Description of Historic Place

Frank White Residence is a two-storey wooden Queen Anne building which is an inner building of a four-building complex. It has an off centred entrance and cross gabled roof. It is located on a terrace Prince William Street at the southwestern extremity of the Trinity Royal area of the City of Saint John.

Heritage Value

Frank White Residence is designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture and its association with its former occupants.

Built in 1895, Frank White Residence is recognized as being a part of the building boom near the turn of the 20th Century. It is a two-storey wooden Queen Anne building which is an inner building of a four-building complex. The Great Saint John Fire of 1877 destroyed nearly the entire Central Peninsula of the City of Saint John. In the late 1890's and early 1900's as Saint John began to recover, these lots were once again being built upon.

Heritage value is also recognized as it exemplifies a serene setting along with a unique display of Victorian architecture. It is one unit of a complex of four units that are situated upon a terrace that overlooks the Saint John Harbour and has one of the largest natural landscape frontages as compared to other residential complexes in the Central Peninsula of Saint John. Access to this complex is through a central opening in a natural bedrock and stone wall. Wooden stairways divert north and south parallel with Prince William Street and then turn to the grade of the terrace and climbs toward the vicinity of the entranceways to the buildings. Three of the buildings in this complex are nearly identical in their Queen Anne details and design, including the Frank White Residence. They are all equipped with open covered porches with this residence being one of three of the complex that have an oval window and moderately pitched gable roofs which aid in its association with the sea and its cottage appearance.

Frank White Residence is also recognized through the occupants that have resided here. It was initially owned by Robert Barbour. This residence was not owner occupied for the greater part of its existence. The first tenant was A. W. Reid. He was with the money order department of the post office and also acted as chief clerk of the office. Frank Skinner White lived in this residence from 1901 until his death in the early 1920's. He was the manager of the firm of W. Malcolm Mackay Company Ltd., lumber merchants. His widow remained in this residence until the early 1930's.

Source: Planning and Development Department-City of Saint John

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements relating to the context, location and landscape of this Queen Anne building include:
- location on an elevated terrace;
- size of the the natural landscape frontage;
- one of three buildings in the four-building complex with near identical detail;
- grass frontage;
- hanging vines;
- bedrock and placed stone wall;
- wooden stairways through the lawn.

The character-defining elements that relate to the overall lay-out design and detail of the building that shares the same components with the two residences to the side of this complex include:
- window placement and proportions;
- entrance placement and proportions.

The character-defining elements in the Queen Anne Style that share the same components with the two residences to the sides of this complex include:
- building's height and width proportions;
- peaked pediment atop the upper bay window;
- pediment bargeboard with the pattern of circles in succession
- scalloped shingling;
- two small square windows in the tympanum of the gable;
- brackets under the eaves;
- ornamental trim over the lower storey window;
- open covered porch;
- oval oculus window;
- paired wooden door with glass upper panels and a glass fan design above the glass panels.