149 Main Street, c. 1904

"Brierdene Home" at 149 Main Street was designed for Duncan G. Kirk by the Island architect, William Critchlow Harris. Harris, a dreamy, introspective man, was fond of decorative intricacy. The Queen Anne style with its contrasting shapes of turrets, dormers, bay windows and verandahs gave free rein to this penchant. This style was popular during the late 19th century, especially among the American elite of the gilded age who regarded their homes as "personal castles". Throughout Eastern Canada, even the small town merchant class attempted to imitate the houses of the plutocrats in miniature "as their resources permitted". D.G. Kirk, a prominent merchant, operated a hardware business in the Kirk Block and was involved in the Kirk Woodworking Company and Palace Clothing Company; he also operated a large departmental business in North Sydney with W.E. Whitman. Construction began on his spacious new house in June 1904. The Casket reported that the corner stone included some current newspapers, coins and property documents.

The house's most striking feature is its corner turret fitted with curved glass and conical roof. The 2 1/2 storey house also features decorative chimney pots, several bay windows, a verandah, a buttress (purely decorative)--these were all standard components of the Queen Anne architectural repertoire. The surface treatment of the house is also richly embellished with a stringcourse moulding and dentil trim. The roof line is enlivened by hipped dormers, one of Harris's trademarks. For the Kirk's this house was clearly a splendid statement of their wordly status. "Brierdene Home" now operates as the Antigonish Victorian Bed and Breakfast.

Cindee Moore

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