53 Fitzroy Street

The heritage value of 53 Fitzroy Street lies in its association with prominent members of Charlottetown’s business community; its Second Empire influenced architecture; and its importance to the Fitzroy Street streetscape.

It is unclear when 53 Fitzroy Street was built, but according to tradition in the Douse family, James Phillips Douse lived in the home while he was constructing his home next door to the west of the building in 1865. James Phillips Douse was a shipbuilder who was part of the firm of William Douse & Sons. The Douse family was involved in shipbuilding during the wooden shipbuilding boom on Prince Edward Island.

Frederick LePage, a local merchant, was a later owner of 53 Fitzroy Street. He ran the Glasgow House, a dry goods store located on Queen Street from as early as 1863. His younger brother, William Nelson LePage, was an inventor and worked for Frederick until 1875 when he moved to Massachusetts. William Nelson LePage became famous for developing glues, lubricants, and printing inks. He won a gold medal at the 1880 Fisheries Exhibition in Berlin, Germany for the strongest glue produced from fish by-products. He would go on to win many prizes and establish an extremely successful marketing plan, making LePage's Glue a household name.

A subsequent owner of the home was J.G. Jamieson, a local druggist. Jamieson’s drug store was located on Queen Street. He often advertised his store as the “White Drug Store”. Jamieson stocked a range of medicines, but also carried water wings, bathing caps and according to an advertisement, “a magnificent display of trout flies”.

53 Fitzroy Street is a well preserved example of the Second Empire style in the City. This style reached Canada through Britain and the United States and was used extensively throughout Charlottetown from the late 1860s until approximately 1880. The Second Empire referred to in the style is that of Napoleon III (1852-1870) of France. Generally, a key feature of a Second Empire style home is the Mansard roof, however, the roof of 53 Fitzroy Street is only Mansard on three sides. Douse’s brother, John, added a Mansard roof to another home in Charlottetown, and this one may also be a later addition.

A well preserved home, in an area with many beautiful heritage homes, 53 Fitzroy Street plays an important role in maintaining the heritage ambiance of the Fitzroy Street streetscape.

Sources: Heritage Office, City of Charlottetown Planning Department, PO Box 98, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7K2

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