Description of Historic Place

This two-storey brick duplex, located on the south side of Bridge Street, is situated on the hillside behind the former Marysville Cotton Mill. Originally built for Alexander “Boss” Gibson’s mill workers, this tenement house is typical of 19th century industrial town Italianate design.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of this brick tenement dwelling resides in its association with Alexander “Boss” Gibson and his town plan for Marysville, now part of the City of Fredericton. One of 39 duplexes built by the local businessman and entrepreneur for his employees and their families, the building is an example of typical 19th century Italianate tenement housing plan and construction. Modest, well-built workers’ homes were erected within easy walking distance to the mill, and the larger homes of overseers and managers were built closer to the Gibson family mansions overlooking the town from the highest elevation in Marysville, formerly known as “Nob Hill.”

Many of the building materials, including the brick and lumber, are of local origin. The heritage value also lies in its location in close proximity to the former mill, the former commercial centre of downtown and Royals Field, where the men of the Marysville Wards congregated during summer evenings to play baseball.

Source: City of Fredericton, Local Historic Places file, “42 Bridge Street”

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements associated with the brick tenement at 42 Bridge Street include:
- two-storey brick construction, using locally manufactured material;
- part a street lined with homes of the same mill-town Italianate design and construction;
- context with respect to the river, the mill and the town plan;
- symmetrical boxy massing;
- continuous label hood moulding;
- slightly-pitched lateral gable roof with brick cornice details;
- symmetrical placement of segmented arch window openings;
- separate recessed entryways.