Anchor Building, Kingston

The building known as the Anchor Building, was completed in 1856-1857 and designed in the brick Italianate style, featuring flat-faced facades, regular rows of arched windows with decorative window heads of different styles on each level, and a heavy roof cornice on the roof parapet. The building has historical or associative value as an example of the work of carpenter, master builder and architect William Coverdale (1801-1865). The property had been granted to British immigrants Lt. William Atkinson and his wife Mary, and Coverdale designed the building for Mary. The building replaced earlier buildings destroyed by fire. The building is designated under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act in the Market Square Heritage Conservation District. This fine 3 storey building at the corner of King Street East and Brock St ‘anchors’ the Market Square Heritage Conservation District, and is the only remaining example of the few Italianate commercial block buildings that overlooked the square. The building received an award by the Frontenac Heritage Foundation in 2022. Much more information is provided in our awards section.