Description of Historic Place

Built in 1889, the St. Andrews Land Company Building is a brick two-storey, Italianate building with a flat roof and an off-centred entrance below an elliptical arch. It is located on the corner of Water and Princess Royal streets in the Town of St. Andrews.

Heritage Value

The St. Andrews Land Company Building is designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture, for its association with the development of tourism in St. Andrews and for being a contributing element to the array of heritage buildings in the Town of St. Andrews.

The St. Andrews Land Company Building is a good example of Italianate commercial architecture from the Victorian era. This style is characterized by the ornate corbel bands and brackets at the roof-line cornice and the Roman arch flanked by semi-elliptical arches that act as headers for the windows and entranceway on the front façade. Roman arch headers are also used on the side façade. Brick construction was seldom used in St. Andrews and this building serves as the only 19th century brick commercial structure in the town.

The St. Andrews Land Company Building is also recognized for its association with the development of tourism in St. Andrews. St. Andrews has wonderful natural scenery yet the formation of the St. Andrews Land Company in 1883 was a primary reason for the progression and promotion of the town as a seaside resort. The company was formed by American businessmen with the assistance of Sir Leonard Tilley. The company bought up huge tracts of land in and around the town for the purpose of creating a land boom based on tourism. These large lots were sold to wealthy locals and summer visitors with a non-commercial use restriction. The Maine resorts of Bar Harbor and Old Orchard Beach were overcrowded and seaside lovers soon became aware of the company’s work. In 1889, the company opened the famed Algonquin Hotel and were doing so much business that the property in question was needed for office space. In 1889, through their work, the first train arrived in St. Andrews over CPR tracks. They built the first golf course in 1894. They invited Sir William Van Horne and Robert Armstrong of the Saint John Globe to St. Andrews to set up a newspaper, St. Andrews Beacon, in the basement of this building to promote tourism. The Beacon operated here from 1888 to 1919 and was another key contributor to the promotion of tourism.

The St. Andrews Land Company Building is also recognized for being a contributing element to the array of heritage buildings in St. Andrews. St. Andrews has one of the best collections per capita of heritage buildings in Canada that range from the early thriving loyalist days of the late 1700’s to the Maxwell designed homes of the town’s early tourism era in the late 1800’s, early 1900’s. As of 2001 the population of St. Andrews was less than 2,000 inhabitants. Much credit is due to the inhabitants of the town for maintaining this collection and preserving the town’s serene and relaxed atmosphere.

Source: Charlotte County Archives - Old Gaol, St. Andrews, New Brunswick – St. Andrews Historic Places File, “St. Andrews Land Company Building”

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the St. Andrews Land Company Building include:
- rectangular two-storey massing;
- brick construction;
- flat roof with corbel bands and brackets;
- moulded roof cornice;
- continuous double brick stringcourse acting as window headers in upper storey;
- triple arches (Roman arch flanked by semi-elliptical arches) acting as window and entranceway headers in lower storey of the front façade;
- dogtooth brick bond in the spandrel between the small cornice and the arched headers on the first floor of the front façade;
- continuous brick headers over Roman arch windows on the side façade;
- elliptical arch entranceway with fanlight transom window and sidelights;
- sandstone sills;
- plinth band.