List of oldest buildings in Canada

This is a list of the oldest surviving buildings and structures of significance in each province and territory of Canada.

Alberta

First Nations peoples in Alberta were generally nomadic and did not create permanent structures, however they did often occupy the same site annually for many generations, and created permanent markers in the form of tipi rings and medicine wheels.

The first Europeans to build in Alberta were the fur traders of the North West Company who constructed the first trading posts in Alberta at Fort Chipewyan and Fort Vermilion in 1788. The oldest building in Alberta still on its original foundations is the clerk's quarters at Fort Victoria, which dates from 1865.[1] Few buildings from the fur trade era remain. Most buildings considered "historic" in Alberta are from the post-railway era (e.g. after 1885 in Calgary, after 1891 in Edmonton, etc.)

Building or Complex Location Constructor Year built Notes
Rocky Mountain House Rocky Mountain House Hudson's Bay Company 1799
Fort Augustus, Mark IV Edmonton NWC 1813 Merged with Fort Edmonton, 1821.
Fort Assiniboine Fort Assiniboine Hudson's Bay Company 1824
Lac Ste. Anne Mission Lac Ste. Anne Jean-Baptiste Thibault 1842
Rundle's Mission Pigeon Lake Robert Rundle 1847
Lac La Biche Mission Lac La Biche Oblates of Mary Immaculate 1853

British Columbia

Building Height
[m] 		Floors Built City Architect
Fort Langley storehouse[2] 1 1840s[3] Fort Langley
Fort Kamloops log cabin 1840s Kamloops
St. Ann’s schoolhouse 1844 Victoria
Tod House 1851 Oak Bay
Helmcken House 1852 Victoria
Craigflower Manor[4] 2 1853 Victoria Hudson's Bay Company
The Bastion 3 1853-55 Nanaimo Hudson's Bay Company
St. John the Divine Church 1859 Maple Ridge[5][6]
Father Pandosy Mission[7] 1859 Kelowna
Dodd House 1859 Saanich
Fisgard Lighthouse 1860 Victoria
Race Rocks Lighthouse 1860 Great Race Rock
Naramata Heritage Inn & Spa 1909 Naramata
City Hall Museum 1912 Chilliwack
Brigadier Murphy Chilliwack
Building 24 Chilliwack

Manitoba

Building Height
[m] 		Floors Built City Architect
Prince of Wales Fort 1731-41 near Churchill Royal Engineers
Le Musée de Saint-Boniface Museum[8] 3 1846-51 Winnipeg
Vaughan Street Gaol[9] 1881 Winnipeg
Holy Trinity Anglican Church[10] 1 1884 Winnipeg Charles Wheeler
Saint-Léon Roman Catholic Church 2 1894 Saint-Léon
H. P. Tergesen General Store 1 1898 Gimli
Vendome Hotel 4 1898 Winnipeg Henry S. Griffiths
Eaton's Department Store* 46 9 1904 Winnipeg John Woodman
Royal Tower 48 10 1904 Winnipeg Frank Darling & John A. Pearson
228 Notre Dame 44 11 1911 Winnipeg
Confederation Building 46 12 1911 Winnipeg J. Wilson Gray
National Bank Building 50 13 1911 Winnipeg John D. Atchison
Electric Railway Chambers 45 12 1912 Winnipeg Pratt, Ross/Frost
Hotel Fort Garry 59 14 1913 Winnipeg Ross and MacFarlane
Marlbourgh Hotel 42 10 1913 Winnipeg J. Chisholm & Son
Paris Building 42 11 1915 Winnipeg Woodman & Carey
Bank of Hamilton Building 45 10 1916 Winnipeg John D. Atchison
Brant-Argyle School 2 1914 Argyle Frank R. Evans

New Brunswick

Before 1784, New Brunswick was part of the colony of Nova Scotia and the majority of the population was aborigional. The native populations of the land that is now New Brunswick were a nomadic peoples and thus there are few remains of their settlements. However, in 1784 New Brunswick became its own colony due to an increasingly non-aboriginal population. Mostly forest until United Empire Loyalists started to arrive, the amount of European-style buildings were not constructed for the most part until after their arrival. Many Acadian homes and settlements were destroyed by the British during the expulsion of the Acadians known as the Great Expulsion from 1755 to 1763. The Acadians were a people of French descent that lived in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia for over a century before the British took over the lands that were New France.

