161 Water Street - Parr Division
The N.B. Telephone Company asked Saint John architect H. Claire Mott to design a number of red brick exchange buildings throughout the province during the 1920s and 1930s, of which this is an excellent example. They all followed a similarly modest Beaux-Arts style arrangement with classically-inspired details: a rectangular plan and side entrance, cut stone lintels and arches, a balanced front elevation with a strong cornice and carved letters, and a pediment window bay extending slightly from the façade.
This structure sits on the site of the original Odell building that burned in 1937-1938, one of the last major fires in St. Andrews downtown. The area was known as ‘Happy Corner’. Also lost in the fire was the original Charlotte County Grammar School while almost all buildings surrounding had suffered some damage.
The character-defining elements include:
Architectural Style: Beaux-Arts
Source: John Leroux "St. Andrews Architecture 1604-1966" #12
This structure sits on the site of the original Odell building that burned in 1937-1938, one of the last major fires in St. Andrews downtown. The area was known as ‘Happy Corner’. Also lost in the fire was the original Charlotte County Grammar School while almost all buildings surrounding had suffered some damage.
The character-defining elements include:
- flat roof
- box construction
- brick structure
- stone entablature with date of construction and the wording “THE N.B. TELEPHONE CO. LTD.” in the frieze
- gabled pediment serves as cornice in one half of the façade
- segmented arch window with sandstone keystone
- maple leaf in tympanum of pediment
- pilasters support the cornice
- segmented arch doorway with sandstone keystone
Architectural Style: Beaux-Arts
Source: John Leroux "St. Andrews Architecture 1604-1966" #12
