Great George Street is one the of oldest streets in downtown Charlottetown and includes many historic buildings and recognizable landmarks in Prince Edward Island History. The street begins at the waterfront and runs North six blocks until you reach the Province House. [1] Great George Street was designated a Historic District National Historic Site of Canada in November 1990 and after viewing it in person it’s easy to see why. There are several designated historic places within the six blocks: Province House, Peake’s Quay, St Dunstan’s Basilica, The Union Bank, and The Great George Hotel (that consists of several properties) to name a few. [2]The variety of different architectural styles contribute to the charming and pictorial street. The Street has an important association to the beginning of Confederation and as mentioned previously, The Province House; the seat of the Island’s Government and “The Birthplace of Confederation” is located on it.[3]
The Oxford English Dictionary defines transportation as “The action or process of transporting; conveyance (of things or persons) from one place to another.”[4] By this definition alone, one can argue that Great George Street is one of the most significant streets historically when it comes to pedestrian transportation in Charlottetown. The actual physical walking route itself, starting at the waterfront by boat and continuing up Great George street by foot is an all-important route in downtown Charlottetown. The route was carried out by many different people and generations. For example, the route can be associated with the Early settlers in the 1800s[5], the founding fathers of confederation,[6] and workers and travelers to Boston and World War soldiers in the 1900s.[7] Although the purpose of the route has evolved, the route traveling up Great George Street remains symbolic in Charlottetown’s history and will continue to be utilized for many years to come.
In 1768 Charles Morris constructed a plan for developing Charlottetown. The town area of 7,300 acres included a royalty of 6,041 acres of pastureland and 565 extra acres left undisturbed for extending the town as it grew. Waterfront lots were set aside for public stores, a market, and a lumber yard. The town plan also had an open square with space for a church, courthouse, and jail.[8] Surveyor Thomas Wright in 1771, then tweaked the plan to increase the lot sizes and increasing the width of streets. However, he kept the idea to have a central square called Queen square.[9] The main goods were built around this square. The picture below shows the plan and it's clear that Great George Street, (The name also an indication of its key 18th-century roots) was the main road leading from the waterfront to access the queen square and surrounding areas.
Figure 1 -A plan of ”Charlotte town” By Thomas Wright 1771.[10]
As Charlottetown developed so did Great George Street and it became the home of a bustling market in 1813 along with a few different hotels, homes, and shops.[11] The city was laid out so that settler's primary route of transportation was: they came into the city via boat and docked at the wharf located at the bottom of Great George Street. Then proceeded on foot up to the market and town square for groceries, banking, church, and other necessities before heading back to the wharf to return home.
Figure 2A and 2B 1880 Map of the City of Charlottetown Note: the buildings that have developed along Great George Street
September 1-9, 1864 is the most prominent date in the history of Great George Street, Charlottetown hosted a conference to discuss the possibility of Confederation. The Conference is what ultimately led to Canada becoming what it is today. The Province House is where the meetings took place for the week-long event but, there were other crucial buildings in play that week that contribute to Great George’s street historic designation. 58-68 Great George Street is a row of similar Georgian-inspired-looking homes that were built and are still present on the street today. They have all had their exterior restored to resemble the original, and now are used as hotel rooms that belong to The Great George Hotel. [12] Great George Street and these buildings are believed to be where all the action was that week and the site of plenty of late-night gallivanting and lengthy conversations. The delegates arrived for the conference onboard the S.S. Victoria, once docked at the harbor they proceeded to stroll up Great George Street. This pedestrian transportation route on Great George Street is so important to PEI and Canadian history the Prince Edward Island Department of Tourism hire actors every summer to re-enact the Fathers of Confederation docking at the foot of Great George and walking up the street to Province House stopping frequently at key historic buildings along the way.[13]
Figure 3 A Row of homes along Great George Street that are designated National Historic Buildings owned by The Great George Hotel.