Building Height [m] Floors Built City Architect Notes
Treitz Haus 2½ 1769 Moncton The Eastern section of the building was completed in 1769 with the second addition completed in the 1820s.
John Dunn House 3 1784 St. Andrews John Dunn Significant in that it was possibly the first house built in Saint Andrews taller than two floors. A United Empire Loyalist, Dunn brought most of the materials to build the house with him from New York in 1784.
Odell House, Fredericton 3 1785 Fredericton The oldest house in Fredericton.
Smyth House 1½ 1787 Fredericton This house is an excellent example of loyalist construction in late 18th Century New Brunswick. Building out of necessity and with the materials one had to build with: Wood.
Reverend Samuel Andrews House 1½ 1790 Ministers Island
Steeves House Museum[11] 2 1812 Hillsborough
St. Andrews Blockhouse 1813 St. Andrews One of three that once guarded St. Andrews. However, it never saw battle.
Carleton Martello Tower 2 1815 Saint John
Loyalist House 2½ 1810-1817 Saint John David Daniel Merrit
Free Meeting House 1 1821 Moncton Constructed as a meeting place for all denominations as a place of worship until a church could be built for their respected use.
Williston House 2 1824 Miramichi Andrew Currie The oldest building in the Miramichi area.
St. John's Anglican (Stone) Church 1825 Saint John
Government House, Fredericton 1826-1828 Fredericton James Woolford Built after the former Lieutenant-Governors mansion burned to the ground in 1825.
Sir Howard Douglas Hall, University of New Brunswick 1826-27Fredericton James Woolford Also known as "The Old Arts Building", it is the oldest building still officially in use by a university in Canada. It was designed by the same architect as Government House. The third floor was added to accommodate more staff and students in 1876-77.
Saint John County Court House 3 1829 Saint John John Cunningham Inside the courthouse is a free-standing spiral stairway, one of the largest in the country.
Charles Connell House 2½ 1839 Woodstock
Christ Church Cathedral 60 1853 Fredericton Frank Wills
Fredericton City Hall 47 4 1875-76 Fredericton McKean & Fairweather
Bank of New Brunswick (building) 2 1879 Saint John Henry F. Starbuck This building is intended to represent not only itself but the dozens of other buildings destroyed overnight by The Great Fire of Saint John, New Brunswick in 1877. Built on Prince William Street, the Bank of New Brunswick building is encompassed by blocks of other buildings constructed by several other architects between 1877 and 1881 in the area known today as the Trinity Royal Heritage Conservation Area.
New Brunswick Legislature 41 4 1882 Fredericton J.C. Dumaresq Constructed with stone after the first, built of wood, was destroyed by fire in 1880. Also of note on the Parliament Square site is the Old Education Building constructed in 1816 of stone with two more floors added in 1869. Also, the Departmental building, which was completed in 1888.

Newfoundland and Labrador

Building Height
[m] 		Floors Built City Architect
Anderson House ? 1805 St. John's James Anderson
Government House ? 1831 St. John's
Hebron Moravian Mission ? 1830s Hebron
Alexander House ? 1835 Bonavista
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist 24 1847 St. John's George Gilbert Scott
Bank of British North America Building ? 1849 St. John's William Howe Greene
Colonial Building ? 1850 St. John's James Purcell
Church of St. James the Apostle ? 1852 Battle Harbour William Grey
Basilica of St. John The Baptist 48 1855 St. John's J.P. Jones
Viking Houses ca. 1000 L'Anse aux Meadows
Point Amour lighthouse 32 1854-57 Point Amour Charles François Xavier Baby
Saint Bonaventure's College ? 1858 St. John's

Northwest Territories

Building Height
[m] 		Floors Built City Architect
The Wildcat Cafe ? 1 1937 Yellowknife ?

