Description of Historic Place

290 Euston Street is a Second Empire influenced, wood framed building. It features a mansard roof, roof dormers, and bracketted eaves facing the street. The home is located in a residential area of Charlottetown on the corner of Euston and Cumberland Streets among a number of homes where many railway employees resided. The designation encompasses the building's exterior and parcel; it does not include the building's interior.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of 290 Euston Street lies in its Second Empire influenced architecture; its association with prolific builders, the Fennell family; and its role in supporting the Euston and Cumberland Street streetscapes.

It is not clear exactly when 290 Euston Street was originally constructed however, an agreement between carpenters, William Fennell Senior and Junior exists indicating that an extra storey with a "French roof" was to be added on to the existing home in 1875. The junior William Fennell, and his wife Ann, would live on the Euston Street side of the home while his parents would reside on the Cumberland Street side. According to the agreement, the work was to be completed no later than 26 January 1876. The original two storey home was likely built by William Fennell Senior, as he built a number of homes throughout the City.

The French roof referred to in the agreement is another way of saying a Mansard roof, which is the main feature in the Second Empire style of architecture. The Second Empire style was a popular choice in the 1870s. The Mansard roof was named after François Mansart (1598-1666), and popularized by his son, Jules Hardoin Mansart, an architect who worked for France's King Louis XIV around 1700. The Mansard roof is almost flat on the top section and has deeply sloping, often curved, lower sections that generally contain dormers. The style was popularized during the Second (French) Empire of Napoleon III (1852-1870) and reached Canada through Britain and the United States. It was used extensively throughout Charlottetown from approximately 1860 until 1880.

An attractive home, located among a number of heritage homes, 290 Euston Street helps support both the Cumberland and Euston Street streetscapes.

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

The following Second Empire character-defining elements contribute to the heritage value of 290 Euston Street:

- The overall square massing of the building
- The Mansard roof with square dormers
- The symmetrical facade
- The wood exterior with mouldings painted in a contrasting colour including the cornice, the brackets, the corner boards, the window and door surrounds and the pedimented canopy porch over the main door of the Cumberland Street facade
- The style and placement of the windows, particularly the symmetrically placed sash windows of the Cumberland Street facade, and the canted bay window of the Euston Street side of the home with a flat roof
- The size and placement of the doors including the centrally placed door of the Cumberland Street facade

Other character-defining elements of 290 Euston Street include:

- The location of the building on the corner of Euston and Cumberland Streets and its physical and visual relationship to its streetscape