat roofline with its raised decorative parapet
- The size and shape of the chimneys
Other character-defining elements of 137-139 Queen Street include:
- The location of the building on the corner of Queen and Grafton Street