Steven Giegerich, the principal officer/consul general at the U.S. Consulate General in Halifax, attended the event in recognition of the building’s history as home to an American Consulate from 1903 to 1925.
Richard LeBlanc, the building’s owner, was one of two-dozen business operators who participated in the town’s façade incentive program this summer. The $5,000 maximum in matching funds was directed towards the estimated $80,000 cost.
Rotten wood was replaced, custom decorative mouldings were added, new paint was put on, hardwood floors were stripped down and refinished and a new roof was installed.
“It had four layers of shingles, down to the original wooden shingles put on in 1845 that hadn’t been stripped off,” said LeBlanc.
He referred to the structure as a cornerstone of the town and the first building that people leaving the ferry see as they take a left down Main Street.
“Hopefully it encourages other property owners to do the same thing,” he said.
The Gothic Revival style building was used as a medical clinic by several generations of Farish doctors – and housed naval academy offices, business offices and real estate offices in addition to the American Consulate.
The building is now home to Victory Realty and the Dominion Lending Centers,(Split Rock Learning Centre also rents space in it.)
American Consul General Steven Giegerich noted that the Farish brothers attended the University of Pennsylvania, as he did. He commended LeBlanc on the “beautiful building.”
“Clearly the Americans had very good taste to pick this building to be our consulate for such a long period of time. We are delighted that it’s been restored to that glory and that it preserves that connection to the United States,” he said.
Steven Giegerich, the principal officer/consul general at the U.S. Consulate General in Halifax, attended the event in recognition of the building’s history as home to an American Consulate from 1903 to 1925.
Richard LeBlanc, the building’s owner, was one of two-dozen business operators who participated in the town’s façade incentive program this summer. The $5,000 maximum in matching funds was directed towards the estimated $80,000 cost.
Rotten wood was replaced, custom decorative mouldings were added, new paint was put on, hardwood floors were stripped down and refinished and a new roof was installed.
“It had four layers of shingles, down to the original wooden shingles put on in 1845 that hadn’t been stripped off,” said LeBlanc.
He referred to the structure as a cornerstone of the town and the first building that people leaving the ferry see as they take a left down Main Street.
“Hopefully it encourages other property owners to do the same thing,” he said.
The Gothic Revival style building was used as a medical clinic by several generations of Farish doctors – and housed naval academy offices, business offices and real estate offices in addition to the American Consulate.
The building is now home to Victory Realty and the Dominion Lending Centers,(Split Rock Learning Centre also rents space in it.)
American Consul General Steven Giegerich noted that the Farish brothers attended the University of Pennsylvania, as he did. He commended LeBlanc on the “beautiful building.”
“Clearly the Americans had very good taste to pick this building to be our consulate for such a long period of time. We are delighted that it’s been restored to that glory and that it preserves that connection to the United States,” he said.
