Probably built for Hon. William J.S. Donnelly, Bell Air is one of the last great mansions that once lined King's Bridge Road - others used to include "Happy Acre", "Omrac" and "Bishop's Court". Donnelly, who entered politics via the Legislative Council in 1874, was elected to the House of Assembly in 1878 and (with two breaks) served there until 1899. It is possible that Donnelly had the house built during his time as Surveyor General from 1879 82, probably by September 1880 which is when his former house on Cochrane St was sold. He sold (or may have had to sell) Bell-Air after his defeat in the 1899 election.

The purchaser was Alex J. Harvey who had only to cross the road to acquire the house. Harvey grew up in Omrac (which stood on the site of the current Kingsbridge Apartments). He was the son of Hon. Augustus Harvey who developed A. Harvey & Co into a major Newfoundland firm and was responsible for the development of the Fisheries Department. Bell - Air then has been occupied by the Harvey family for a century or more.

With the characteristic mansard roof this is essentially a Second Empire style house but the high conical roofs on the front bay windows gives it a Renaissance revival character - somewhat like Sutherland Place at the head of Kingsbridge. Noteworthy is the iron cresting rail above the porch - a feature which rarely survives in our climate. There is a fine Victorian conservatory on the south side of the house and in house's interior are doors to the principal rooms which are made of wood imported from Bermuda - the home Augustus Harvey left in 1853.

It is difficult to determine who was the architect/builder for this house. In 1880 it could well have been the Southcotts who introduced the Second Empire style to Newfoundland, but it may have been John T. Purcell who, in 1884, did "Quinnipiac" on Winter Avenue for the Emersons.

In an area of large houses this is unquestionably the largest. The main block of the house, which faces Kingsbridge Road, has a rear addition of almost equivalent size. Beyond that is a large coach house. All these additions were in place by 1925 and such is the nature of the Patten's attachment to the house (Susan Patten is Alex Harvey's granddaughter) that all have been preserved. In fact, the only modification to the building has been the closing in of the front porch. But even that was done with real style.

The leaded glass doors and the multi pane transoms, all show a respect for its architecture. It is when one looks at the roof, particularly the rooves of the bay windows, that one sees the care taken with this building. When work was done on these rooves a number of years ago it decided that they should be recovered with the original material - wood shingle - rather than a more modern material.

The 2003 Southcott Award to Susan Harvey-Patten in recognizes of the care and sensitivity shown in the maintenance of this great mansion.