Nova Scotia

Building Built City Architect Notes Image
Fort Anne 1702 -1708[12] Fort Anne Remnants of the French fort were incorporated into the English structure. The Magazine was built in 1708.
deGannes-Cosby House 1708[13] Annapolis Royal Rebuilt following a fire in 1707. Original structure dated to 1693.
Adams-Ritchie House 1712[13] Annapolis Royal
Fort Edward Blockhouse 1750[14] Windsor The Blockhouse was erected in 1750 as part of the Fort Edward complex. An Acadian church was torn down to make way for the Fort. Most of the other buildings (Barracks, etc.) were lost to a fire in 1922.
St. Paul's Church 1750 Halifax
Sinclair Inn 1710, 1712 & 1781 [15] Annapolis Royal The main structure known as the Sinclair Inn dates to 1781. The building incorporates within its structure two earlier French period buildings - the Soullard (1710) and Skene (1712) houses. The dates have been verified by dendrochronology.
Halifax Town Clock 1803 Halifax
Province House 1819 Halifax
St. Mary’s Basilica 1829 Halifax
All Saints Cathedral 1910 Halifax

Ontario

Building Height
[m] 		Floors Built City Architect
Mohawk Chapel 1785 Brantford
Hawley House 1785 Bath
Old Hay Bay Church[16] 2 1792 Adolphustown
Fairfield House 1793 Amherstview
Fort York 1793 Toronto
Scadding Cabin 1794 Toronto
Whirlpool House 1796 Niagara Falls
Battlefield House 2 1796 Hamilton
Duff Baby House 2 1798 Windsor
St. Andrews Church 1 1802 St. Andrews
Rochleau House 3 1808 Kingston
François Baby House 2 1812 Windsor
Lynde House 1812 Whitby
Joseph Schneider Haus 2 1816 Kitchener
Ham House 2 1816 Bath
The Grange 3 1817 Toronto D'Arcy Boulton Jr
Campbell House 2 1822 Toronto
St Mark's Anglican Church 1822 Port Hope
John Moore House 2 1824 Sparta
Walbridge House 1825 Newcastle
Stone House currently the Bytown Museum 3 1827 Ottawa Thomas McKay
Osgoode Hall 1829-1832 Toronto
Sharon Temple 1832 Sharon Ebenezer Doan
Fort Henry 1832 Kingston Royal Engineers
McKinnon-Eakin House 2 1835 (Unionville) Markham
Dundurn Castle 1835 Hamilton Robert Charles Wetherell
Haldimand House 1836-1842 Caledonia James Little
Rideau Hall 2 1838 Ottawa Thomas McKay
Bellevue House 3 1840 Kingston Charles Hales
Bristow's Inn 2 1840s Elmira Edward Bristow
Ruthven Park 2 1846 Cayuga John Latshaw
Dominion House 2 Before 1850 Windsor Jimmy Switchblade
Paris Old Town Hall 3 1854[17] Paris
Mackenzie Hall 1856 Windsor
Caledonia Town Hall 2 1857 Caledonia John Turner
Canadian Parliament 92 13 1865 Ottawa John A. Pearson & Marchand
Pepper Hill 1870 Carlisle Unknown
St. James Cathedral 93 1874 Toronto Frederick Cumberland and Thomas Ridout
Mackenzie Building Royal Military College of Canada 1878 Kingston Robert Gage
Victoria Hall 3½ 1888 Hamilton William Stewart
Ontario Legislature 55 5 1893 Toronto
Old City Hall 104 5 1899 Toronto E. J. Lennox
King Edward Hotel 72 * 18 1903 Toronto E. J. Lennox
Canadian Northern Railway Station[18] 3 1906 Thunder Bay Ralph B. Bratt
Canadian Pacific Building 60 * 15 1911 Toronto Frank Darling & John A. Pearson
Prince Arthur Hotel 32 6 1911 Thunder Bay
Canadian Museum of Nature 50 4 1912 Ottawa David Ewart
Chateau Laurier 57 11 1912 Ottawa Ros
Whalen Building[19] 35 8 1913 Thunder Bay Brown and Vallance of Montreal
Currie Building Royal Military College of Canada 1922 Kingston
National Building*[20] (demolished Dec. 11, 2006; facades to be re-erected as part of future Bay Adelaide Centre) 48 * 12 1926 Toronto Chapman and Oxley
Queen's Quay Terminal 43 13 1926 Toronto Moores & Dunford
Pigott Building 64 18 1929 Hamilton Prack & Prack
Royal York Hotel 124 28 1929 Toronto Ross and MacFarlane
Tip Top Lofts 48 11 1929 Toronto
Old Toronto Star Building* 88 * 22 1929 Toronto Chapman and Oxley
Royal Edward Arms 35 8 1929 Thunder Bay Dorr and Dorr
Canada Permanent Trust Building 77 18 1930 Toronto FHilton Wilkes
Commerce Court North Building 145 34 1930 Toronto John A. Pearson
Private Patients Pavilion (Bell Wing)* Toronto General Hospital 40 * 10 1930 Toronto Frank Darling & John A. Pearson
Victory Building 80 * 20 1930 Toronto Baldwin & Greene
Canada Life Building 87 15 1931 Toronto Henry Sproatt & Ernest Rolph
Maple Leaf Gardens 50 1931 Toronto Ross and MacFarlane
Christ the King Cathedral 52 1933 Hamilton Hutton & Souter
Whitney Block 64 * 16 1933 Toronto John M. Lyle, Matthers & Halderly
Princess Margaret Hospital 72 * 18 1935 Toronto
Supreme Court of Canada 47 4 1939 Ottawa

