851 Young Avenue

Built 1909-1910

Architect Richard Arthur Johnson

Tudor Revival style

This Tudor Revival style mansion was built for shipping tycoon, the Honourable William Anderson Black, born in 1847 in Windsor, Nova Scotia. He was the son of Samuel Gay Black and Sophia Wright. He was a grandson of the founder of Methodism in the Maritime Provinces. In 1875, he married Annie Bell, daughter of the High Sheriff of Halifax, Joseph Bell, and his wife Maria. Black was a merchant with Pickford & Black, ship owners & shipping agents, and supplier of ship provisions.

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In 1876 William Black partnered with Robert Pickford and together they founded the company Pickford and Black. The company started as a ship chandlery and hardware firm outfitting for sea-going vessels. The firm moved into the Collins Bank building (in the current Historic Properties), then the partners purchased Seeton’s Wharf, which later became Pickford & Black’s Wharf at 51 Upper Water Street.

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The company expanded in 1889 when they purchased two Cunard ships, Alpha and Beta, and began trading services in the West Indies. The firm also operated steamer lines in the Atlantic Provinces, and acted as agents for several leading marine insurance underwriters, including Lloyd’s of London.

 

Robert Pickford retired in 1911, and after the death of William Black in 1934, the company was involved in several mergers. In 1975, Pickford & Black Ltd. became a subsidiary of McLean Kennedy Limited, and in 2002, a branch of F.K. Warren.

 

Black was also a politician, and represented Halifax County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1894 to 1897. In 1923 Black was elected to the Canadian House of Commons for the riding of Halifax. Black, became the Federal Minister of Railways and Canals under Prime Minister Arthur Meighan. He was re-elected in 1925, 1926, and 1930. As a businessman, Black co-founded the Maritime Life Assurance Company in 1922, and established a chair of commerce at Dalhousie University in 1924. Well-known Halifax businessman, Bill Black, his great-grandson, also served as president.

 

William Anderson Black purchased property on Young Avenue in 1908. The following year he erected his home (and stables on McLean Street). Designed by Halifax architect Richard Arthur Johnson, it was built by George Low at an estimated cost of $12,000. The house was completed by the end of December 1909. William died in 1934 at his home, “Ardnamara." 

 

At some point during WWII, the mansion was turned into five rental units. The last family to own the home were the Clevelands in 1944. Charles Grover Cleveland (1894-1861) was the son George Norman and Jane (Janie) Bridges. Cleveland was born in Kingsport, Nova Scotia, and moved to Dartmouth with his parents. After some time in Western Canada and California, he returned to Dartmouth and the real estate business, forming the Cleveland Realty Corporation. His son, Grover Norman Cleveland (1926-2006), was also President of the Cleveland Realty Corporation.

 

The Clevelands go back to the founding of Halifax and a tract of land granted in 1750 to Rev. Aaron Cleveland. Grover Cleveland, twice president of the United States, was a descendant of the Rev. Aaron Cleveland. Grover Norman Cleveland, originally from San Diego, California, his wife Betty and their children lived in the home until it was sold it to a developer who demolished it in May 2016.

 

This was the third house on Young Avenue that Richard Arthur Johnson designed; the other two being the John A. MacInnes home in 1900, this one in the spring of 1909 and the home of J. Alfred MacInnes in the summer of 1909.

 

The first floor utilized local ironstone laid in a squared rubble pattern (set in mortar) with stone window lintels and sills. Second floor had a stucco finish, and the construction drawings suggest masonry construction behind. The upper part was wood constructed in a Tudor style.

 

The home had leaded, stained glass windows in a gladiola design. A large porch was to the left side and formed the main entrance.

 

The house had massive beach stone chimneys and ornamental chimney pots. There was also half-timbered gabled dormers and projecting front gable supported on distinctive brackets.

 

Bracketed cornice with deep overhang, ornamental finials at gables, and massive curved lintels were located over lower windows. Copper edging formed along all hips and the mansion had ornamental interlocking diamond pattern roofing, and diamond-faceted window muntins. A projecting continuous concrete frieze band separated the wall elements and Neo-Renaissance columns decorated the side porches. The porch enclosure had multi-paned glass windows.

The basement consisted of two coal rooms for hard and soft coal, heater and boiler, laundry room, cold storage and a large wide open area. The first floor had a side verandah leading to a vestibule and main hall, main stairway, reception room, sitting room, dining room which also led to another side verandah, toilet, coat room, china closet, kitchen, pantry, servants' dining room, rear entry, and servants' hall. The second floor had six bedrooms, three baths, sewing room, dressing room, and main stairway. The attic was one open room.

 

The Ardnamara name derives from Gaelic, Ard meaning 'peak' and Mara meaning 'sea' or "high above the sea." At one time, the harbour would have been visible from the estate.

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