For three years we’ve lived here, and for three years I’ve been meaning to shoot a picture of this house. Finally got around to it, the other day. Struck me, at the same time, how long it has been since I took a walk downtown with the camera. This building … Caverhill Hall … is on the south side, in the northeast corner of Sydney and Mecklenburg St.
It was built during 1879-81 to replace the former home of Simeon Jones which had been destroyed by the Great Fire of 1877. Jones was then mayor of Saint John and a prominent businessman.
It’s built of limestone from the area — not red brick like most other buildings in the area — and looks really different. There are columns of red granite [not visible in this photo]. The Jones couple had seen a house in Montreal that they liked, got a hold of the architect and had him draw a very similar house for them.
Over the years it has had various usages … during WWI it was used as military headquarters, for a period it was a recreation centre for Royal Canadian Air Force but today it’s a residence again.
Source: Heritage Resources and New Brunswick Community College – Saint John
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