Description of Historic Place

Built circa 1902, the Robinson House is located in Chester, Nova Scotia and sits on the front end of a "drop lot" facing Queen Street. This impressive late Victorian Eclectic building was built as a boarding house to accommodate visitors to the area. The Municipal Heritage Designation applies to the building and surrounding property.

Heritage Value

Historic Value:

The Robinson House is valued for its age, social history relating to women in business, and its long association with Chester's tourism industry. Constructed at the turn of the twentieth century, the sheer size of this late Victorian Eclectic building is a testament to the prosperous tourism industry in the town. The initial owners of the home, Mary and Teresa Robinson were early feminine entrepreneurs and they opened their doors to tourists in 1902 and ran the boarding house together until 1916 when Mary purchased Teresa's interest.

Although Teresa sold the building in 1922 and it has had six owners since that time, the building has always remained a commercial building and today features the Mecklenburgh Inn, which provides accommodations to tourists in the Chester area.

Architectural Value:

The Robinson House is also valued as an excellent example of the late Victorian Eclectic style, which borrows from various preceding styles. It features a hipped roof common to the Four Square style; however, its front and rear elevation are uncommonly wide compared to its side elevations. In addition, the side elevations are considerably shorter allowing for a full upper storey, albeit narrower than the lower two storeys. The front elevation of the roof also features a modification of the style; a bellcast extension of the roofline was incorporated to cover the second storey of a "double" veranda.

The bellcast roof over the second storey of the "double" open veranda is fairly low so as to provide shelter from the afternoon sun. This "double" veranda design with a low roof over the second storey veranda is reminiscent of the Tidewater style, more common in the American south.

The numerous architectural styles incorporated in the building also include a Neo-Classical attention to symmetry on the southern elevation and upper storey of the front elevation; however, they contrast with the asymmetrical style of the lower storey of the front elevation and the rear elevation. In addition, subtle undertones of Greek Revival architecture are present such as simple return eaves on the rear elevation and simple decorative cornices at the tops of the wide flat corner boards.

Source: Municipality of the District of Chester Heritage Property Files.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Robinson House that relate to its use as an accommodation facility include:

- location at 78 Queen Street near the centre of Chester;
- location on a "drop lot" (the back portion of the lot is approximately 12 feet higher than the adjoining lot at the rear of the property), which makes the building appear even larger from its rear elevation;
- its large size and modification of its hipped roof to accommodate a full third storey for guest rooms;
- a main entrance used for guests and a secondary entrance used to access an office space on the front elevation;
- the secondary entrance flanked by two large "store front" windows.

The character-defining elements of the Robinson House that relate to its late Victorian Eclectic architecture include:

- steeply pitched hipped roof common to the Four Squares style of architecture modified to allow a full third storey and to join a bellcast roof extension that covers the second storey veranda;
- two storey open veranda with a low bellcast roof to reduce sun exposure reminiscent of Tidewater style "double" verandas;
- a central door opening on to the second storey veranda flanked by two windows creating a symmetrical second storey facade;
- eight vertically sashed windows on the southern elevation arranged symmetrically, in the formation of two over three over three;
- simple return eaves on the located at the corners of the rear elevation running toward the front elevation;
- wide flat corner boards topped with simple decorative cornices more commonly found on buildings with Greek Revival themes;
- granite foundation;
- wooden shingle and corner board construction.