Condo Living

January 30, 2024 Published by Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter - By David Cumming

Carriagehouse Condominium: An Historical Downtown Property with a Varied Industrial Heritage

From the CCI Newfoundland and Labrador Winter 2024 Condo Chronicle Newsletter

The history of the Carriagehouse Condominium building can be traced back to the ambitions of two brothers - James and Thomas Lawrence originally from Bonavista. Both brothers moved to St. John’s in 1870 and entered the employ of the established carriage builder Samuel Carnell – James serving his time as a Blacksmith while Thomas was a Wheelwright. Around 1882, James and Thomas Lawrence decided to set up their own carriage factory on Victoria St.

A flourishing business was conducted at this location up to the time of the Great Fire of 1892. Following the conflagration, the brothers quickly established themselves in the more spacious premises they erected on Gower Street - starting construction in late 1892 and likely completing the initiative by late 1893.

In St. John’s – transportation in the early part of the last century was dominated by horse drawn carriages and a streetcar system operated on narrow gauge rails from 1900 to 1948. Below is an image of these two basic forms of transportation.

A streetcar and horse drawn vehicle at the west end of Water Street near the Crossroads, intersection of Topsail and Waterford Bridge Road. City of St. John’s Archives, Photo # 01-23-008 (C.1925)

Meanwhile, automobiles began to slowly replace horse-drawn vehicles. The first automobile to arrive in St. John's was a Rolls Royce imported from London by Robert Reid, Jr., in 1903. Since only wealthy merchants and professionals could afford these luxury items; it was not until after the Second World War that a great influx of automobiles occurred.

The Lawrence Brothers factory on Gower St. initially specialized in building horse drawn carriages using skilled employees including wheelwrights, upholsterers, blacksmiths etc. With the advent of the automobile, however, carriage factories were compelled to diversify their product line and carriage production declined to negligible levels in the 1940s as more automobiles arrived in Newfoundland.

As such, the factory owned by the Lawrence Brothers began specializing in making trunks, suitcases, caskets, coffins as well as racing boats for the annual St. John's Regatta as they possessed the tools, machinery and skilled workforce to build these different products.

As early as 1912 there is a Mr. Lawrence, undertaker, sailing on the SS Algerine retained by The White Star Line to search for bodies from the sunken RMS Titanic. Mr. Lawrence is listed as operating at 139 Gower St and was aboard the Algerine during the recovery of the last body retrieved from the ‘Titanic’ - that of Saloon Steward James McGrady.

From The Evening Telegram dated July 22, 1936: Thousands turned out to attend the parade in connection with the removal of two new 4-oared race boats from the Lawrence Brothers factory on Gower St. down to Quidi Vidi Lake for the launching of the “Freedom” and “Buttercup”. ...willing hands from the Longshoreman’s Union brought the boats out of the factory. As the parade lined up, a cheer went up for their success from the large crowd which by this time had gathered. The boats were then flanked on either side by members of the Church Lads’ Brigade (CLB) Naval Company as the parade moved off to the pond for the christening ceremony. ...tremendous interest was manifested in the ceremony and the performance of the boats after they were placed in the water. The various crews which had their first spins in the new boats last night found both entirely satisfactory.

Rear View of 139 Gower St – date 1988 with lettering ‘LAWRENCE BROTHERS’ noted on the building. City of St. John’s Archives Photo # 11-05-279

In the early 1950s, the classified section of the city telephone directory listed the Lawrence Bros. in two categories – “Carriage Builders” and “Funeral Directors and Embalmers”.

Information obtained within an affidavit from businessman Harold Duffett of St. John’s regarding the conveyance of a parcel of land situate at 139 – 141 Gower St. from Lawrence Brothers Ltd. when the company was dissolved in 1959 through a number of successive owners to Eastern Capital Corporation Ltd.:

Upon liquidation of Lawrence Brothers Ltd. in 1959, their property was transferred to Graham Mercer. Mercer Brokerage Ltd. operated the business of manufacturers’ agents and commission merchants.

