Description of Historic Place

172 King Street is a wood framed, Maritime Vernacular Cottage located in the southeastern part of Charlottetown. The area was settled quite early and contains a number of heritage homes of varying ages and architectural styles. The designation encompasses the building's exterior and parcel; it does not include the building's interior.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of 172 King Street lies in its association with various residents of Charlottetown, its Maritime Vernacular influenced architecture, and its contribution to the streetscape.

William Paul, a shipbuilder, built 172 King Street in the period between 1853 and 1863. According the Hutchinson's 1864 Directory, Paul was also a surveyor of lumber and a landwaiter for the City of Charlottetown. A landwaiter was a customs officer who enforced the import and export regulations for the colony. Later residents of the house included George Worthy, a moulder for the Prince Edward Island Railway, and later, Gilbert and Helen Arsenault.

Like a number of homes in the area, 172 King Street was influenced by the Maritime Vernacular Cottage style which was a common style in mid 1800s Charlottetown. A distinctively Maritime style, its features include a rectangular plan, a central doorway and a large, centrally placed dormer. 172 King Street was altered at some point in its history and the windows on either side of the doorway were replaced with unsympathetic smaller windows. Located in an area with a number of heritage homes, including a similarly styled house next door at 176 King Street, the house helps support the streetscape.

Source: Heritage Office, City of Charlottetown Planning Department, PO Box 98, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7K2
# 1338

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the house is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the overall one-and-one-half storey massing of the home
- the wood shingle cladding
- the gable roof and the central location of the large dormer
- the location and size of the sash windows, including the paired windows of the dormer and the two windows facing the street
- the centrally placed front door with small pedimented awning supported by two brackets
- the brick chimney