Museum History

Apothecary Hall housed the Peter O'Mara Drug Store from 1922 to 1986. It was one of the last surviving old drug stores to operate in the province. This business originally operated from 484-486 Water Street which had been established in 1899 as the West End Drug Store, owned and operated by Lawrence Hannaford. It was purchased in 1905 by Peter O'Mara.

In 1922 Peter O'Mara decided that he had outgrown his location at 484-486 Water Street and decided to construct a new drug store on vacant land at 488 Water Street at the corner of Brennan Street. On this site he erected a new building to house his drug store, and later, living quarters on the second floor. The building was designed by John E. Hoskins, a well known local architect, who at the time was employed by the Reid Newfoundland Company, operators of the Newfoundland Railway. The firm of M. E. Kennedy, Contractors and Builders was engaged to construct the building.

Having been brought up in the traditional English style of pharmacy, first as an apprentice and later as an employee of T. McMurdo and Company, Peter O'Mara was most familiar with the style of pharmacy which existed in the mid to late 1800's. He therefore decided to construct a building which bore a resemblance to drug stores of the period just before the Great Fire.

The building is the last remnant of the urban commercial street scape of Water Street West. Its architecture is a form of Art Noveau and Art Deco amalgam, and is particularly interesting because of its exterior decoration. It appears to have direct European architectural influence. Being somewhat individualistic, it is almost reminiscent of the Charles Rennie MacKintosh restrained (Celtic) variation of Art Noveau.

At the time of construction the building was piped for gas. However it was never lit by gas lights.  It was common practice in the old drug stores to use gas to produce distilled water and in the preparation of certain compounded medicines. The original coin operated gas meter can still be seen in the drug store, as well as the original ornate embossed tin ceilings. The flooring is of maple hardwood and has withstood the considerable traffic quite well. The light fixtures in the drug store are reproductions of turn of the century gas lights, which have been converted to electric. On the second floor of the building is a boardroom and library used by the Pharmacy Board. Both rooms have the original fireplaces; one being an Art Deco fireplace, the other being of Bauhaus design. The basement, which was used for storage, contains a large walk-in vault.

The focal point of the heritage drug store is a set of antique drug store fixtures. These ornate fixtures are constructed of oak and were made in England in 1879. They were brought to St. John's the same year and installed by John Tremblett in the drug store of M. Connors Limited Wholesale and Retail Druggists, established in 1878 on Water Street at Queen Street. When this firm moved to a new location one block east, the fixtures were sold to Donald Hogan. His drug store operated from a location near the corner of New Gower and Waldegrave Streets. They came into the possession of the Association when Hogan's Drug Store closed in 1975.

These fixtures are currently stocked with many of the medications found in drug stores just before the turn of the present century. Many of the actual medications can be seen in "shop bottles" used to hold the various liquids and powders. In the front windows can be seen two ornate show globes. They denote the practice of pharmacy, and were first used by chemists in the sixteenth century. The eagles are made of cast iron and have been gilt, and hanging from the chains are glass carboys filled with colored water. They were made in New York in 1900 by the Whitehall, Tatum Company.

Throughout the drug store can be seen examples of equipment used in compounding prescriptions. These include mortars and pestles made of wedgewood; glass graduates; a variety of dispensing scales in wood and marble with brass weights; pill making machines; brass suppository molds; cachet machine; stainless steel spatulas with wooden handles; glass ointment slabs; cork presses; label dispenser.; A display of patent medicines can be seen, which reputedly could cure almost any illness. There are also some perfume bottles and first-aid supplies.

The restoration of this heritage drug store has been undertaken by the pharmacists of Newfoundland and Labrador in order to preserve the history of the profession in this province. The property has been designated a heritage building by the St. John's Municipal Council; it has been given the status of a registered heritage structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador; and has been awarded the Southcott Award by the Newfoundland Historic Trust.

Donations of pharmaceutical antiques, either bottles, jars, advertisements, reference books, etc. would be gratefully accepted so that the collection can be as complete as possible. Appropriate recognition will be given to any such donations.