Figure 4 The Row of Homes along Great George Street Today
Marine Travelers were another common user of the Great George Street transportation route in the late 1800s and early 1900s. When Charlottetown was first developed there were several wharves built to access the city. The Peake family owned a large shipping empire and exporter business and owned at least three wharves from 1880-1860. The well-known tourist area at the waterfront of Great George Street is named after this family.[14] The wharf where the ships entered and exited the harbor was called The Plant Line Wharf. The Canadian Atlantic & Plant Steam company began operating a direct route from PEI to Boston that quickly became popular for many Islanders searching for work. One could compare going to Boston to work to how workers head to Alberta for work now. As the demand for frequency and the popularity grew for this passage the ship company’s owners began to advertise the passage as a cruise and began enticing and attracting pleasure travelers as well as workers.[15] This was the beginning of cruise ship passengers contributing to the growth and economic development of Charlottetown and the city still benefits today from tourists arriving via cruise ship. Soldiers also used the wharf when they left for service. Irene Rodger’s a historian describes in the book Charlottetown: The Life in Its Buildings, an interview with a Charlottetown Veteran recalling in 1915 his,
march down to the wharf, passing through the warehouse, and boarding ship for his journey to training camp.[16]
Figure 5 The Plant Line Wharf Charlottetown, Great George Street in the background
Figure 6 A Plant Line Ad from the local newspaper
Figure 7 2019 Peake’s Wharf
The twentieth century brought lots of change to Great George Street, there have been two substantial fires that destroyed one of the main Hotels and the destruction of the Roman Catholic school that is now a parking lot. Many smaller hotels and businesses either closed or as the city grew, some moved to new locations.[17] Other things have remained similar, Tourists that have docked for the day off a cruise ship are frequently spotted on the street. Great George Street remains an active downtown street and travelers and islanders still walk Great George Street. The structural design of the street has maintained its colonial charm and has a sense of cohesive and delightful imagery. Walking down Great George Street is reminiscent of the pioneers that have done the same and will continue to connect us to Charlottetown’s history and humble beginnings.
Figure 9, 10 & 11 The View looking down Great George Street throughout the years.
Figures
1 A plan of “Charlotte town” by Thomas Wright 1771, http://parkscanadahistory.com/series/mrs/211.pdf.
2 1880 Map of the City of Charlottetown,
3 Row of homes on Great George Street https://islandlives.ca/islandora/object/ilives%3A580892#page/1/mode/2up.
4 Photo by Frankie Gallison
5 The Plant Line Wharf Charlottetown, Great George Street in the background,https://sailstrait.wordpress.com/2016/10/18/s-s-halifax-charlottetown-to-boston-and-return/
6 A Plant Line Ad from the local newspaper, Prince Edward Island Illustrated. Examiner Publishing Co., 1897. https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.library.upei.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat01065a&AN=upei.208685&site=eds-live&scope=site. 94
7 2019 Peakes Quay and Marina, http://www.gov.pe.ca/hpo/IMG/ORIGINAL/d497ca89PeakesWharfnorthwest.jpg
8 Great George Street Looking South, City of Charlottetown Public Archives, permission from Natalie Munn
9 Great George Street from province house towards the water, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Great_George_Street%2C_Charlottetown%2C_PEI_%2819001802913%29.jpg
10 Great George Street looking South, https://upei.cairnrepo.org/islandora/object/upei%3A3067
Bibliography
Cullen, Mary K. Rep. A History of the Structure and Use of Province House, Prince Edward Island 1837-1977. Charlottetown, PEI: Parks Canada, 1977. http://parkscanadahistory.com/series/mrs/211.pdf.
Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office, and Robert Hunter, Great George Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island § (1990).
“Great George Street Historic District National Historic Site of Canada.” Canada's Historic Places. Parks Canada. Accessed March 29, 2021. https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=15381&pid=0.
“Great George Street Historic District National Historic Site of Canada.” Parks Canada. Government of Canada. Accessed March 29, 2021. https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=579&i=65813.
“Great George Street Historic District.” Charlottetown Stories Explore Your City's Heritage (blog). WordPress, City of Charlottetown. Accessed March 12, 2021. https://charlottetownstories.wordpress.com/exhibits/charlottetowns-national-historic-sites/great-george-street-historic-district/1.
Holman, Harry. “S.S. Halifax – Charlottetown to Boston and Return.” Sailstrait Telling the Stories of the History of the Port of Charlottetown and the Marine Heritage of Northumberland Strait on Canada's East Coast. (blog). WordPress, October 18, 2016. https://sailstrait.wordpress.com/2016/10/18/s-s-halifax-charlottetown-to-boston-and-return/.
Rogers, Irene L., and Harry Baglole. Charlottetown: The Life in Its Buildings. Rev. Ed. Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation, 1992.
