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Cast Iron Façade / Coomb's Old English Shoe Store National Historic Site of Canada

1883-1885 Granville Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1981/01/15

Facade of the Cast Iron Façade / Coomb's Old English Shoe Store showing its distinctive cast-iron facade, extending the full, four-storey height of the building.; Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, n.d.
Facade
No Image
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Other Name(s)

Cast Iron Façade / Coomb's Old English Shoe Store National Historic Site of Canada
Cast Iron Façade / Coomb's Old English Shoe Store
Ancien magasin de chaussures anglaises Coombs

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1860/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2005/03/08

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

The Cast Iron Façade / Coombs Old English Shoe Store is a mid-19th-century commercial building with a cast-iron facade. It is located in the Granville Street area of downtown Halifax. The Coombs building forms part of a block of historically and architecturally significant commercial buildings. The formal recognition consists of the building on its property at the time of recognition.

Heritage Value

The Cast Iron Façade / Coombs Old English Shoe Store was designated a national historic site in 1980 because it provides a rare and early example of a full, cast-iron facade in Canada.

Built in 1860, the Coomb's building is one of the first cast-iron-front structures constructed in Canada and the only building in Halifax known to have a facade composed entirely of cast iron. The four-storey facade was designed and manufactured by the Architectural Iron Works of New York City, a major supplier and promoter of cast iron architecture in North America.

Sources: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minute, June 1980

Character-Defining Elements

The key elements that relate to the heritage value of the Cast Iron Façade / Coombs Old English Shoe Store include:
-its cast-iron facade, extending the full, four-storey height of the building;
-the distinctive white colour of the façade;
-the Italianate detailing and fenestration of the façade, illustrating the sculptural potential of cast iron, including: a large, semi-circular window opening extending the full width of the façade at the second storey; and three, large, arched window openings separated by Corinthian columns on each of the third and fourth storeys;
-the building's construction, whereby the iron front is attached by rods to solid brick side walls.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Federal

Recognition Authority

Government of Canada

Recognition Statute

Historic Sites and Monuments Act

Recognition Type

National Historic Site of Canada

Recognition Date

1981/01/15

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Architecture and Design

Function - Category and Type

Current

Commerce / Commercial Services
Shop or Wholesale Establishment
Education
Composite School

Historic

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

National Historic Sites Directorate, Documentation Centre, 5th Floor, Room 89, 25 Eddy Street, Gatineau, Quebec

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

273

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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