264 Dalhousie St.

Nominated for the Peter Stokes Restoration Award: Small-Scale/Individual/Small Business for the building’s beautiful masonry restoration in historic Amherstburg

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259 to 264 Dalhousie St., located in the beautifully historic town of Amherstburg, dates back to 1903 when the two-storey brick block 50 feet x 60 feet building was contracted by James Wilderspin for Franklin Hough. The lower flat was built for stores and the upper for offices.

From 1909 until 1913, the tenancies changed little. Eventually the upper floor was used solely as a law office, initially by Franklin Hough alone, and then by Franklin and his son Harold who was also a lawyer. The two-store brick block property comprising 258 to 264 Dalhousie Street remained in the Hough family until 1969. No history for the building could be found from 1969 to 2015, when Fieldcraft Holdings Inc. purchased it. The building was still being utilized for commercial tenants on the lower floor and at some point, between 1969 and 2015, the upper level was converted to apartment units.

The plan was to remove the layers of paint that had been added to the existing brick masonry over the years. However, during the demolition, the structural capacity of the existing brick masonry was observed to be volatile. It was recommended to install new helical ties to re-establish connection to the existing clay tile substrate. Upon further work it was determined that the existing face brick had to be completely removed and replaced for safety. New façade brick was installed matching and improving the architectural details from the original design. Re-created replicas were installed to the upper parapet mouldings, dental details, crown mouldings, wall panel systems.

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