A bit Neo-Classical and a bit Romanesque Revival, the Cumberland County Courthouse is a classically styled building, nearly unmistakable for what it is. Built of local sandstone, the courthouse was constructed the year prior to the opening of the Amherst Red Stone Quarry, which operated in Amherst between 1889 and 1914. As a result, it doesn't use the brilliant red sandstone of the majority of commercial and religious buildings in the downtown core.
Designed by a government architect, the courthouse was built by the Rhodes & Curry Co. of Amherst who were the builders of many of Amherst's notable buildings and many others throughout Nova Scotia.
As of 1831, the year after the seat of Cumberland County was transferred from River Philip to Amherst, the courthouse was in a combination courthouse/jail which fronted on Lawrence Street. In that year it was decided that new premises were necessary and a new courthouse was erected at a cost of $3,200. Being a wood frame building, it eventually succumbed to fire, to be replaced by this building the next year. To this day the Supreme Court sits in this courthouse on Victoria Street.
County Court House
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
54 Victoria Street East, also known as the County Court House, is a two-and-a-half-storey civic building of stone masonry built in 1888. It is located on the north side of Amherst, Nova Scotia's main street in the downtown commercial district. The building and property are included in the municipal designation.
HERITAGE VALUE
54 Victoria Street East is valued for its age, its architectural design and appointments, and because it is one of a number of important stone buildings erected at the turn of the twentieth century making it part of a unique Maritime streetscape. It is also valued for its association with local industry.
Architectural Value: The building is a blend of Neo-Classical and Romanesque Revival styles of architecture. The entrance is marked with a broken moulded pediment supported by double pilasters, and within that is a Romanesque arch over a deep-set double doorway topped with a fanlight. On each side of the entrance are two straight-topped rectangular windows decorated with rounded blind fanlights, each with a beautifully carved fan and rounded keystone arches. The second storey has two windows topped with the same fan and keystone detailing. The other second-storey windows are topped with protruding carved triangular hoods and pediments.
Historical Value: The Court House was built of local sandstone in 1888 by Rhodes, Curry Co. a company of importance in the economic and architectural history of Amherst and Nova Scotia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The company had a reputation for quality of workmanship and craftsmanship, and was instrumental in the commercial and architectural development of late nineteenth century Amherst.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
Character-Defining elements of 54 Victoria Street East include:
- local sandstone construction materials;
- location in Amherst's commercial downtown among other similar buildings.
Character-defining Romanesque Revival elements of 54 Victoria East include:
- symmetrical façade;
- large scale massing;
- rough-cut stone walls;
- semi-circular arches above windows;
- bands of windows on both floors.
Character-defining Neo-Classical elements of 54 Victoria East include:
- dentils;
- broken pediment;
- classically detailed columns and pediments;
- decorative elements in stonework, including carved arches with fan-shaped detailing.
From Historic Places Canada