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Smith House

58 Hopson Street, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1991/10/31

Smith House, Old Town Lunenburg, Lunenburg bump detail, 2004; Heritage Division, Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, 2004
Lunenburg bump detail
Smith House, Old Town Lunenburg, south and west façades, 2004; Heritage Division, Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, 2004
South and west façades
No Image

Other Name(s)

n/a

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1890/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2004/08/30

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Located within the Old Town Heritage Conservation District in Lunenburg, NS, the Smith House is a two-and-a-half storey wooden house with a 'Lunenburg bump' dormer situated on the corner of Hopson and Fox Streets, fronting on Hopson Street. There is yard space between the house and the street line. The designation applies to the building and property.

Heritage Value

This site is considered to have heritage value due to its local historical significance and vernacular architecture. This house was built for brothers Bernard and Napier Smith, two Lunenburg
fishermen. The house is a typical example of Lunenburg architecture of its era, and demonstrates the prosperity of the town in the late nineteenth century. Smith House retains a number of intact original features that are typical of vernacular Lunenburg architecture, including details on the façade and both a front and rear 'Lunenburg bump'- an extended, overhanging five-sided dormer centrally located on the front façade. These features give it a solid and symmetrical appearance, typical of Lunenburg homes of this age.

Source: Notice of Recommendation to Register as a Town Heritage Property, Heritage Designation File 66400-40-20, Town of Lunenburg.

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of the Smith House consist of all features related to vernacular Lunenburg architecture, including:

- a central frontispiece Lunenburg 'bump'with a two-tiered bell cast roof; the upper section of the bump is five-sided, with narrow roundheaded, bracketed windows, and recessed moulded panels;
- underside of dormer ornamented with delicate, fretsawn gingerbread trim;
- detailed bracketry work such as large curved brackets connect the underside of the dormer to the front door, and prominent, bracketed window hoods;
- front door with flanking sidelights and a transom window, with a wooden storm door;
- symmetrically placed chimneys;
- a sense of height, taken from the lines of the house as well as the slope of Fox Street;
- clapboard siding, trimmed with fluted, bracketed cornerboards.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Nova Scotia

Recognition Authority

Local Governments (NS)

Recognition Statute

Heritage Property Act

Recognition Type

Municipally Registered Property

Recognition Date

1991/10/31

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Peopling the Land
Settlement

Function - Category and Type

Current

Historic

Residence
Single Dwelling

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Town of Lunenburg, 119 Cumberland Street, P.O. Box 129, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, B0J 2C0

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

37MNS0020

Status

Published

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Lunenburg Old Town Heritage Conservation District

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