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. Few buildings from the fur trade era remain.
There is said to be 25 buildings built prior to 1882 still surviving in Alberta.
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 | Built | Location | Architect | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Father Lacombe Chapel | 1861[1] | St. Albert | Fr. Albert Lacombe | |
Clerk's Quarters | 1865[2] | Fort Victoria | George Flett | |
Rocky Mountain House Chimneys | 1868[3] | Rocky Mountain House | Hudson's Bay Company | |
C.O. Card House | 1887[4] | Cardston | ||
Banff Springs Hotel | 1888 | Banff | Canadian Pacific Railway | |
Hunt House | ca. 1878 | Calgary | Hudson's Bay Company | |
Lougheed House | 1891 | Calgary | James & Isabella Lougheed | |
Ralph Connor Church | 1891[5] | Canmore | ||
Strathcona Hotel | 1891 | Edmonton | Calgary & Edmonton Railway Co. | |
Lac La Biche Convent | 1894[6] | Lac La Biche | Oblates of Mary Immaculate | |
Roland Michener House | 1894[7] | Lacombe | ||
Union Bank | 1899[8] | Fort Macleod | David Grier |
British Columbia
Building | Height [m] | Floors | Built | City | Architect |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fort Langley storehouse[9] | 1 | 1840s[10] | 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[11] | 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[12][13] | |||
Father Pandosy Mission[14] | 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 | ||
Lower Fort Gary | 1831 to 1848 | near Selkirk, Manitoba | Hudson Bay Co. | ||
St Andrews on the Red[15] | 1 | 1849 | RM of St Andrews | ||
Vaughan Street Gaol[16] | 1881 | Winnipeg | |||
Holy Trinity Anglican Church[17] | 1 | 1884 | Winnipeg | Charles Wheeler | |
Neepawa County Courthouse | 3 | 1884 | Neepawa | C. Osborn Wikenden | |
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[18] | 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 | 1826-27 | Fredericton | 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. | |
Marysville Cotton Mill | 4 | 1883-85 | Fredericton | Greene and Company Mill Architects and Engineers | The imposing, four-storey, red-brick cotton mill building features a flat-roofed central tower, and numerous multi-pane mullion window. It was Canada's second largest Cotton Mill at the time. The Cotton Mill opened in the spring of 1885, with full production being reached in November 1889. It now sits rehabilitated to serve as government offices.[19] |
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[20] | Fort Anne | Remnants of the French fort were incorporated into the English structure. The Magazine was built in 1708. | |||
deGannes-Cosby House | 1708[21] | Annapolis Royal | Rebuilt following a fire in 1707. Original structure dated to 1693. | |||
Adams-Ritchie House | 1712[21] | Annapolis Royal | ||||
Fort Edward Blockhouse | 1750[22] | 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 [23] | 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[24] | 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 | ||||
The Olde Angel Inn | 1815 (Circa 1789) | Niagara-on-the-Lake | ||||
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 | |||
Eldon House | 1834 | London | ||||
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[25] | 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[26] | 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[27] | 35 | 8 | 1913 | Thunder Bay | Brown and Vallance of Montreal | |
Currie Building Royal Military College of Canada | 1922 | Kingston | ||||
National Building*[28] (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 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.[29]
Saskatchewan
Building | Height [m] | Floors | Built | City | Architect | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Holy Trinity Anglican Church | 1854 | Stanley Mission | The Rev. Robert Hunt | |||
Mission of St. Antoine de Padoue[30] | ? | 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 | [31] | |||
Powder Magazine | 1890 | Cumberland House | [32] | |||
Territorial Administration Building | ? | 2 | 1891 | Regina | Thomas Fuller | |
Jean Caron Sr. Farm Home[33] | 1895 | Batoche | Jean Caron Sr. | [34] | ||
All Saints Anglican Church | 1 | 1896 | Duck Lake | |||
