Description of Historic Place

69 Upper Prince Street is an elaborate wood framed, Second Empire influenced home. It features a mansard roof, bay windows, and decorative bracketting. Located among a number of heritage houses, it was once part of an exclusive neighbourhood. Once named Haviland Lane for the prominent Haviland family who owned a great deal of property in the area, the name of the street was later changed to Upper Prince Street. The designation encompasses the building's exterior and parcel; it does not include the building's interior.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of 69 Upper Prince Street lies in its association with merchant, George E. Full; its well preserved Second Empire influenced architecture; and its role in supporting the streetscape.

Hon. Thomas Heath Haviland (1822-1895) a prominent Island politician, Father of Confederation, and lieutenant governor, owned much of the land in this section of Upper Prince Street. He sold part of Common Lot 24 to George E. Full in 1875. By 1877, this home had been constructed and was referred to in the 2 June edition of the Examiner newspaper as Mr. George Full's "new cottage on Haviland Lane".

Full was a successful merchant in Charlottetown. He sold a number of items from his shop on Queen Street including boots, shoes, trunks and valises. An 1888 advertisement for his business indicated that he could be found on Queen Street "at the sign of the lion" referring to the signage outside of his shop.

Full chose the fashionable Second Empire style for his home at 69 Upper Prince Street. The style is readily identified by its Mansard roof, named after François Mansart (1598-1666), and popularized by his son, Jules Hardoin Mansart, an architect who worked for France's King Louis XIV around 1700. The Mansard roof is almost flat on the top section and has deeply sloping, often curved, lower sections that generally contain dormers. The Second Empire referred to in the style is that of Napoleon III (1852-1870). The style reached Canada through Britain and the United States and was used extensively throughout Charlottetown from approximately 1860 until 1880. 69 Upper Prince Street underwent a restoration in 2002 and thus, many of its original details have been left intact including the Mansard roof, gabled dormers and impressive mouldings.

Located among a number of impressive homes built in the latter part of the 19th century, 69 Upper Prince Street helps support the 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 heritage value of 69 Upper Prince Street:

- The overall square massing of the building
- The wood clapboard cladding
- The mouldings painted in a contrasting colour, particularly the door and window surrounds, the decorative wood finials atop the gabled dormers, the roof brackets, the cresting, the balustrade of the verandah, the cornices and the end boards
- The Mansard roof with gabled dormers
- The size and placement of the windows, including the sash windows, the dormer windows, the bay windows topped with Mansard roofs and the stacked bay windows near the rear of the home topped with conical roofs
- The style and placement of the doors, particularly the paired main doors with arched windows and the door of the front porch with a transom light
- The size, shape and placement of the verandah with its decorative balustrade and roof supported by large brackets
- The size, shape and placement of the brick chimneys
- The brick foundation

Other character-defining elements of 69 Upper Prince Street include:

- The location of the building on Upper Prince Street and its physical and visual relationship to its streetscape