Description of Historic Place

70 Reade Street consists of a 1 ½-story rectangular wartime bungalow with a gable roof and white vinyl siding. It is located on the west side of Reade Street, 3rd house from Alexander Park in Moncton.

Heritage Value

70 Reade St. was designated for the technique used in its construction and for its context within a built community.

70 Reade Street is a good and relatively unaltered example of Wartime Housing as erected by Parsons Construction Co. in Moncton. Due to the looming shortage of housing at the end of World War II, Wartime Housing Limited of Toronto commissioned the construction of tens of thousands of small temporary homes across Canada. Lloyd Parsons of Parsons Construction Co. improved upon the existing pre-fabrication methods suggested by Wartime Housing. The result was a one-of-a-kind construction process, which saw millwork, carpentry work, pre-fabrication and assembly all take place on the development site. Complete walls, including windows, were fabricated in on-site jig assembly plants in a matter of minutes then carted on temporary tracks to the appropriate site. Contrary to conventional building methods, interior walls were erected first, with exterior walls fastened to them afterwards. 70 Reade Street is set back from the street due to an original plan for cul-de-sacs was eventually prohibited by the local fire chief. 70 Reade Street was part of the initial contract for 100 houses in Moncton in 1947. These 100 houses were completed in 66 days, a record for wartime housing construction.

The context of 70 Reade Street within the community is also important. The area of what was called “Project No. 4” in Moncton was originally an open field expropriated from Frank P. Reade and W. Edgar Sherrard. The community was established with the RAF No.1 Y Depot less than half a kilometre away. 70 Reade Street is located adjacent to Alexander Park, which was designed to be at the end of the cul-de-sacs for the leisure and recreation of the families, creating a garden suburb appearance and increasing a sense of community. Although these homes were temporary utilitarian structures to be dismantled at the end of the Second World War, in 1952 a sense of permanence was reaffirmed in this close-knit community when most of the houses were temporarily moved onto the street, literally feet from each other, to facilitate excavation for concrete basements. Descendents of the original owners, as well as some original owners, still occupy many of theses homes, including 70 Reade Street.

Source: Moncton Museum, Moncton, New Brunswick – site file “70 Reade St. – Parsons Construction Wartime Housing”

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements relating to location and context include:
- one of 100 houses built in 66 days by Parsons Construction Co.;
- set-back location on lot as per original cul-de-sac design;
- adjacent to Alexander Park.

The character-defining elements relating to the architecture of the house include:
- gable roof;
- pediment portico over off-center front door;
- converted original attached storage and fuel shed;
- concrete basement added in 1952;
- rectangular massing;
- felt paper over studs.

The character-defining elements relating to the interior of the structure include:
- steep central staircase;
- original floor plan;
- plain door and window trim;
- original hardwood.