Hudson's Bay Company Store | 1897 | Fort Qu'Appelle | ||||
Motherwell Homestead | 1897 | Abernethy | William Richard Motherwell | [35] | ||
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
- Architecture of Canada
- List of heritage buildings in Vancouver
- List of oldest buildings and structures in Halifax, Nova Scotia
- List of oldest buildings and structures in Toronto
- Gothic Revival architecture in Canada
References
- ↑ Historic Places Canada Access date: 2015-06-13
- ↑ About Victoria Settlement Access date: 2015-06-13
- ↑ Parks Canada Access date: 2015-06-10
- ↑ Canada's Historic Places Access date: 2015-06-13
- ↑ Canada's Historic Places Access date: 2015-06-13
- ↑ Canada's Historic Places Access date: 2015-06-11
- ↑ Canada's Historic Places Access date: 2015-06-13
- ↑ Canada's Historic Places Access date: 2015-06-13
- ↑ Canada.com Access date: 2009-10-17
- ↑ Canada.com A Top 40 list of B.C.’s oldest buildings Access Date: 2009-10-17
- ↑ BritishColumbia.com Historic Craigflower Manor Access date: 2009-10-17
- ↑ St John the Divine Anglican Church http://stainedglasscanada.ca/site.php?site=247
- ↑ St John the Divine, Medical and British Columbia History http://stainedglasscanada.ca/site.php?site=246
- ↑ Okanagan Historical Society Access date: 2009-10-17
- ↑
- ↑ http://www.virtual.heritagewinnipeg.com/vignettes/vignettes_125W.htm
- ↑
- ↑ http://www.steeveshousemuseum.ca/
- ↑ http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=12664
- ↑ "Fort Anne National Historic Site of Canada". Retrieved 2013-02-05.
- 1 2 "Welcome to the Town of Annapolis Royal > Heritage Buildings & Awards".
- ↑ Parks Canada, Fort Edward NHS http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/edward/natcul/natcul1.aspx
- ↑ "Dendroarchaeological investigation of the Sinclair Inn, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia" (pdf). Retrieved 2013-02-05.
- ↑ Canadian Register of Historic Places
- ↑ MacRae, Marion (1983). Cornerstones of Order. University of Michigan: C. Irwin. pp. 168–170. ISBN 9780772013873.
- ↑ City of Thunder Bay Assets City of Thunder Bay Retrieved 2012-4-6
- ↑ City of Thunder Bay Assets City of Thunder Bay Retrieved 2012-4-6
- ↑ National Building (Toronto) heritage designation (PDF)
- ↑
- ↑ Parks Canada Batoche National Historic Site Access date 2009-06-30
- ↑ Historic Places Canada Access Date June 30, 2009
- ↑ Canada's Historic Places Access date 2015-06-10
- ↑ [Parks Canada - Education Program, 2009 Parks Canada Batoche National Historic Site] Access date 2009-06-30
- ↑ Jean Caron Farm house Saskatoon Gen Web Image Access date 2009-06-30
- ↑ Virtual Saskatchewan Motherwell Homestead 2009-06-30
- "Architecture in Canada" The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Kalman, Harold D. A History of Canadian Architecture. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1994.
- Canada by Design: Parliament Hill, Ottawa at Library and Archives Canada
- Baker, Marilyn, Manitoba's Third Legislative Building: Symbol in Stone:The Art and Politics of a Public Building, Hyperion Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba 1986
- Cameron, Stanley, Stones of History: Canada's Houses of Parliament, Film Board of Canada
- Denby & Kilbourn, Toronto Observed: Its Architecture, Patrons, and History,Oxford University Press, Toronto 1986
- Edwards, Gregory, Hidden Cities: Art & Design in Architectural Details of Vancouver & Victoria, Talonbooks, Vancouver, BC 1991.
- Emporis.com
- Kalman, Phillips and Ward, Exploring Vancouver: The Essential Architectural Guide, UBC Press, Vancouver 1993
- Kvaran, Einar Einarsson, Architectural Sculpture in America, unpublished manuscript
- Maitland, Hucker & Ricketts, A Guide to Canadian Architectural Styles, broadview press, Peterborough, ON 1992
- McHugh, Patricia, Toronto Architecture: A City Guide, McClelland & Stewart Inc., Toronto 1989
- McMullen, Barbara, Ottawa's Terra Cotta Architecture: Two Walking Tours, Heritage Ottawa, Ottawa, 2003
- skyscraperpage.com
- Taggart, Jim, The Architecture of Downtown Victoria, Blue Steps - Pacific Walking Tour Guides, Vancouver, BC 2000
- The Notman Archives.
External links
- Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, – biographies of Canadian architects and lists of their buildings from 1800 to 1950.