The George Coles Building, AKA the Law Courts Building, was constructed in the years 1874 to 1876 to house the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island, who first met in the building on January 11, 1876. The design was the work of local architect, Thomas Alley, who chose brick with stone trim for the building's exterior. An Italianate style building with mansard roof, it was renamed the Honourable George Coles Building after the 1976 fire in honour of PEI's first premier, also a Father of Confederation.
Prior to the construction of the George Coles Building, the law courts were housed in Province House from 1847 to 1872. The George Coles Building was nearly destroyed by fire in 1976, at which time the law courts were moved to a new building on the waterfront. The building's interior was rebuilt and renovated to house offices and the Public Archives of Prince Edward Island.
In 2013 an examination of Province House next door revealed serious structural deficiencies, which led to lengthy renovations. Shortly after it was reopened the building's problems proved to be even more serious than was realized and, on January 1st, 2015, the building was closed for three to five years for extensive repairs and the legislative assembly moved to the George Coles Building. The upshot is that the George Coles Building is, at present and for the foreseeable future, the seat of the Provincial Government of Prince Edward Island.
Honourable George Coles Building
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
The Honourable George Coles Building is a brick, Italianate public building located on Queens Square next to Province House, the Island's Legislature and the place where delegates met to discuss Canadian Confederation in 1864. It is surrounded by trees and at one time had a large public garden in front of it. For most of its history, the building housed the Supreme Court but has housed offices and the Public Archives of Prince Edward Island since the mid 1970s. The designation encompasses the building's exterior and parcel; it does not include the building's interior.
HERITAGE VALUE
The heritage value of the Honourable George Coles Building lies in its association with the Province's courts, its beautiful Italianate architecture and its importance in maintaining the historic ambiance of Queen Square.
The Law Courts Building, as the Honourable George Coles Building was formerly known, was constructed between 1874 and 1876 to house the Supreme Court. Prominent local architect, Thomas Alley designed the beautiful building and a large number of carpenters, masons and other tradesmen worked on various parts of the project. Before the building was constructed, the Supreme Court met in many different locations throughout Charlottetown including: a court house designed by John Plaw in 1813-1814, private homes, a combination courthouse and post office building and Province House.
The first meeting of the Supreme Court was held in the new Law Courts Building on 11 January 1876. Mr. Justice Peters presided. The new building was described as spacious, with excellent acoustics. A unique exterior feature of the building was the elaborate gas powered clock located on the west side of the building. It would remain home to the Supreme Court until 1976 when the building was gutted by fire, destroying the roof and the clock tower. The courts were then moved to the more spacious and newly constructed, Sir Louis Henry Davies Law Courts Building near the waterfront and the Law Courts Building was renovated to house offices and the Public Archives of Prince Edward Island. The Law Courts Building was renamed the Honourable George Coles Building after the popular Premier of Prince Edward Island and Father of Confederation.
The Honourable George Coles Building is Italianate in its design, which was popular with architects in the 19th century. The Italianate style was as fashionable in Charlottetown as it was throughout North America, with many public and commercial buildings showing its influence. The brick and stone buildings were modeled on the arcaded facades of the Italian Renaissance style found in Northern Italy.
Despite various renovations, including in the 1930s when the windows were changed on the south side of the building, and after the 1976 fire, when a less elaborate electric clock was installed on the roof on the south side of the building, the Honourable George Coles Building is a well preserved example of the Italianate style public building in Charlottetown. Located next to Province House, on historic Queen Square, it is important in maintaining the historic character of Queen Square.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
The following Italianate character-defining elements illustrate the heritage value of 175 Richmond Street:
- The overall massing of the building
- The size and shape of the building's brick exterior
- The Wallace sandstone trim of the exterior, particularly the belt courses, keystones, sills, arches, voussoirs and quoining
- The style and placement of the windows, particularly the tall, round headed windows with Wallace sandstone label surround and key, as well as the rectangular windows with sandstone trim that was the result of the 1930s renovation
- The style and placement of the doors with their decorative arch composed of Wallace sandstone voussoirs and quoining
- The decorative corbelled cornice
Other character-defining elements of 175 Richmond Street are:
- The Mansard roof which at one time had iron cresting around the top
- The clock in the centre of the roof on the south side
- The location of the building on Queen Square
From Historic Places PEI