The Gilded Courtroom: From an old courthouse to multi-purpose magic in Yarmouth

YARMOUTH, N.S. — It once had a singular purpose, but a historic Yarmouth building has been reimagined into a multi-use facility with its own multi-use space.

The building in question is the old courthouse located on Main Street in Yarmouth. The upper level is now known as the Gilded Courtroom, an event space with apartments, medispa and doctors’ clinic on the lower levels.

“They don’t build things like this anymore, which is unfortunate. There’s no structural issues whatsoever. It is solid,” says building co-owner Tamara Moses. “I just love historic value of those things … I think it can absolutely be (that) things can be reused and repurposed and just make for a unique building.”

The courthouse opened in 1933 and closed in 2010, after the Yarmouth Justice Centre opened, with Moses and her husband buying the property in 2017. The doctor’s clinic opened first, followed by the apartments and the medispa. Plans for the Gilded Courtroom took longer, with renovations finishing this past November.

A renovation with heart

Moses says they preserved as much as possible and tried to highlight some forgotten features.

For example, during renovations, they found a pyramid-shaped skylight that was covered up.

“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh; we need to uncover that. We need to show that.’ And so we put some LED lights kind of behind (it) so that we can light it up,” says Moses. “It’s a really unique.”

Unique is something that Mile East Production co-owner Candice Phibbs agrees with, as they have organized several events in the Gilded Courtroom, including weddings, a makers’ market, a Christmas tea and dinners.

“My favourite feature of the space is definitely the lighting. Often, it’s a feature that’s overlooked in different venues,” says Phibbs.

“Community halls have their purpose, but they’re not necessarily designed with kind of those details in mind. The lighting features that were incorporated really make (the Gilded Courtroom) work for so many different events,” says Phibbs.

“You can have full light if you’re doing a craft fair or tea or anything like that, but then if you’re transitioning to using that space for a wedding or for a gala, you can use the sconces and the chandeliers. It just works so well without having to bring in a different type of lighting to make it work.”

The space has also hosted several public talks, the artists lounge for Nova Scotia Music Week and luncheons.

Overall, Moses says the community’s response to the space is positive.

“We always hear people say ‘Oh, I always loved that building.’ And people who used to work there are just always excited to see the changes that we’ve made,” says Moses.

And, says Phibbs, it just adds to what Yarmouth can offer to visitors, residents and their guests.

“We do hear as an event and wedding company that ‘Oh, Yarmouth doesn’t have any event rentals or wedding venues,’ and I would argue that’s not the case, even prior to having the Gilded Courtroom available,” she says. “But to have it as an asset to the community and have it available for use certainly goes a long way.”

For more information on the Gilded Courtroom, visit: https://www.thegildedcourtroom.com/.