Reliable MacRae & Co. Address: 326 Somerset Street West, Chamberlain House Description: Official Designated Heritage Property; Residence, Three Storeys, Style: Queen Anne; model: Eastlake; built: 1894; turret This property, also known as Chamberlain House, is a three-storey brick house that was designed and built in 1894 in the Eastlake model of the Queen Anne Style. This model is best described as eclectic, using several design elements in a single structure in a way that enhances their complexity, although each component of the design is well defined. This house is a good example of such a model, with its classical inspiration having been carefully integrated into its overall Eastlake form. The Queen Anne style is also typically associated with the fashionable ideas about social and moral life that were prevalent during the Victorian era. Despite these constraints, however, the somewhat chaotic appearance of the Queen Anne style was acceptable thanks to the apparent presence of the established Eastlake model. The resultant design is therefore rich and complex, containing a number of interesting features. The one most notable detail from this façade is the distinctive turret that projects from the flat roof above the entrance door at the right end of the east elevation. The turret is covered with shingles, has rectangular horizontal openings, and is embellished at the bottom by the house’s stone base.
