54 Victoria Street East

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.