By Barb Sweet
The Telegram
Wednesday, October 27, 1999, page 3

Two buildings on the former Belvedere orphanage property in St. John's - the subject of a development proposal - are among the newest provincially registered historic structures.

The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador designated the convent and former orphanage buildings on Sept. 25 and planned to release of a list of the latest registered buildings today.

Brothers Randy and Bill Clarke of Myles-Leger Ltd. want to bulldoze the orphanage and convent and build an upscale 114-townhouse subdivision on the east end property which is currently zoned institutional.

The developers have an option to buy from the Sisters of Mercy Convent, which operated the orphanage until the mid-1960s.

Provincial heritage registration won't stop them from bulldozing the properties.

But their proposal still has to get the recommendation of two city council committees - planning, and heritage advisory - and be passed by a majority of councillors.

Myles-Leger president Rand Clarke said the buildings aren't viable - it's the land they want.

They had been willing to preserve a gatekeeper's house, which they earlier thought was the third oldest building in the city.

It turns out that's not the case, according to the heritage foundation.

If the Clarke's can't demolish the buildings, they'll have to go back to the drawing board, Clarke said.

"We're waiting to see this one play out," he said.

"If the city tells us we can't knock them down, then we'll be back to Square , and I think the sisters will probably be looking for other buyers."

According to heritage consultant Shane O'Dea, the convent, built in 1826-27 by lawyer and politician Hugh Alexander Emerson, is the third oldest structure in the city.  It was sold in 1847 to Bishop Michael Fleming as accommodation for the Franciscans and it is where he died in 1850.

The Belvedere Orphanage was built in 1885 and is said to be one of the finest masonry examples of the Second Empire style in the province.

Oldest structures

The two oldest structures in the city are the James Anderson House at 42-44 Power's Ct., off Signal Hill Road, which was built in 1804-15 and the provincial historic site, Commissariat House, built in 1819.

The orphanage and convent were among a number of Roman Catholic structures designated on Sept. 25.

The others are:

• Presentation Convent and adjoining school, Military Road, built in 1853.
• Bishop's Palace and Library, Bonaventure Avenue. The palace was built in 1923 to replace the earlier palace of 1854 which burned in 1921. The library was built shortly after 1854.
• Mount St. Francis, Merrymeeting Road, built in 1877-80.

Other structures were awarded provincial registration:

• St. Paul's Parish House, Trinity, begun in 1893 and completed in 1905.
• The Mortuary Chapel, Trinity, the last of its kind in the province, built in 1880.
• The Payne House, 151 Water Street., Harbour Grace, built around 1856, which forms a range of structures dating from the same period. Attached house of this period is commonly found in St. John's but isn't common in rural Newfoundland.
• The Patrick Hayden Store, Petit Forte, built around 1900.
• The Porter House, Port de Grave, built by John Porter around 1904.  According to local folklore, it had its steeply pitched roof removed as it caused the house to sway in heavy winds.  Now with a low pitched roof, the Porter House, which has a well-preserved interior, is used as part of the Fisherman's Museum complex.

However, a structure is more likely to be recognized at the national level if it first has provincial registration, she said.

"On this occasion, it seems that religious buildings dominate designations," Collins said.

"I think this is, in part, because people see that a number of these structures are losing their original functions and are being vacated, possibly putting at risk some very historic properties."

Six other structures were conditionally designated and, once restored, will be officially designated. They are the Standard Print Building, Harbour Grace; Job Keans' House, Brookfield; St. James Anglican Church, Carbonear; Abram Richards Property, Bareneed; St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Bonavista and the Lockyer/Swyers House, Bonavista.