Description of Historic Place

35 Grafton Street is a wood framed, gable roofed former residence that is influenced by the Gothic Revival style. The building has been renovated and now is occupied by a dental clinic. It is set close to the street on treed grounds. The street has a number of heritage homes and 35 Grafton plays an important role in supporting the streetscape. The designation encompasses the building's exterior and parcel; it does not include the building's interior.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of 35 Grafton Street lies in its association with prominent Belfast merchant, Edward Robertson; its attractive Gothic Revival influenced architectural details; and its role in supporting the Grafton Street streetscape.

It is not clear when 35 Grafton Street was built, but it was after the City Tannery fire in 1873. It appears on the 1878 Panoramic View of Charlottetown. The home was constructed for Edward Robertson who was a merchant in Newtown near Belfast a community east of Charlottetown. According to the Hutchinson's Directory of 1864, Robertson had a general store in the community. When he moved to the city, he and his family lived at 35 Grafton Street where they remained for many years into the early part of the Twentieth Century. A later owner of the home was Grace McLean. It currently houses a Dentist's office.

35 Grafton Street was influenced by the Gothic Revival style. The symmetrical facade facing the street features bay windows with brackets, a steep gable roofline, and attractive roof brackets. The west side of the building features a verandah with decorative fretwork trim. Wood framed houses in this style were often decorated with lacy trim and scrolled ornamentation. Architects, such as A.J. Downing, popularized the Gothic Revival movement through their pattern books. The style is seen most often in rural areas, but a few exist in Charlottetown.

35 Grafton Street is an attractive building with many well preserved elements and helps support the streetscape.

Sources: Heritage Office, City of Charlottetown Planning Department, PO Box 98, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7K2
#0003m

Character-Defining Elements

The following Gothic Revival influenced character-defining elements illustrate the heritage value of 35 Grafton Street:

- The overall massing of the home with its symmetrical facade and wooden clapboard siding
- The steep gable roof
- The decorative mouldings painted in a contrasting colour, including the door and window surrounds, the fretwork and the columns of the verandah, the cornerboards and the decorative bracketing along the entablatures
- The size and placement of the windows, particularly the symmetrically placed windows of the facade, including the two bay windows of the main floor and the two over two windows of the second floor
- The style and side placement of the door with its decorative fanlight
- The style and placement of the verandah, including its decorative fretwork, columns and balustrade
- The size and placement of the chimney
Other character-defining elements of 35 Grafton Street include:
- The location of the building set close to the street on Grafton Street