Description of Historic Place

Walter Hawker Residence is a two-storey wooden Queen Anne building which is the northernmost unit of a four-building complex. The residence has an off centred entrance and cross gabled roof. It is located on a terrace on Prince William Street at the southwestern extremity of the Trinity Royal area of the City of Saint John.

Heritage Value

Walter Hawker Residence is designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture and its association with its previous owners.

Built in 1895, Walter Hawker Residence is a two-storey wooden Queen Anne building which is the northernmost unit of a four-building complex. It 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. It is one unit of a complex of four units that are situated upon a terrace that overlooks the Saint John Harbour. It has one of the larger natural landscape frontages than any other residential complex in the Central Peninsula of Saint John. Access to this complex is through a central opening in a natural bedrock and stone wall. Wooden stairways divert north and south parallel with Prince William Street and then turn to the grade of the terrace and climbs toward the vicinity of the entranceways to the buildings. Three of the buildings in this complex, including the Walter Hawker Residence, are nearly identical in their Queen Anne details and design. They are all equipped with open covered porches. This residence is one of three in the complex that have an oval window and moderately pitched gable roofs which aids in their association with the sea and their cottage appearance.

Walter Hawker Residence is also recognized through association with William C. Cross and Walter W. Hawker. This home was originally owned and occupied by William C. Cross who was president of the popular insurance firm Hall and Fairweather. William lived here until he built his Queen Anne home on Germain Street. Walter Hawker moved in 1903 and remained at this residence until his death in 1926. For a number of years, Hawker was head accountant for one of Saint John's most popular department stores, Manchester, Robertson, Allison, Ltd.

Source: Planning and Development Department - City of Saint John

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements relating to the context, location and landscape of this Queen Anne building include:
- location on an elevated terrace;
- one of three buildings in a four-building complex with near identical detail;
- grass frontage;
- bedrock and placed stone wall;
- wooden stairways through the lawn.

The character-defining elements that relate to the overall lay-out design and detail of the building that shares the same components with the two residences to the south in this complex include:
- window placement and proportions;
- entrance placement and proportions.

The character-defining elements in the Queen Anne Style that share the same components with the two residences to the south in this complex include:
- moderately pitched gable roof;
- gable bargeboard with the pattern of circles in succession;
- scalloped shingles and wood work within the gable;
- 1/1 small horizontal square windows in the tympanum of the gable;
- brackets under the eaves;
- oval oculus window;
- open covered porch;
- wood paired doors with glass upper panels and ornamental windows.