Description of Historic Place

The Stockton Building is a four-storey brick Italianate commercial building with a distinguished central entrance and two storefronts on Prince William Street in the Trinity Royal area of the City of Saint John.

Heritage Value

The Stockton Building is designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture, for its location and for its association with Alfred Augustus Stockton.

The Stockton Building is one of a collection of commercial Italianate buildings that were built after two thirds of the city was destroyed by the Great Saint John Fire of 1877. Built in circa 1878, this building is a good example of Italianate architecture from the rebuilding period in Saint John. This style is evident in details such as corbel brackets under the moulded cornice, the segmented arch and Roman arch openings and the rectangular massing. The use of brick and the quality of the workmanship in this building represent the will for the city to rebuild, as well or better, after the fire.

The Stockton Building is also recognized for being part of the Prince William Street Historic Streetscape. This historic streetscape is distinguished by its rare concentration of homogeneous, primarily late-19th century architecture. Traditionally referred to as the "Wall Street" of Saint John, the area contains major public buildings, banks, hotels, insurance, shipping and legal offices, as well as the Seamen's Institute and Mission.

The Stockton Building is also recognized for its association with its former occupant, Alfred Augustus Stockton, a Canadian lawyer and great grandson of Loyalist settler Andrew Hunter Stockton. Alfred was admitted to the bar of New Brunswick in 1868. He became a member of the New Brunswick Legislature in 1883. His other esteemed positions include member of the Board of Governors at Mount Allison College, President of the New Brunswick Historical Society and Registrar of the Provincial Court of Vice-Admiralty.

Source: Planning and Development Department - City of Saint John

Character-Defining Elements

The character defining elements that describe the Italianate architecture of the Stockton Building include:
- rectangular four-storey massing;
- brick exterior walls;
- overall symmetry of the placement of door and window openings on the front façade;
- moulded cornice with corbel brackets and continuous segmented arch brickwork;
- top floor Roman arch windows with sandstone headers and keystones;
- segmented arch window openings with continuous sandstone lintels, continuous sandstone sills with corbel brackets and rectangular vertical sliding wood windows;
- decreasing window height from lower storey to top storey;
- brick quoins at corners of the building;
- street-level storefront with a cornice, large plate glass windows, a central Roman arch entranceway separating two shops, fascia signage and two polished granite Corinthian columns.