Description of Historic Place

137 Rochford Street is a two and one half storey wood framed home that shows influences of the Colonial Revival style. These features include its gable roof, wood shingle cladding with beltcourse, and the stacked bay windows. Located in an area with a number of heritage buildings of varying ages, the designation encompasses the building's exterior and parcel; it does not include the building's interior.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of 137 Rochford Street lies in its Colonial Revival architectural features; its association with various residents of Charlottetown; and its role in supporting the Rochford Street streetscape.

The 19 December 1906 edition of the Examiner newspaper noted that Richard Carson had built a very comfortable house that was eligibly situated. The home was 137 Rochford Street. By 1922, Daniel Gordon owned the property and in 1935, Mrs. Isabel Gordon was listed in the telephone directory at the address.

According to a building permit issued 27 June 1961, renovations were carried out at the residence. At this point, the owner of 137 Rochford Street was local businessman, George Rogers. The permit indicated that Walter Matheson was the builder carrying out the 10 000 dollar renovations.

137 Rochford Street exhibits some Colonial Revival influences. The Colonial Revival style came to Prince Edward Island as a result of the Island's familial and economic connections with New England, where it emerged in the 1880s. It was based on North American models and was an effort to simplify and adapt the forms of earlier architectural styles to contemporary needs. A popular style in Charlottetown from approximately 1890 until 1940, many examples still exist. 137 Rochford Street's Colonial Revival influenced features include a gable roof with its end facing the street, stacked bay windows and decorative shingles inside the gable.

A well maintained home among a number of heritage homes, 137 Rochford Street helps support the streetscape.

Sources: Heritage Office, City of Charlottetown Planning Department, PO Box 98, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7K2
#1823

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements contribute to the heritage value of 137 Rochford Street:

- The overall rectangular massing of the building
- The gable roof
- The asymmetrical facade
- The shingled exterior, with various shingle patterns in the gable
- The mouldings painted in a contrasting colour, including the window and door surrounds, the cornices, the protruding beltcourse, and the waterboards
- The size and placement of the windows, including the large sash windows, the window in the centre of the gable, the stacked bay windows with a hipped roof atop and the dormer window
- The size and placement of the doors, particularly the main entrance door with sidelight located on the south side of the building
- The porch located on the south side of the home
- The size and placement of the brick chimneys

Other character-defining elements include:

- The location of the building on Rochford Street and its physical and visual relationship to its streetscape