Description of Historic Place

The William J. Fraser Building is a three-storey brick Italianate building with a ground-level storefront. It is located on Princess Street within the Trinity Royal Preservation Area of the City of Saint John.

Heritage Value

The William J. Fraser Building is designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture and for its association with its former occupants.

The William J. Fraser Building is recognized as being a part of the building boom near the turn of the 20th century. After the Great Saint John Fire of 1877, which destroyed nearly the entire Central Peninsula of the city, commercial and residential areas of the city were rapidly rebuilt in the 1890's and early 1900's. When the city began to expand again at the beginning of the 20th century, lots such as this outside of the reconstruction area were built upon. The William J. Fraser Building is a good example of commercial Italianate architecture from this period in Saint John. This style is evident in details such as the ground-level storefront, segmented arch window openings and brick corbel bands under a moulded cornice.

The William J. Fraser Building is also recognized for its association with the individuals who have lived and operated their businesses at this location. William Patterson, from Toronto, had this building built between 1895 an 1896. While living in Ontario, he rented this property out to various individuals, many of whom were associated with the music business. George T. Higgins, Fred A. Peters and A. B. Osborne operated a piano repair and tuning business from this location for short periods throughout the late 19th century and early 20th century. William Crawford managed his piano and sewing machine shop for sixteen years at this location during this same period. Patterson eventually sold the building to William J. Fraser, who operated his business clothing from here throughout the 1910’s. Fraser entered the clothing business at a young age and eventually entered into a partnership with his brother, in addition to J. M. and G. W. Scovill. This jointly owned company known as Scovill, Fraser & Co. was the beginning of another prominent business in later years known as the Oak Hall. The partnership failed to last long, however, leaving the Fraser brothers to continue in the clothing industry as Fraser, Fraser & Co. The Frasers established a number of retail branches in the city, this property on Princess Street being one of several. Although Fraser retired in 1917, the premises remained in his estate until 1930. Like the building's previous owner, he rented out other parts of the building to a number of individuals and successful businesses.

Source: Department of Planning and Development - City of Saint John

Character-Defining Elements

The character defining elements that describe the Italianate architecture of the William J. Fraser Building include:
- rectangular three-storey massing;
- brick exterior walls;
- symmetrical front façade;
- moulded cornice over brick corbel bands;
- segmented arched openings enclosing rectangular vertical sliding windows, along the second and third storeys, with brick arches and sandstone sills;
- ground-level storefront design.