358 Westmorland St – Cassidy House

ADDRESS:  358 Westmorland St., Fredericton, N.B., E3B 3M5  LOCATION:  Downtown. Seven short blocks from the Saint John River and its network of walking and biking trails. Supermarkets, shopping, churches and restaurants, universities, plus business and government services are nearby within walking distance, as well as municipal bus service.  BUILDING TYPE: One contemporary commercial space and five residential units. NAME ORIGIN: Named for local Electrical Engineer, Stan Cassidy who operated his electrical contracting business from this location. Mr. Cassidy is fondly remembered for his philanthropic interests in rehabilitation of accident victims. During his lifetime he operated a chain of gas stations to provide back to work jobs for injured patients and built a rehabilitation center in the Forest Hill area. The new rehabilitation center at the local hospital is named after Stan Cassidy. He died tragically in his 80’s after falling from a tall ladder while changing a light bulb at the Royal Bank on Queen St. HISTORY: Built in the railroad section with its own siding, the structure is of solid concrete construction. Originally a flat roofed commercial building used as a laundry mat, then by several electrical contractors. Gary Duncan, an electrician, began converting surplus space into small apartments in the 90’s.  A pitched roof was added to the building by Alex Gorham of Fredericton Rentals in January 2016, work being done by his cousin Tony Gorham. This property appears as outbuildings for the Fredericton Exhibition Palace on the A.M. Hubly aerial map of 1882.