Stratton, Sterling. If Buildings Could Talk - What Would They Say? Charlottetown, PEI: Stratton], 2008. https://islandlives.ca/islandora/object/ilives%3A580892#page/1/mode/2up.
Amado, Miguel Pires. Urban Planning: Practices, Challenges and Benefits. Urban Development
and Infrastructure. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc, 2014. https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.library.upei.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=754890&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Cullen, Mary K. "The Late Nineteenth Century Development of the Queen Square Gardens,
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island." Bulletin of the Association for Preservation Technology 9, no. 3 (1977): 1-20. Accessed March 27, 2021. doi:10.2307/1493543.
MacDonald, Edward, and Alan MacEachern. “Rites of Passage: Tourism and the Crossing to
Prince Edward Island.” Histoire Sociale/Social History 49, no. 99 (May 20, 2016): 289–306. doi:10.1353/his.2016.0002.
[1] “Charlottetown Stories Explore Your City's Heritage,” Charlottetown Stories Explore Your City's Heritage (blog) (City of Charlottetown), accessed March 12, 2021, https://charlottetownstories.wordpress.com/exhibits/charlottetowns-national-historic-sites/great-george-street-historic-district/1. [2] Great George Street Historic District National Historic Site of Canada,” Canada's Historic Places (Parks Canada), accessed March 29, 2021, https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=15381&pid=0. [3] “Great George Street Historic District National Historic Site of Canada,” Parks Canada (Government of Canada), accessed March 29, 2021, https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=579&i=65813. [4] "transportation, n.". OED Online. March 2021. Oxford University Press. https://www-oed-com.proxy.library.upei.ca/view/Entry/205022?redirectedFrom=Transportation (accessed March 29, 2021). [5] Mary K Cullen, “A History of the Structure and Use of Province House, Prince Edward Island 1837-1977” (Charlottetown, PEI: Parks Canada, 1977), pp. 1-439, http://parkscanadahistory.com/series/mrs/211.pdf, 5-6. [6] “Great George Street Historic District National Historic Site of Canada,” Canada's Historic Places (Parks Canada), accessed March 29, 2021, https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=15381&pid=0. [7] Harry Holman, “Sailstrait Telling the Stories of the History of the Port of Charlottetown and the Marine Heritage of Northumberland Strait on Canada's East Coast.,” Sailstrait Telling the Stories of the History of the Port of Charlottetown and the Marine Heritage of Northumberland Strait on Canada's East Coast. (blog) (WordPress, October 18, 2016), https://sailstrait.wordpress.com/2016/10/18/s-s-halifax-charlottetown-to-boston-and-return/. [8] Mary K Cullen, “A History of the Structure and Use of Province House, Prince Edward Island 1837-1977” (Charlottetown, PEI: Parks Canada, 1977), pp. 1-439, http://parkscanadahistory.com/series/mrs/211.pdf, 4-7. [9] Robert Hunter, FHBRO “Great George Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island,” Great George Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island § (1990), pp. 403-445, 404. [10] Mary K Cullen, “A History of the Structure and Use of Province House, Prince Edward Island 1837-1977” (Charlottetown, PEI: Parks Canada, 1977), pp. 1-439, http://parkscanadahistory.com/series/mrs/211.pdf, 235. [11] Robert Hunter, FHBRO “Great George Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island,” Great George Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island § (1990), pp. 403-445, 406. [12] Sterling Stratton, If Buildings Could Talk - What Would They Say? (Charlottetown, PEI: Stratton, 2008), 35. [13] Robert Hunter, FHBRO “Great George Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island,” Great George Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island § (1990), pp. 403-445, 416-417. [14] Irene L. Rogers, Charlottetown: The Life in Its Buildings (Charlottetown: Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation, 1983), 110-112. [15] Harry Holman, “Sailstrait Telling the Stories of the History of the Port of Charlottetown and the Marine Heritage of Northumberland Strait on Canada's East Coast.,” Sailstrait Telling the Stories of the History of the Port of Charlottetown and the Marine Heritage of Northumberland Strait on Canada's East Coast. (blog) (WordPress, October 18, 2016), https://sailstrait.wordpress.com/2016/10/18/s-s-halifax-charlottetown-to-boston-and-return/. [16] Irene L. Rogers, Charlottetown: The Life in Its Buildings (Charlottetown: Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation, 1983), 110. [17] Robert Hunter, FHBRO “Great George Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island,” Great George Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island § (1990), pp. 403-445, 414.
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