Description of Historic Place

54 Victoria Street East, also known as the County Court House, is a two-and-a-half-storey civic building of stone masonry built in 1888. It is located on the north side of Amherst, Nova Scotia's main street in the downtown commercial district. The building and property are included in the municipal designation.

Heritage Value

54 Victoria Street East is valued for its age, its architectural design and appointments, and because it is one of a number of important stone buildings erected at the turn of the twentieth century making it part of a unique Maritime streetscape. It is also valued for its association with local industry.

Architectural Value: The building is a blend of Neo-Classical and Romanesque Revival styles of architecture. The entrance is marked with a broken moulded pediment supported by double pilasters, and within that is a Romanesque arch over a deep-set double doorway topped with a fanlight. On each side of the entrance are two straight-topped rectangular windows decorated with rounded blind fanlights, each with a beautifully carved fan and rounded keystone arches. The second storey has two windows topped with the same fan and keystone detailing. The other second-storey windows are topped with protruding carved triangular hoods and pediments.

Historical Value: The Court House was built of local sandstone in 1888 by Rhodes, Curry Co. a company of importance in the economic and architectural history of Amherst and Nova Scotia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The company had a reputation for quality of workmanship and craftsmanship, and was instrumental in the commercial and architectural development of late nineteenth century Amherst.

Source: “Heritage Properties Amherst, 54 Victoria East” File, Cumberland County Museum

Character-Defining Elements

Character-Defining elements of 54 Victoria Street East include:

- local sandstone construction materials;
- location in Amherst's commerical downtown among other similar buildings.

Character-defining Romanesque Revival elements of 54 Victoria East include:

- symmetrical facade;
- large scale massing;
- rough-cut stone walls;
- semi-circular arches above windows;
- bands of windows on both floors.

Character-defining Neo-Classical elements of 54 Victoria East include:

- dentils;
- broken pediment;
- classically detailed columns and pediments;
- decorative elements in stonework, including carved arches with fan-shaped detailing.