Description of Historic Place

The Frederick W. Blizard Residence is a wooden two-storey Queen Anne Revival building. It is located on Orange Street within the Orange Street Preservation Area of the City of Saint John.

Heritage Value

The Frederick W. Blizard Residence is designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture and for its association with its former occupants.

Built between 1891 and 1982, the Frederick W. Blizard Residence is recognized as being a part of the building boom near the turn of the 20th century. The Great Saint John Fire of 1877 destroyed nearly the entire Central Peninsula of the City of Saint John and the commercial district of the city was quickly rebuilt, but many of the residential lots to the south and east of the commercial district were not immediately built upon due in part to residents building further away from the commercial districts and due to many residents deserting the city in need of immediate employment. From the late 1880's up to the early 1900's these lots were being built upon in a feverish manner. This residence is an example of Queen Anne Revival residential architecture from this delayed rebuilding period in Saint John following the fire.

The Frederick W. Blizard Residence is also recognized for its association with Frederick W. Blizard, who had this residence built for his family. He served for several years as a postal clerk in the railway mail service. Later, he became involved in the wholesale coal business as a Sales Agent Broker for the Inverness Imperial Coal Company located at Broad Cove. His small independent business quickly expanded to a substantial company of which he was president. Known as the firm, “F.W. Blizard, Limited” with offices located at 329 Charlotte Street, this business supplied a number of dealers and steam plants in the Maritime region with direct shipments of previously screened coal. In addition to his profession, he also remained closely connected to the Odd Fellows organization in the city. He continued to be active in his community and business endeavours until his death at this residence early in 1924. His wife, Amelia Blizard, and later his son, George McAvity Blizard, continued to reside at this address for over a decade following. Although connected to the Maritime Bank of Canada for some years, George McAvity Blizard took up a career alongside his father in the wholesale coal industry. His prominence in the coal industry continued even after his father’s passing and lasted until he died suddenly in 1940. The Blizard family maintained a connection to this residence until 1939.

Source: Planning and Development Department - City of Saint John

Character-Defining Elements

The character defining elements that describe the Frederick W. Blizard Residence include:
- asymmetrical two-storey design of the front façade;
- cornice ornamented by wooden dentils;
- two-storey square bay on the west side of front façade;
- two-storey semi-octagonal bay window on the east side of front façade;
- central entrance with pediment;
- rectangular transom window over the wood and glass double doors;
- brick foundation.