Description of Historic Place

The Charles H. Leonard Residence is a brick two-storey Renaissance Revival building with a projecting central frontispiece with a pediment. It is located on Carmarthen Street within the Orange Street Preservation Area of the City of Saint John.

Heritage Value

The Charles H. Leonard is designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture and for its association with its former occupants.

The Charles H. Leonard 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 although the commercial district of the city was quickly rebuilt, 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. Built in 1892 for Charles H. Leonard, this residence is an example of Renaissance Revival residential architecture from this delayed rebuilding period in Saint John following the fire.

The Charles H. Leonard Residence is also recognized for its association with Charles H. Leonard. A native of Leonardville, Deer Island, N.B., he came to Saint John in 1884. He established a small business as a grocer and wholesale fish dealer on South Wharf. His brother, Walter F. Leonard, joined him soon after and they became partners in the firm “Leonard Brothers”. The brothers moved their operations to Brittain Street where the company prospered. Over the years, the firm spread to Quebec, eventually establishing branches in Montreal, Grand River and Gaspe. While his brother Walter managed the Quebec branches from a central office out of Montreal, Charles continued to operate the business from Saint John. A serious illness cut Leonard’s career short. He died at the age of forty in 1898. Leonard’s wife, Georgie, remained at this address until 1906.

Source: Planning and Development Department - City of Saint John

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that describe the Charles H. Leonard Residence include:
- square two-storey massing;
- overall symmetry of the front façade;
- brick exterior walls;
- projecting frontispiece crowned by a pediment;
- stone cornice ornamented by dentils;
- decorative brick stringcourse along the second storey;
- continuous sandstone sills of the second storey;
- rectangular vertical sliding, 2/2 wood windows with pediment sandstone lintels along the first storey and horizontal lintels along the second storey;
- Roman arch entrance with brick pilasters and decorative sandstone Doric capitals;
- Roman arch transom window over double wooden doors;
- sandstone steps;
- sandstone plinth band.