Description of Historic Place
The Dearborn Building is a brick Italianate commercial building with a four-storey façade and a storefront on Prince William Street and a five-storey façade on Water Street. It is located within the boundary of the Trinity Royal area of the City of Saint John.
Heritage Value
The Dearborn Building is designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture and for its association with its former occupants, as well as for its association with the wholesale grocery trade and water transport.
The Dearborn Building is one of a collection of commercial Italianate buildings that were built between 1877 and 1881 after two thirds of the City of Saint John was destroyed by fire in 1877. Built circa 1878 by L. H. DeVeber & Sons, this building is a good example of commercial Italianate architecture from the rebuilding period in Saint John. This style is evident in such details as the rectangular massing, the elaborate cornice with corbel brackets and the variety of shapes of window openings. The building also exhibits the unique feature of a four-storey façade facing Prince William Street and a five-storey façade facing Water Street at the rear of the building. The use of brick and the quality of the workmanship in this Italianate building represent the will for the city to rebuild, as well or better, after the fire.
The Dearborn Building is also recognized for its association with wholesale grocery trade and water transport in the area. This building, along with other buildings on this block, illustrates the advantages of the ice free port of Saint John as these buildings fronted on the bustling Water Street. It also had the advantage of being on the major thoroughfare of Prince William Street.
The Dearborn Building is also recognized as being associated with two of Saint John's highly reputable businesses. L. H. DeVeber & Sons were in the dry goods and grocery business in Saint John since 1817. Their principal place of business had always been on Prince William Street, having rebuilt several times following fires, including the one in 1877.
In 1885, Dearborn and Company, one of the most important and best known enterprises in Saint John, moved into this building. This business was established in the City of Saint John in the 1860's, as a branch of Flint, Dearborn & Company, of Boston. Dearborn and Company were roasters and grinders of coffee, grinders of spices, and manufacturers of condiments and extracts. They used the Prince William Street entrance as their office and the Water Street portion of the building as their warehouse. They once occupied the Water Street side of the building to the north for their spice mill. The company manufactured a wide range of products here such as baking powder, flavouring extracts, coffee, tea, mustard, and ketchup. The company was taken over by Canadian Mills and Specialties Ltd. in 1919.
Source: Planning and Development Department - City of Saint John
Character-Defining Elements
The character defining elements that describe the Italianate architecture of the Dearborn Building include:
- rectangular massing;
- brick exterior walls;
- overall symmetry of the placement of doors and windows.
The character-defining elements that describe Prince William Street façade include:
- four storeys;
- moulded cornice with brick corbel bands and dentils;
- segmented arch openings with rectangular windows;
- continuous sandstone sills;
- street-level storefront with a central entrance between storefront windows;
- insignia "DEARBORN - ESTABLISHED 1863".
The character-defining elements that describe the Water Street façade include:
- five storeys;
- moulded cornice with brick corbel bands and dentils;
- segmented arch openings with rectangular windows;
- continuous sandstone sills;
- street-level storefront with a central entrance between storefront windows, cast iron pilasters and paired wood panel doors.
