Description of Historic Place

Built in 1917, the Byron Residence is a wooden two-storey Craftsman double home with a hipped roof and a two-storey veranda. It is located on Clarendon Street within the Douglas Avenue Preservation Area of Saint John.

Heritage Value

The Byron Residence is designated a Local Historic Place for its location, for its architecture and for its association with its former occupants.

Byron Residence is recognized as a part of the Douglas Avenue Preservation Area. Douglas Avenue Preservation Area was recognized as a protected historic streetscape because of its fine mixture of working class tenements along with more substantial homes of the middle and wealthy classes, many of which have long-standing family connections spanning multiple generations. Douglas Avenue is known for its community atmosphere created, in part, by the spacious lawn frontage, making it a choice location for suburban living in the late 1800's. Douglas Avenue was built in the mid 1850's to connect Main Street with the newly constructed suspension bridge at Reversing Falls. Clarendon Street branches off of Douglas Avenue and the first block was included in this preservation area because of its fine display of Craftsman and Arts and Crafts homes intertwined with other post-Victorian homes. As a result of easier transportation due to motorized vehicles and the presence of the street car, which started operation on Douglas Avenue in 1902, areas such as Clarendon Street began drawing the working class. This first block of Clarendon Street was built about 1909. The Byron Residence is an excellent example of Craftsman residential architecture within this district.

The Byron Residence is also recognized for its association with Frank and James Byron. Frank and James once operated a grocery store on Stanley Street under the name of Byron Bros. until James became a real estate broker in 1924 and moved to Norton. Frank also left the grocery business to become a carpenter and then foreman of the National Harbour Board. Frank and James had this unique home constructed in 1917. Frank resided in this residence, which he undoubtedly built, until the 1960's. Like most early residents of this street, the Byron's were devoted Catholics and members of nearby St. Peter's Parish.

Source: Planning and Development Department - City of Saint John

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that describe Byron Residence include:
- rectangular two-storey plan;
- overall symmetry;
- shingle and clapboard siding;
- hipped roof;
- exposed rafter tails under wide eaves;
- hipped dormers;
- pair of two-panel wooden doors with glass upper panels.

The character-defining elements that describe the two-storey veranda include:
- two elongated arches spanning each storey;
- cornice between the storeys;
- square wooden pilasters with wood shingled bases.