Description of Historic Place

Rupert G. Haley Residence is a two-storey brick Italianate building with bay windows similar to the adjacent building. It is located on Germain Street within the Trinity Royal Preservation Area of the City of Saint John.

Heritage Value

Rupert G. Haley Residence is designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture and for its association with Rupert G. Haley.

Many of the buildings in the residential district of Germain Street were constructed in the latter part of the 19th Century or early 20th Century as all the older buildings were destroyed in the 1877 fire. Built in 1887, Rupert G. Haley Residence is good example of a two-storey brick Italianate building with bay windows from this rebuilding period in Saint John. The brick construction represented the city’s post-fire attitude toward more resilient architecture.

Rupert G. Haley Residence is also recognized through its association with Rupert G. Haley. Rupert G. Haley of Haley Brothers and Co., had this residence built in 1887 as a residence for him and his wife. Haley first came to Saint John from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 1882, after his brother, William Haley, became sole proprietor of a planing and moulding mill formerly known as Kinney and Haley Co. William Haley convinced his brother Rupert Haley to partner with him and manage the business from Saint John while William Haley remained in Yarmouth. The business was appropriately renamed as Haley Brothers and Co. By 1888, however, Rupert Haley became sole proprietor. The business proved successful and Haley gradually expanded the business into a lumber merchandising company as well, until he finally retired in 1919, leaving the business to his two sons, W. Kenneth and Raymond R. Haley. Haley remained at his Germain Street residence until 1911.

Source: Planning and Development Department - City of Saint John

Character-Defining Elements

The character defining elements that describe Rupert G. Haley Residence include:
- two-storey rectangular massing in brick;
- cornice supported by decorative, wood brackets and ornamented by brick corbel bands;
- two storey, semi-octagonal bay windows similar to the adjacent building;
- vertical sliding, one over one wood windows with sandstone lintels and sills;
- recessed brick work along either side of entry;
- sandstone lintel above a rectangular, stained glass transom window and decorative, paired wood doors with glass panels in the upper half;
- sandstone steps descending from entry;
- sandstone plinth band.