Apothecaries Hall National Historic Site of Canada
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
General view
© Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, J. Butterill, 1995.
Address :
150 Queen Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1969-05-08
Dates:
-
1900 to 1900
(Construction)
Other Name(s):
-
Apothecaries Hall
(Designation Name)
Research Report Number:
1969-027, 2004-SDC/CDE-015
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: on the Hughes Drug Company Building 150 Queen Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
On December 24, 1810, Thomas Desbrisay Jr. opened an apothecary shop on this site. In 1874 George E. Hughes bought Apothecaries Hall and operated it under the title of "Apothecaries Hall - Hughes Drug Co. Ltd." The original building was replaced by the present brick structure in 1900. It is one of the oldest continually operated pharmacies in Canada.
Description of Historic Place
Apothecaries Hall National Historic Site of Canada is a three-storey brick building in downtown Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Built as an apothecary in 1900, it replaced an earlier building serving the same purpose. It now houses retail premises on the ground floor and offices on the upper two levels.
Heritage Value
Apothecaries Hall was designated a national historic site of Canada because from 1810 to 1986 an apothecary shop was operated on this site, making it one of the oldest continually operated pharmacies in Canada.
The heritage value of this site resides in its historical association with one of Canada’s longest operating pharmacies and the building’s physical elements that accommodated that function.
Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minute, May 1969
Character-Defining Elements
Key elements that contribute to the heritage value of this site include: its corner site its rectangular, three-storey massing under a flat roof, its large retail windows at ground level its corner entry, its banded brick facing with decorative brick cornice, original interior elements including wood detailing and tin ceiling.