Truro Old Normal College National Historic Site of Canada
Truro, Nova Scotia
Main elevation.
© Christine Boucher, Agence Parcs Canada / Parks Canada Agency, 2017.
Address :
752 Prince Street, Truro, Truro, Nova Scotia
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
2018-07-31
Dates:
-
1877 to 1879
(Construction)
Other Name(s):
-
Truro Old Normal College
(Designation Name)
-
Nova Scotia Teachers’ College
(Other Name)
-
École normale provinciale
(Other Name)
Research Report Number:
2017-26
Description of Historic Place
Truro Old Normal College National Historic Site of Canada is located in the heart of downtown Truro, a town in central Nova Scotia less than 100 km northeast of Halifax. Clad in red brick with contrasting geometric motifs in white brick, this imposing three-storey building with a raised basement has a T-shaped layout. The building’s symmetrical façade features a central entrance and two side entrances. Official recognition refers to the building on its lot at the time of designation.
Heritage Value
Truro Old Normal College was designated a national historic site of Canada in 2018. It is recognized because:
• as a major landmark in downtown Truro, this impressive, three-storey brick building designed by Nova Scotia architect Henry Frederick Busch is an excellent example of Second Empire architecture, with its mansard roof, well-proportioned central pavilion, its pedimented gable dormers, the ornate brackets under its pronounced eaves and its arched windows;
• built in 1877 to replace the first normal school in Truro, it was used as a normal college until 1961. It is a testament to the movement in the second half of the 19th century to standardize and improve teacher training in Canada, and it is directly associated with the development of Nova Scotia’s public education system in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The former Truro College was built in 1877 by the provincial department of education to replace the original Truro normal school, which had been established in 1855 but had become too small by the 1870s. The building is linked to the history and development of Nova Scotia’s public education system because it served as a teacher training facility until its closure in 1961, being the only school of its kind in the province for many years.
After the college closed, the building became the Truro YMCA and, later, temporarily housed Truro’s municipal offices. Following its rehabilitation and the construction of an addition in 2016, the former school reopened as a public library. The original building was a perfect example of Second Empire architecture and, even after the rehabilitation work, it has preserved its key exterior features. While the interior was completely renovated to meet the needs of the new library, significant features were highlighted such as stained glass windows and some of the original windows and mouldings. Today, it is a landmark in Truro’s town square.
Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, December 2017.
Character-Defining Elements
The key elements that contribute to the heritage character of this site include: its location in the heart of downtown Truro; its rectangular three-storey volume with raised basement; its five-bay symmetrical façade with a central pavilion and two side towers; its Second Empire architecture, with its mansard roof, the balanced layout of its pavilion, its pedimented gable dormers, the ornate brackets under its pronounced eaves and its arched windows; the evenly distributed windows, both on the façade and the side elevations, which is mainly composed of arched windows; its two side doors, which in the past were used as separate girls’ and boys’ entrances; its original materials, including exterior cladding in red brick with contrasting geometric motifs in white brick, and its refined detailing, particularly the cornice and dormers; the stone used for the keystones over the openings and their thresholds, and for the bands marking the different floors; details on the façade such as the bull’s-eye window and the design of the stained glass in the central tower windows; remaining original interior features and details, including mouldings, stained glass windows and brick walls.