Description of Historic Place

209 Water Street is a wood framed home with wood shingle cladding. It is located in an area of Charlottetown where the Prince Edward Island Railway once dominated the landscape. The designation encompasses the building's exterior and parcel; it does not include the building's interior.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of 209 Water Street lies in its vernacular saltbox style architecture and its role in supporting the Water Street streetscape.

It is unclear when 209 Water Street was constructed and it has been said that the home may have been moved to its current site at 209 Water Street from another location. Supporting this theory, the 1914 Ballingall's Directory lists a vacant lot at 207-209 Water Street. However by 1929, Might's City Directory lists James and Jamie Dunn at the address. Later owners of the home included the Doyle family.

The area, in which 209 Water Street is located, was formerly associated with the Prince Edward Island Railway. The railway provided stable jobs for local people and much of the East end of Charlottetown was home to many of its employees. 209 Water Street, which was located down the street from the railway station and directly across from a number of tracks that led to the maintenance area, would have witnessed the day-to-day hustle and bustle associated with the railway. Since the Province no longer has a railway, there is very little left in the area, except for three stone buildings, which have been converted for other uses, to indicate that the industry that had dominated the area for so many years had ever existed there.

209 Water Street has recently been renovated. The home is a vernacular style with a saltbox shape. Charlottetown has few saltbox homes and this is a well preserved example. An attractive and well maintained building among a number of heritage buildings in the area, 209 Water Street helps support the Water Street streetscape.

Sources: Heritage Office, City of Charlottetown Planning Department, PO Box 98, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7K2
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Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements contribute to the vernacular saltbox influenced heritage value of 209 Water Street:

- The overall massing of the building with its two storeys
- The wood framed construction and shingle cladding
- The simple contrasting details such as the window surrounds, the door surround and the corner boards
- The distinctive saltbox roofline
- The size and placement of the windows particularly the six over six sash windows and the centrally placed grouped window of the building's second floor facade
- The size and central placement of the paneled door with its small portico
- The additions to the back of the home

Other character-defining elements include:

- The location of the home on Water Street