In 1967, Graham Mercer acquired the land adjacent to the west side of 139 Gower St. and demolished the existing residential structure as well as levelling the land. Thereafter the land was used as a private parking lot for the exclusive use of Mercer Brokerage Ltd, its employees and invitees.

In 1974, Graham Mercer transferred ownership of his property on Gower St. to Business Services Ltd.

In 1981, Business Services Ltd. transferred ownership of the Gower St. property to Eastern Capital Corp Ltd.

On April 30, 1998, the property on 139 and 141 Gower St. were sold to Reardon Construction and Development Ltd. With the renovation of the property into a condominium with resident parking available on the west side to be used by the owners of the condominium corporation.

The civic number 139 - 141 Gower St was incorporated Nov 17, 1998 as The Carriagehouse Condominium Corporation - a 14 Unit apartment style condominium.

The Carriagehouse Condominium Corporation Today

It is obvious by the number of carriage factory related artifacts displayed on the interior Common Element walls of the building that Gary Reardon, developer of The Carriagehouse Condo Corp, had a keen interest in preserving the carriage factory history of the property.

Example Types of Carriage. Carriage Springs: These springs were recovered from below an old floor at the rear of the building during the renovation.

The Carriagehouse is currently managed by a Board of three Directors supported by a full- service property management company. The Corporation has no employees. Seven of the 14 units are owner occupied, seven units are leased. The units vary in size from 86 to 101 m² – or roughly 1,000 ft.² each. 

The Corporation’s by-laws permit the residents to have a small pet – including a fish, a bird, or one dog or cat of reasonable size. A common room with couch, chairs and a table is available for functions to benefit all residents. Common areas include an exercise room with a treadmill and multi gym on the main floor and storage locker on the lower level of the building.

Exercise Room

Tasteful Planter – Front of Building

The downtown location is considered an attractive feature of the property within walking distance to local shopping, restaurants and entertainment. The small number of Units are conducive to a quiet living environment.

Major issues facing the Board of Carriagehouse: recruiting/retaining Board members, property security, escalating condo fees, high specific expenses such as property management, common element maintenance costs, snow clearing/ice control, obtaining/cost of insurance while maintaining the requisite Reserve Fund is another challenge. Balancing condo fees amid ever increasing insurance costs over the last few years is having an impact on the overall budget.

Carriagehouse has only 10 off-street parking spaces available for 14 owners – initially allocated to the first owners to purchase units. There was a time when the City of St. John’s would enforce parking and ticket vehicles parked without authorization on private parking lots. This practice has since been discontinued and now there is occasionally unauthorized parking on the property inconveniencing the residents.

Snow clearing and ice control is always a challenge especially after a heavy snow fall. Vehicles must be 

moved off the lot in a timely manner to permit a contractor to clear the snow. Avoiding an expensive removal of snow by heavy equipment is a priority.

Thus, under the direction of the Board of Directors supported by the owners and the property manager, this small Condominium Corporation has evolved into a quiet living space in a desirable location in downtown St. John’s.

South side of the Carriagehouse Condo property with a spectacular view overlooking St. John’s Harbour and The Narrows

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By David Cumming, CCI-NL

Relevant St. John’s Carriage Factory Reference: https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/MCR/article/view/17334/22649

The author would like to acknowledge the input of the following in the preparation of this article:

• Board of Directors, The Carriagehouse Condominium Corporation
• Suzanne Sexty, Honorary Research Librarian. Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University of Newfoundland. St. John's, NL for assistance in securing information on the history of this property.
• Gary Reardon, Property Developer, 139 – 141 Gower St. St. John's for information on the property.
• Paula French, Archives Technician, Archives & Records Management, City of St. John's Archives, F. Burnham Gill Archival Center for providing photos as well as information relevant to the Article.