Description of Historic Place

176 King Street is a wood framed, Maritime Vernacular Cottage located in the southeastern part of Charlottetown. It features a symmetrical facade with a large central roof dormer. 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 176 King Street lies in its association with various residents of Charlottetown, its Maritime Vernacular influenced architecture, and its contribution to the streetscape.

Barbara Lelia Alice Brecken, wife of successful shipbuilder and businessman, James Peake, originally owned the land on which 176 King Street stands. In 1855, she sold part of a lot to John P. Oxley, a blockmaker, for 108 Pounds. It is unclear when the home was built, but three years later, before Oxley emigrated to New Zealand, he sold the property and the deed specifically mentioned a house.

The new owner, a local butcher by the name of John Blake, left the house to his wife with the stipulation that it eventually be given to their son Maurice, who was then a minor. When Maurice married Joanne Grimes in 1874, tradition tells us that he received the home as a wedding gift from his mother.

Like a number of homes in the area, 176 King Street was influenced by the Maritime Vernacular Cottage style - 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. Located in an area with a number of heritage homes, including a similarly styled house across the street at 175 King Street, the well kept home helps support the streetscape.

Sources: Heritage Office, City of Charlottetown Planning Department, PO Box 98, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7K2
# 1337

Character-Defining Elements

The following Maritime Vernacular Cottage influenced character-defining elements contribute to the heritage value of 176 King Street:

- The overall massing of one and one half storey house
- The wood cladding
- The placement and size of the sash windows, including the paired windows of the dormer and the two windows on either side of the centrally placed door
- The placement and size of the doors, particularly the centrally placed front door
- The pitch of the roof which has been extended on the back of the home giving a saltbox appearance
- The central placement of the large dormer
- The wooden cladding, especially the narrow cladding on the sides
- The placement of the two separated brick chimneys

Other character-defining elements include:

- The location of the building on King Street and its physical and visual relationship to its streetscape