This 2-storey brick building is situated on the west side of York Street. Built in 1881, this commercial building is located between Queen and King Streets.
Heritage Value
The heritage value of this building is associated with the 19th century commercial development of Fredericton, and with the prominence of its owners and occupants. Julius L. Inches, a Scottish immigrant and engineer, had this building constructed in 1881. T.M. Gravelle completed the masonry work on this building, while Nehemiah Vradenburg served as carpenter.
In 1945, New Brunswick’s first radio station, CFNB, moved from 69 York Street to this location. J. Stewart Neill, son of Fredericton hardware mogul James S. Neill, began broadcasting from his home at 212 Waterloo Row in 1923. When Neill first began broadcasting from his parlor, he had only a 10-watt transmitter, but the move to 69 York Street in 1927 brought an increase to 25-watts. Many more increases in power were to follow, and within two years of moving to this location at 59 York Street, CFNB was broadcasting with 5,000 watts of power.
CFNB, the call letters standing for “Canada, Fredericton, New Brunswick,” remained at this location until 1969, at which point it moved to the Hanwell Road.
Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements associated with this brick building at 59 York Street include:
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2-storey brick construction
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Low pitched gable roof
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Large windows on the ground floor
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Large, regularly spaced rectangular windows on the second storey