Monday, April 4, 2011

HRM Point of Interest #22: Sir Sandford Fleming House


Sir Sandford Fleming House is a one-and-a-half storey Gothic Revival style house on Brunswick street in north end Halifax. Gothic Revival was an architectural style popular in the early nineteenth century. The Gothic Revival features on this home include the lack of intricate wood trim, the small dormer over the central window, and the central door and two major gables on either side, among many others features (just in case you were wondering.)

As its name suggests, the most famous resident of this home was its first, the honourable Sir Sandford Fleming, who was instrumental in engineering our coast to coast railroad, created our first postage stamp, and developed the system of 24 time zones that we still use today to keep accurate time as we travel.

These days, Sir Sandford Fleming House is used by The Saint Leonard's Society of Nova Scotia to help house newly released inmates while they are reintegrated into society. It accommodates 21 male residents, and is administered by a board of volunteer citizens. (And just think about how we have friends who think they need a two-story house and an oversized SUV when we have one child...)

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