Quebec

The native inhabitants in Quebec were generally nomadic and did not create any permanent structures. The first Europeans were settlers from France, who founded Quebec City in 1608 and erected there the first foundations such as the Habitation made of wood and set up by Samuel de Champlain. Despite the founding of other significant settlements in New France in the 17th century, notably Trois-Rivières in 1634 and Montreal in 1642, there are only a few 17th century buildings that still survive outside the Capitale-Nationale region. Therefore, the oldest buildings that still remain standing in Quebec are found heavily in and around Quebec City. All such buildings date from the French regime and are protected as historical monuments under the law enforced by the Ministry of Culture and Communication of Quebec.[21]

Building Built City Architect Image
Maison des Jésuites-de-Sillery 1637 Sillery, Quebec City
Maison Puiseaux 1637 Quebec City
Maison de madame de La Peltrie 1644 Quebec City
Basilique-cathédrale de Notre-Dame-de-Québec 1647 Quebec City Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry, Jean Baillairgé
Maison Delisle 1648 Deschambault-Grondines
Maison du Duc-de-Kent 1648 Quebec City
Maison Bouchard 1660 L'Isle-aux-Coudres
Maison LeBer-LeMoyne 1669 Montreal (Lachine) Jacques Le Ber, Charles Le Moyne
Manoir de Niverville 1668 Trois-Rivières
Maison Marcoux 1670 Quebec City
Chapelle Notre-Dame-des-Anges 1671 Notre-Dame-des-Anges
Maison-Laberge 1674 L'Ange-Gardien
Moulin à vent de Grondines 1674 Deschambault-Grondines
Maison François-Jacquet-dit-Langevin 1675 Quebec City
Séminaire de Québec 1675 Quebec City François de Laval
La Poudrière 1676 Desbiens
Manoir de Charleville 1677 Boischatel
Maison Amiot 1679 Quebec City
Sacristie de l'Hôpital-Général-de-Québec 1679 Notre-Dame-des-Anges Jean-Baptiste de Saint-Vallier
Bâtiment des Récollets de l'Hôpital-Général-de-Québec 1680 Notre-Dame-des-Anges Jean-Baptiste de Saint-Vallier
Maison L'Âtre 1680 Saint-Famille
Maison Rageot 1682 Quebec City
Maison Chavigny-Gosselin 1683 Quebec City
Maison Louis-Fornel 1683 Quebec City
Maison Louis-Jolliet 1683 Quebec City
Maison Frérot 1683 Quebec City
Maison Maheu-Couillard 1683 Quebec City
Maison Hazeur 1684 Quebec City
Maison Delage 1684 Quebec City
Tours du fort des Messieurs de Saint-Sulpice 1684 Montreal
Vieux-Séminaire de Saint-Sulpice 1684 Montreal Society of Saint-Sulpice
Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, Quebec City 1687 Quebec City
Maison Saint-Gabriel 1698 Montreal Marguerite Bourgeoys
Maison Lamontagne 1744 Rimouski
Maison Routhier 1755 Sainte-Foy
Saint-Charles-Borromée 1830 Charlesbourg

