Jeremiah initially planned to live in and modernize his father's (Edward Kenny) house on Pleasant Street (now Barrington Street), but alterations to modernize the house were never undertaken by architect J.C. Dumaresq, as Mr. Kenny apparently opted to construct a new house on Young Avenue. This is the house that was built for Jeremiah Francis Kenny. Kenny had begun his career in the mercantile establishment of his father, Sir Edward Kenny, and his uncle, Thomas E. Kenny, owner of Thornvale estate along Halifax's Northwest Arm. His career path would eventually change.

 

Jeremiah Francis Kenny's first wife, Mary Helen Furniss, originally of Montreal, died in 1897 at age 42. Among her many activities in the community, perhaps her most significant achievement remains the primary role that she played in the founding of the Victoria School of Art and Design, now known as the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University and formerly NSCAD.

 

Jeremiah Francis Kenny remarried to Helena Henry of Antigonish in 1898. Helena Henry was the daughter of William Alexander Henry, who was mayor of Halifax, father of Confederation, and Justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (also of Henry House fame on Barrington Street). They moved into the Young Avenue residence in August 1900. Unfortunately, however, Jeremiah Francis Kenny passed away in 1902 age 60. At the time of his death, Jeremiah Kenny ran his own business, J.F. Kenny Company, Fire & Marine Insurance Agents. Helena Kenny lived in the Young Avenue house until 1906. In the early 1940's it was divided up into five rental units. Today, the home has been renovated inside and out.

 

Architect J.C. Dumaresq applied to build a new wooden building on Young Avenue for Jeremiah F. Kenny, on the east side of the street on December 27th, 1899.

 

The Truro firm of Spencer, Turner & Logan was hired to supply the interior finishes, and today it has been fully restored both inside and out.

 

This is large and beautiful wood Queen Anne Revival two-and-a-half-storey house. It has a central entrance, an off-centre gable, and a round two-storey bay to the right side. A suspended round corner tower with domed roof to the left of the entrance is one of Dumaresq's most eclectic use of the Queen Anne idiom. The house is also notable for its eclectic use of various window styles including elliptical shapes with web patterns, fanlights and stained glass. The front entrance has a door with patterned frosted glass, fanlight above it, and sidelights.

The basement had a kitchen, closet, pantry, larder, servants’ room, wine room, two rooms for hard and soft coal, water closet, laundry and furnaces, stairway, and two other rooms unlabelled. The ground floor had a main stairway, sitting room, fireplace, drawing room with entryway to a verandah, vestibule, servants' stairs, pantry, dining room, and rear entrance and coat room. The second floor had two large bedrooms with closets, dressing room with closet, linen closet, bath room, sewing room, water closet, upper hall with main staircase, and servants' stairs. The attic had a linen room, lumber room, bath room, main stairway, and three bedrooms (presumably for servants) and servants' stairs.