"Elmwood Homestead", 85 St. Ninian Street, c. 1895

"Elmwood Homestead" is located on an extension of St. Ninian Street known as Kirk Street. This stately house, which now serves as the site for CJFX, was originally owned by Aubrey Kirk. Kirk, one of Adam Kirk's sons, was a prominent local businessman. He was owner of the Queen's Hotel and co-owner of A. Kirk & Co., both on Main Street. He and his new bride moved into the newly constructed "Elmwood Homestead" in 1895.

The 2-storey house, built with bricks from a local brickyard on West River, can be clearly linked to the Second-Empire tradition which symbolized stability and wealth. It is surprising that Kirk opted for this design for Second Empire was waning in popularity by 1895; it enjoyed its height of fashion in the 1870s and 1880s. The residence has many of the distinctive features of this style including the projecting frontispiece, the arched dormers, and dual pitched roof. The house, however, lacks the flamboyance and extravagance of Second Empire. It is compact and square proportioned. Some of its features, including its center doorway with transom and sidelights, draw from an older classical Maritime building type. The interior of "Elmwood" is far more noteworthy. From February to August 1903, the famous French-Canadian painter, Ozias Leduc and his team of assistants who decorated St. Ninian's Cathedral, spent almost 172 hours labouring in Kirk's house. The records indicate that they painted, stencilled at least one ceiling, and bronzed radiators; they used eleven books of gold leaf. In 1947, "Elmwood" was transformed from a domestic residence into radio station when it was sold to the Atlantic Broadcasting Ltd. Now its roofline is ornamented with radio antennas instead of the traditional Second Empire iron cresting.

Corey Lewis

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