Below is information on the building, found in a Halifax Heritage Advisory Board document which dealt with its potential demise.
The document, presented to the Halifax Regional Municipality for consideration on February 24, 2014, contained a proposal by a major developer concerning the city block on which the Flinn Building stands. The proposal was to gut a substantial portion of several buildings on the block, retaining the front three metres or so of each building as a heritage facade, behind which two 22 storey towers would be built. This document is the only one we've found so far concerning the project. It was a proposal, parts of which were voted on and rejected, parts of which were passed. We have no knowledge of the ultimate fate of the builder's proposal.
It appears, however, that the 1863 Flinn Building still stands and vacant offices in the building are currently being advertised as
For Lease. Three years have transpired since we visited and four years since the proposal was entertained by the HRM. The proposal seems to have died on the vine as nothing has changed on the block in the intervening years.
The Flinn Building was entered in the Halifax Regional Municipality Civic Heritage Register in 1981. It was one of the great many built following the 1859 fire which took out much of downtown Halifax. Rumour has it that the designer was Henry Elliot, the architect responsible for much of the post fire Halifax streetscape.
Flinn building - 1820 Hollis Street
This four and a half storey Italianate building is constructed in brick and stone, and designed in a two bay arrangement with a truncated pitched roof having a central wooden dormer on each elevation. The roof has a modest roof overhang and granite cornice supported by solid stone brackets. Contrasting red brick laid in a modified American bond with granite detailing and quoins, granite and brick string courses at the 3rd and 4th storeys. Pairs of one-over-one, arched windows featuring brick voussoirs, and the 2nd storey windows have granite springer stones. A traditionally designed storefront with a side hall plan has three fixed display windows with transoms separated by three cylindrical wooden columns on an octagonal base and Corinthian capitals. The building has a largely unaltered appearance.
Built in 1863 on the footprint of an earlier building, the Flinn building is valued for its
architecture and historical association with its occupants. Little is known about the history and development of this building, however, given its construction date, it is likely that the previous building was lost in the Great Fire of 1859. Documentation suggests that Alex McLeod (Hayes Insurance building) commissioned the design to local architect Henry Elliot.
The Flinn building is a simple building with simple yet elegant detailing. It is recognizable for its distinctive paired arch windows and granite detailing. The building has a long history of mercantile use including wine and spirit merchants, a liquor warehouse, drug warehouse, and electric appliance storage. R. J. Flinn Engineering occupied one floor of the building at the time that it was designated as a municipal heritage property in 1981.
Character Defining Elements:
• Four and ½ storey brick and stone building designed in a two bay arrangement;
• Truncated pitched roof with a central wooden dormer on the front and rear elevation, and a modest roof overhang with granite cornice supported by solid stone brackets;
• Dormers have paired arched one-over-one windows, overhanging eaves, and are clad in wood;
• Italianate design featuring contrasting red brick laid in a modified American bond, with granite detailing and stone quoins;
• Stone and brick string courses at the third and fourth storeys;
• Pairs of one-over-one, arched windows featuring brick voussoirs, and granite sills, and the second storey windows incorporate granite springer stones;
• Traditionally designed storefront with a side hall plan has three fixed display windows with transoms separated by three cylindrical wooden columns on octagonal base and Corinthian capitals;
• The storefront has an entablature above with a granite frieze and cornice, and is supported by granite pillars with simple capitols.
From the Halifax Regional Municipality, Attachment I