Description of Historic Place

Struan Robertson Residence is a three-storey brick Italianate building with segmented arched window and door openings on the front façade. It is located on Germain Street within the Trinity Royal Preservation Area of the City of Saint John.

Heritage Value

Struan Robertson Residence is designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture and its association with Struan Robertson.

Many of the buildings in the residential district of Germain Street were constructed in the latter part of the 19th century or early 20th century as all the older buildings were destroyed in the Great Saint John Fire of 1877. Long established as one of the wealthier areas in the city, Germain Street is known for its many fine residences and stately architecture. Built in 1879, the Struan Robertson Residence is a good example of brick Italianate residential architecture from the rebuilding period in Saint John after the fire.

Struan Robertson Residence is also recognized through its association with Struan Robertson, who purchased this house in 1893. In 1872, he became an apprentice druggist and worked for A. Chipman Smith of “A. Chipman Smith & Company”, a long established drug and apothecary business in the City. When A. C. Smith died in 1901, Robertson became the sole proprietor. For many years the focus of the business remained on the compounding of physician prescriptions and the fitting of ships’ medicine chests. The stock of the business included drugs, chemicals, surgical instruments, popular patent medicines, perfumery, toilet articles, dye stuffs and druggist sundries. In addition to his business interests, Struan was also active as a long time member of the New Brunswick Pharmaceutical Society. Robertson remained at his Germain Street residence until his death in 1929.

Source: Planning and Development Department - City of Saint John

Character-Defining Elements

The character defining elements that describe the Italianate architecture of the Struan Robertson Residence include:
- rectangular three-storey massing;
- brick exterior walls;
- moulded wooden cornice;
- segmented arched, vertical sliding, 2 over 2 wooden windows with brick arches above and sandstone sills below;
- four bands of decorative brickwork along the front façade;
- segmented arched entrance with a two paned, segmented arched transom window over a pair of wooden, 4-paneled doors;
- sandstone plinth band;
- rectangular 2 over 2 vertical sliding wooden windows at the basement level.