Description of Historic Place

The Louis S. St-Laurent Building is located in the urban setting of Quebec’s City’s Upper Town. It is an impressive three-and-a-half storey, corner building designed elaborately in the Second Empire style, with later Beaux-Arts design elements. Clad in cut stone, its symmetrical façades are embellished with a rich classical vocabulary and ornamentation, culminating in an attic storey. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

Louis S. St-Laurent Building is a Classified Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value
Much of the value of the building lies in its historical associations. The construction of the original building marked an important stage in the development of an international postal communication network, and the Louis S. St-Laurent Building is one of the few postal facilities, to survive from this period.

Architectural Value
The Louis S. St-Laurent Building is valued for its very good aesthetic quality and functional design. It represents an early and important use in Canada of the Second Empire Style, which subsequently became somewhat obscured with the reworking and expansion of the building, which took place between 1913 and 1919. The resulting complex reflected the more classically-inspired and grandiose approach of the Beaux Arts style popular at the time of the later modifications.

Environmental Value
Louis S. St-Laurent Building reinforces the historic character of its urban setting. Recent redevelopment work has further modified some of the exterior detailing, but overall the building remains an architecturally significant and dominant element in the important urban setting of Quebec's Upper Town.

Sources: Nathalie Clerk & Marc De Caraffe, Louis S. St-Laurent Building, Old Post Office, Quebec City, Quebec, Federal Heritage Building Review Office Building Report 82-010; Louis S. St-Laurent Building, Old Post Office, Quebec City, Quebec, Heritage Character Statement, 82-010

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements of Louis S. St-Laurent Building should be respected.

Its very good aesthetic and functional design and good craftsmanship and materials, for example:
— its three-and-a-half storey, L-shaped massing clad in carved ashlar limestone;
— the remaining Second Empire style elements, including the projecting pilasters, the classical ornamentation, including the columns, entablature and voussoirs;
— the Beaux-Arts style elements added during the 1913-1919 modifications, including the sympathetic stone attic storey completed in the same design vocabulary as the original building, the flat roof, the monumental entrance preceded by a portico topped by a pediment and the dome that crowns the building;
— the extension added to the main building in 1913-1919.

The manner in which the Louis S. St-Laurent Building reinforces the historic character of its urban setting and is a landmark in the region, as evidenced by:
— its importance as a marker for a significant stage in the development of an international postal communication network and as a rare example of a post office from this period;
— its style and its importance as a local landmark, which makes it an architecturally significant and dominant element in the urban setting of Quebec's Upper Town.

Heritage Character Statement

Disclaimer - The heritage character statement was developed by FHBRO to explain the reasons for the designation of a federal heritage building and what it is about the building that makes it significant (the heritage character). It is a key reference document for anyone involved in planning interventions to federal heritage buildings and is used by FHBRO in their review of interventions.

The Former Post Office was built in 1872–1873 to the designs of Pierre Gauvreau, an architect in the Chief Architect’s Office of the Department of Public Works during T.S. Scott’s tenure as Chief Architect. It was substantially enlarged and modified in 1913–1919 under Chief Architect David Ewart. The building was originally used entirely as a post office. Currently, a post office is located on the ground floor and the Parks Canada
Quebec Service Centre occupies the remainder of the building. It continues to be the property of Public Works and Government Services Canada. See FHBRO BuildingReport 82-10.

Reason for Designation

The Former Post Office was designated “Classified” due to its historical, architectural and environmental value.

The construction of the building marked an important stage in the development of an international postal communication network. The post office was an early and notable use of the Second Empire style in Canada, a popular style for government and commercial buildings in Quebec, given the style’s association with France. The
character became somewhat obscured in the renovation and expansion of 1913–1919. The resulting complex reflected the more classically inspired and grandiose approach of the Beaux Arts style, which was in vogue at the time.

The building is prominently located in Quebec City, on the corner of Côte de la Montagne and Passage du Chien d’Or (formerly Rue Buade) between Montmorency Park (site of Canada’s first and second parliaments), Place d’Armes and the Grand Séminaire de Quebec, and across from the Château Frontenac. Recent renovations
have altered some of the exterior ornamentation, but overall the building remains a dominant and architecturally significant feature of the remarkable urban setting of Quebec City’s “Upper Town.”

The Quebec City Post Office is one of the last surviving of a group of post offices and customs offices erected from 1872 to 1891, as part of a public works program, under Chief Architect T. S. Scott.

Character Defining Elements

The heritage value of the former post office lies in its stylistic references, ornamentation, architectural details, building materials, roof, openings, form, certain interior details, and the relationship of its scale to its immediate surroundings.

In the 1913–1919 renovations, much of the new ornamentation replicated the existing Second Empire elements to create visual uniformity between the addition and the original building. The ornate façades, which are achieved by the classical ornamentation of the openings including the segmentally arched windows, the projecting pilasters, the entrance to the Passage du Chien d’Or, and by the sculptural quality of the limestone cladding of the exterior walls, are reminiscent of this early style.

The former post office has several Beaux-Arts elements that reflect the style of its 1913–1919 expansion. Its new flat roof, majestic portico, dome, clock, stone balustrades and grandeur contribute to the monumental and powerful character so sought after in this style.

Many of the original materials were lost during an interior refurbishment in the 1970s and 1980s. However, the marble countertops and plinths, the columns with capitals, the decorative mouldings and the coffered ceilings of the main floor post office are important elements that have been preserved. These elements should be protected because they are rare examples of original materials and illustrate the historical evolution of the building. The layout and flow of the post office are also of heritage value and should be preserved.

The building’s “L” shape is appropriate for its corner location. The building’s scale and location give it a significant presence in Quebec’s Upper Town. These elements were always in demand for the public architecture of that time.

For more information, please consult the FHBRO Code of Practice.

Revised
1998.12.18