Description of Historic Place

The Ada and Mary Tapley Residence is a two-storey wooden Craftsman-style building located on the Northeast corner of Pitt and Duke streets. It was built in 1916.

Heritage Value

The Ada and Mary Tapley Residence is designated a Local Historic Place for its architectural value and for its association with its past occupants.

Architecturally, the Ada and Mary Tapley Residence is a good example of the Craftsman Style in Saint John. This style of uninterrupted square structures that served as two-family homes was common in the City of Saint John between 1910 and 1930. The placement and proportions of windows and doors, as well as the wide overhanging cornice with exposed rafter tails, are key attributes to this style. It has a central entranceway with a single window directly above and single windows serving each apartment on the north end. The Craftsman style is also expressed in the tripartite windows serving each apartment on the south end that retain the central 3-to-1 pane ratio.

This property was built as a double home and had numerous occupants through the years. One of the longest occupancies was that of the Tapley sisters (1917-1926). Ada and Mary Tapley both practised nursing. Ada was a graduate in nursing at the Saint John General Hospital and she took a post graduate course at the Women's Hospital in New York.

Source: Planning and Development Department – City of Saint John

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Ada and Mary Tapley Residence include:
- two-storey square massing;
- wood shingle siding;
- wide but plain wood window and door framing;
- vertical sliding wood windows;
- overhanging cornice with exposed rafter tails and end brackets;
- wooden corner boards;
- two tripartite Craftsman style windows with central 3-to-1 pane ratio;
- central entranceway with side lights.