Saint John's historic Anglin House, located on Waterloo Street, was torn down on Nov. 22, 2019. (Photo: Brad Perry)
A piece of Saint John’s history has come down with the demolition of Anglin House on Waterloo Street.
The house was once home to Timothy Warren Anglin — Canada’s second speaker of the House of Commons.
Anglin emigrated to Saint John as part of the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s.
But more recently, the building had fallen into disrepair and, since 2014, had been part of the city’s dangerous and vacant buildings program.
Several people stopped to watch the Friday’s demolition, including Karen Trecartin, whose mom spent half of her life living in the home.
The front of the house is now starting to come down. pic.twitter.com/V1r3J4d33X
— Brad Perry (@BradMPerry) November 22, 2019
Trecartin said she had many fond memories of visiting the home when she was younger.
“It was beautiful,” said Trecartin. “Everything had a story.”
Trecartin said she is sad to see the home come down, but she knew the day was inevitable.
“I knew this was going to happen at some point in time,” she said. “It was just too old and too far gone.”
The home was sold several years ago and the owner had planned on converting it into residential and office space.
Crews prepare Anglin House in Saint John for demolition on Nov. 21, 2019. (Photo: Brad Perry)
A spokesperson for the City of Saint John said the property owner was contacted in June of 2017 after an inspection found the building did not comply with the dangerous buildings by-law.
In an email, Lisa Caissie said city staff met with the property owner in early October to discuss options for the building.
“Renovation of the building was discussed and encouraged by staff,” said Caissie, adding the owner was walked through the process of having his vision go through the permitting approvals process.
But Caissie said the owner did not make any applications to renovate the building. Instead, a demolition permit was applied for, which the city issued on Nov. 14.
As for Trecartin, she was able to get her hands on a chandelier thanks to Byron Excavating, the company doing the demolition.
“I have photographs of my mom with it, so that was pretty special,” she said.
Follow