Saskatchewan

Building Height [m] Floors Built City Architect Image
Cumberland House[22] 1774 Cumberland House Samuel Hearne
Holy Trinity Anglican Church 1854 Stanley Mission The Rev. Robert Hunt
Mission of St. Antoine de Padoue[23] ? 1 1884 Batoche Oblates of Mary Immaculate
Ludger Gareau
Marr Residence ? 2 1885 Saskatoon
All Saints Anglican Church 1887 Katepwa Beach
Almighty Voice Jailhouse 1880 Duck Lake [24]
Territorial Administration Building ? 2 1891 Regina Thomas Fuller
Jean Caron Sr. Farm Home[25] 1895 Batoche Jean Caron Sr. [26]
All Saints Anglican Church 1 1896 Duck Lake
Hudson's Bay Company Store 1897 Fort Qu'Appelle
Motherwell Homestead 1897 Abernethy William Richard Motherwell [27]
Addison Sod House 1909-11 Kindersley James Addison
Saskatchewan Legislative Building 53 3 1912 Regina Edward and William Sutherland Maxwell
Hotel Saskatchewan 53 12 1927 Regina Ross and Macdonald
Hotel Senator ? ? 1908 Saskatoon Walter William LaChance
Hotel Bessborough 70.7 14 1931 Saskatoon Archibald and Schofield

See also

References

  1. ↑ Real Estate Weekly
  2. ↑ Canada.com Access date: 2009-10-17
  3. ↑ Canada.com A Top 40 list of B.C.’s oldest buildings Access Date: 2009-10-17
  4. ↑ BritishColumbia.com Historic Craigflower Manor Access date: 2009-10-17
  5. ↑ St John the Divine Anglican Church http://stainedglasscanada.ca/site.php?site=247
  6. ↑ St John the Divine, Medical and British Columbia History http://stainedglasscanada.ca/site.php?site=246
  7. ↑ Okanagan Historical Society Access date: 2009-10-17
  8. ↑ St. Boniface Museum
  9. ↑ http://www.virtual.heritagewinnipeg.com/vignettes/vignettes_125W.htm
  10. ↑
  11. ↑ http://www.steeveshousemuseum.ca/
  12. ↑ "Fort Anne National Historic Site of Canada". Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Welcome to the Town of Annapolis Royal > Heritage Buildings & Awards".
  14. ↑ Parks Canada, Fort Edward NHS http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/edward/natcul/natcul1.aspx
  15. ↑ "Dendroarchaeological investigation of the Sinclair Inn, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia" (pdf). Retrieved 2013-02-05.
  16. ↑ Canadian Register of Historic Places
  17. ↑ MacRae, Marion (1983). Cornerstones of Order. University of Michigan: C. Irwin. pp. 168–170. ISBN 9780772013873.
  18. ↑ City of Thunder Bay Assets City of Thunder Bay Retrieved 2012-4-6
  19. ↑ City of Thunder Bay Assets City of Thunder Bay Retrieved 2012-4-6
  20. ↑ National Building (Toronto) heritage designation (PDF)
  21. ↑
  22. ↑ Cumberland House (historical site, Canada)—Britannica Online ... Access date 2009-06-30
  23. ↑ Parks Canada Batoche National Historic Site Access date 2009-06-30
  24. ↑ Historic Places Canada Access Date June 30, 2009
  25. ↑ [Parks Canada - Education Program, 2009 Parks Canada Batoche National Historic Site] Access date 2009-06-30
  26. ↑ Jean Caron Farm house Saskatoon Gen Web Image Access date 2009-06-30
  27. ↑ Virtual Saskatchewan Motherwell Homestead 2009-06-30

External links