Designated a City of Halifax heritage property in February of 1990, the Hart House was brought to completion in 1864. It is reputed to be "last residence in Halifax built in
Palladian/Loyalist style". Actually unique in the area, this style becomes quite evident upon close examination. The centered main entrance is covered by a flat roofed portico supported by a pair of Doric columns at its corners. Around the three faces of the portico is artwork consisting of sets of three miniature columns in relief. Stone quoins grace the front corners of the brick building, and while lower floor windows have both sills and lintels of stone, upper story windows have only stone sills, with the cornice extending down to the windows' tops.
Atop the front of the medium pitched roof are a pair of very Georgian dormers, supplying light to the rooms of the half story above the upper floor. While most of the remaining heritage buildings on this block are Victorian/Second Empire buildings, Hart House provides a distinct departure from the norm here.
This is the third of three houses which were built on the site of the first residence of Bishop Charles Inglis, first Anglican Bishop of Nova Scotia.
See the pdf below for interior photos.
Hart House
Building History
The house was completed in 1864, built on the original site of Bishop Charles Inglis' home in the late 19th century and may be the last residence in Halifax built in Palladian/Loyalist style. It has also been written that "the house's symmetrical plan, truncated pitched roof, Scottish oriel dormers and corner quoins are typical" of "the long-lasting Georgian style".
The building was named after its initial buyer, Jairus Hart, descendant of a family that settled in Guysborough as Loyalists and developed lumbering and shipping interests. Mr. Hart was a partner in Young and Hart Co., and was a director of the Bank of Nova Scotia before becoming president in 1899.
After Mr. Hart's death in 1906, the house was bought by Elizabeth Bauld, of Gibson and Bauld importing grocers. Parts of the house were rented over the years, housing the Canadian Red Cross in 1919 and the Edinburg Hotel in 1924 and 1925. Mrs. Bauld's daughter sold the property - and the house immediately to the north - in 1944 to Margaret Oland VanKlatt.
The building was acquired by the Nova Scotia Technical College in 1967, and the Atlantic Work Study Centre moved into it in the late 1960s. In 1970, the Centre changed its name to the Atlantic
Management Training Centre, and the College's Public Relations and Extension Departments moved into the top floor of the building. Later in the 1970/71 academic year, the Public Relations
Department moved from the Hart House into Room A-215 on the second floor of the Administration Building.
During the 1981/82 academic year, work commenced on an extensive renovation of the Hart House. The exterior was repainted and received new windows and wood trim, followed by work on the house's interior. The renovation work was not completed until the 1983/84 academic year, and the building remained by the Atlantic Region Management Training Centre and the Technical University of Nova Scotia's Continuing Education Division. The plans for the building's renovation were drawn by Mr. Janusz Rosinski, with assistance from the TUNS Campus Design Centre.
In November 1989, the building was designated as a City of Halifax heritage property; its official recognition ceremony was held in February 1990 during the City's Heritage Week activities.
From Dalhousie University