Articles About Nova Scotia Structures written by members of Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia.

Articles

Andrew Cobb Houses
By Carole A. Hartzman

Rich in Interest and Charm not only serves as the title of a book on the architecture of Andrew Randall Cobb , but also describes the lovely setting around Parker’s Brook and Cove on Shore Drive, Bedford, in which a cluster of Cobb homes are found.

One of these homes was built in 1912 for J.H. Winfield, who rose through the ranks at MT&T to become both president of the company and of the Telephone Pioneers of America (Acadia Chapter 49), the community service branch of the telephone company established by Alexander Graham Bell. Today, this house is more often referred to as the home of Charles MacCulloch, who founded MacCulloch’s Building Supplies, and is featured in Peter C. Newman’s,The Canadian Establishment.

Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Exhibit:
Rich in Interest and Charm: The Architecture of Andrew R. Cobb - September 15 - December 9, 1990

Andrew Cobb’s homes are described by Dr. Jean Muir, who guest curated the 1990 Cobb exhibit at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, as “human structures that any family could move into and live.” She adds that “they have stood the test of time both structurally and from a design point of view: Cobb was a craftsman who built good solid structures. That ís why they are still in such good condition.” Allen Penney, who writes a column on historic homes for theSunday Herald, says that “no other architect in this province has left a body of work like Andrew Cobb.”

Cobb’s own residences, the first built in 1912 when Bedford was barely a community, are located on Shore Drive. In addition to these, Cobbwebs I, II, and III, he designed four other homes on Shore Drive and three nearby.

The first professionally trained architect in Nova Scotia, educated at MIT in Boston and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Cobb was also the first architect east of Montreal to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Today, according to Jean Muir, Cobb homes are in sufficient demand that they seldom come on the open market. Yet, Laurie Stevens, the current owner of the Winfield/MacCulloch home at 141 Shore Drive at Parker’s Brook, appears to have been unable to find a buyer for this particular Cobb home with its trademark oak staircase leading to a mezzanine. Instead, he has sold it to developer Peter Ryan, who proposes to raze the house and adjacent buildings, construct a municipal road, and subdivide the 4.6-acre property into 18 lots, half of which are only slightly in excess of the minimum lot size requirement: 6,000 square feet.

The proposed road will enter Shore Drive at a precarious angle creating a four-way intersection at Golf Links Road and adding to existing concerns about blind curves and driveways. Car and truck traffic will be affected, and walkers and runners will be at far greater peril. Half the houses will back on Parker’s Cove, a less pleasant view than that found on Long Cove further along the Drive, where three new homes on large, well-treed lots are similarly oriented. Parker’s Cove itself, the natural habitat of birds, ducks, swans and other wildlife, including mating seals, will be disturbed by the blasting and potential infilling of water lots which may or may not occur legally. Recent history on Shore Drive shows that once the infill tru-cks start rolling, the HRM is unable to stop them, permit or no permit.

Councillor Peter Kelly presided over a public information session about this proposed high-density subdivision on February 9. At it, 150 concerned residents of Bedford heard representatives of the Development and Planning departments of HRM explain that they were at a preliminary stage in their evaluation of this tentative application for an as-of-right subdivision, but that minimum requirements appear to have been met. The concerns raised at the meeting will, we were told, be addressed before a final decision is made.

Will this application, tentative or otherwise, be approved? We shall soon find out. As-of-right, unfortunately, gives the developer tremendous latitude and very few controls. Preserving heritage properties and old-growth forests as well as conforming with the nature and character of established neighbourhoods are not factored into this equation. Nonetheless, we are encouraged by the support of individuals like Graeme Duffus and the Nova Scotia Association of Architects, who oppose the first (of what we fear may be other) demolitions in this Cobb Home Heritage District.

What means are still available to us to influence this decision? The law, perhaps, but more importantly: public opinion. We need the support of Heritage Trust and the readership of The Griffin who share our concern that when the first Cobb home in Bedford is demolished, others will soon follow.

Heritage Trust, c. 2002