Description of Historic Place

79 Victoria Street East, also called the Bank of Nova Scotia, is a one-storey building of stone masonry erected in 1907 to replace a simpler structure built in 1887. It stands on the south side of Amherst, Nova Scotia's main street in the downtown commercial district. The bank is attached to the buildings on each side and faces a number of other large, important stone buildings erected in the same era. The building and property are included in the municipal designation.

Heritage Value

79 Victoria Street East is valued as a principal building in a unique Maritime streetscape. It is also valued for its association with local industry and with the architectural firm of Darling and Pearson. Value is also found in its plain Beaux-Arts architectural style.

Architectural Value: The front of the building has a simple, elegant, proportioned design, like that of a temple. The core Beaux-Arts elements in the building are its symmetry and balance which compliment the Classical Revival details. It has a central entrance and two large windows on each side. Plain flat pilasters with simple capitals frame the entrance and are also found between the tall rectangular windows. The façade’s most striking feature are the five round windows with molded frames and scroll-like keystones that sit above the the five main windows.

Historical Value: The bank was designed by the reputable architectural firm of Darling and Pearson, which also designed the Royal Ontario Museum, Trinity College, and the Winnipeg Post Office. The bank was built in 1907 by Rhodes, Curry Company, a prominent business in the industrial, commercial and architectural history of Amherst and Nova Scotia during this period of industrial expansion. The company had a reputation for quality of workmanship and craftsmanship, and was instrumental in the commercial development of late nineteenth-century Amherst. It also was the contractor and builder of a number of grand homes and businesses in Amherst and through out Nova Scotia. The building’s façade is made of local red sandstone. Stone from Amherst quarries was used for buildings through out the Maritimes and Ontario because of its rich red colour and because it was easily carved.

Source: “Heritage Properties Amherst, 79 Victoria East” File, Cumberland County Museum

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of the 79 Victoria Street East include:

- façade constructed of local red sandstone;
- distinctive round windows;
- original form and massing;
- carved sign over round windows 'Bank of Nova Scotia;'
- location in Amherst's commercial district.

Character-defining Beaux-Arts elements of 79 Victoria East include:

- proportioned, symmetrical and balanced;
- large scale massing of the building;
- smooth-cut stone walls.

Character-defining Classical Revival elements of 79 Victoria East include:

- classically detailed pilasters;
- dentils and brackets;
- simple ornamentation.