Autre nom(s)
National Film Board Building
St. Mary's Young Men's Total Abstinence and Benevolent Society Hall
NFB Building
Liens et documents
Date(s) de construction
1891/01/01 à 1891/12/31
Inscrit au répertoire canadien:
2006/06/21
Énoncé d'importance
Description du lieu patrimonial
The National Film Board Building is a Second Empire style building located on Barrington Street, in the commercial centre of Downtown Halifax, NS. Built in 1891, the four storey building suffered a devastating fire in 1991, leaving only the three storey Barrington Street façade and sections of the foundation and side walls. Both the building and the land are municipally registered.
Valeur patrimoniale
The National Film Board Building is valued for its historical associations; architectural features; its role within the surrounding streetscape; and the community’s effort to save the remains of the building.
The building was designed by famed local architect James Charles Dumaresq to serve as the St. Mary’s Young Men’s Total Abstinence and Benevolent Society Hall, which was associated with St. Mary’s Basilica, located one block away on Barrington Street. The original form of the building included a central tower and a convex mansard roof; a form that was unique in Halifax. In 1907 the building became the first permanent movie house in Halifax, The Nickel Theatre, at which time the building was renovated to include theatre seating. For over eighty years the building was associated with the film industry, and in the late 1960s became home to the National Film Board (NFB) of Canada’s Halifax office. The NFB were the occupants of the building at the time of the 1991 fire.
The building is also valued for its remaining Second Empire style features. Dumaresq was known for his Second Empire designs, and implemented them on other nearby buildings including the St. Mary’s Glebe and the Former City Club. Since the front façade of the building was not destroyed in the fire, many Second Empire style features remain, including arched windows and doors, and provide a clue to the building’s original form.
As one of several brick building façades from the same era on this part of Barrington Street, the National Film Board Building contributes greatly to the flow of design and rhythm on the street. Next to the Building is the Former City Club, formerly a Georgian mansion that Dumaresq renovated in 1891 with a brick façade, mansard roof and arched windows. Beside the Former City Club is the Former Church of England Institute, also a brick building with similar elements such as a mansard roof. Further down Barrington Street is the brick St. Mary’s Glebe House, also designed by Dumaresq in the Second Empire style. All four buildings incorporate decorative sandstone elements in their façades. Together these buildings provide a strong reminder of the religious and institutional function that this part of Barrington Street once served.
In 1991 the Building suffered a devastating fire that destroyed the interior and much of the exterior of the building. Despite some recommendations to demolish the remaining front façade, residents and the former City of Halifax acknowledged the heritage value of the building and rallied to preserve the façade in the hopes of restoring the building. The building remains a landmark on Barrington Street and Downtown Halifax and serves as a reminder of the former glory of the city’s commercial core.
Source: HRM Heritage Property File: 1572 Barrington Street, Former NFB
Éléments caractéristiques
Character-defining elements of the National Film Board Building relate to its Second Empire style and remaining original elements and include:
- brick construction;
- granite base;
- central projecting bay;
- paired arched windows on the front (east) elevation;
- arched windows on the north elevation;
- arched, recessed main door;
- brick pilasters;
- decorative sandstone capitals, keystones, sills and other trim elements;
- decorative brick soldier courses articulating the first and second floors;
- corbelled brick cornice.
Reconnaissance
Juridiction
Nouvelle-Écosse
Autorité de reconnaissance
Administrations locales (N.-É.)
Loi habilitante
Heritage Property Act
Type de reconnaissance
Bien inscrit au répertoire municipal
Date de reconnaissance
1985/03/14
Données sur l'histoire
Date(s) importantes
1991/01/01 à 1991/01/01
Thème - catégorie et type
- Exprimer la vie intellectuelle et culturelle
- L'architecture et l'aménagement
- Établir une vie sociale et communautaire
- L'organisation communautaire
Catégorie de fonction / Type de fonction
Actuelle
Historique
- Communauté
- Local pour association fraternelle, organisation sociale ou de bienfaisance
Architecte / Concepteur
James Charles Dumaresq
Constructeur
s/o
Informations supplémentaires
Emplacement de la documentation
Halifax Regional Municpality,
Planning & Development Services -
Heritage Property Program
PO Box 1749
Halifax, NS
Canada
B3J 3A5
Réfère à une collection
Identificateur féd./prov./terr.
23MNS5003
Statut
Édité
Inscriptions associées
s/o