Buildings of Old Lunenburg

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, home of the Bluenose schooner portrayed on our
dime, is one of the oldest towns in Canada. Lunenburg’s “Old Town”
was formed c.1753, with the adjoining “New Town” laid out 100 years
later, c.1860.

The town is unique in the world in that much of it retains the original
buildings, with the original or authentically restored architectural
features and, alongside the recent emphasis on tourism, the town’s
original focus on fishing and shipbuilding. As a result, the United
Nations (UNESCO) has given it the status of a World Heritage Listing.

Presenting more than 80 vivid color photos (many full-page plates) and
a text rich in historical and architectural detail, the authors portray
the town in all its “fisherman gothic” uniqueness. The architecture
is eclectic, mixing Cape Cod boxes with fanciful high-Victorian,
Georgian, and gothic clapboard structures. Both commercial and
residential buildings revel in color, from shocking red to gleaming
white, from pastels to intense primary tones. The town is built on a
steep hill rising from the harbor, and the many colors appear to march
down to the sea.

The book includes numerous examples of the “Lunenburg bump,” a
combination of porch or bay window topped with a five-sided dormer.
There’s also a great picture of the famous cod-fish weathervane.

Buildings of Old Lunenburg, a valuable addition to East Coast local
history, will delight anyone who loves old houses and Victorian
architecture. Tourists will treasure it.