Description of Historic Place

The Machine Shop, also known as Building 2, is located within the Lachine Canal National Historic Site of Canada. It is a classically inspired, one-storey, reinforced concrete building with a smooth stucco finish, a gable roof, and a small shed addition on the north wall. The building’s east and west elevations are divided into five bays by smooth tapered concrete pilasters, each of which features a large window. Machine Shop is one of several workshop buildings found on Mill Street in an industrial zone of Montréal, located to the south and at the easternmost extremity of the Lachine Canal. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Machine Shop is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical value
The Machine Shop is associated with the national historic theme of the development and maintenance of navigable routes that form part of Canada’s national system of canals. The Lachine Canal not only contributed to the economic development of Canada, both industrial and commercial, it also improved the internal navigation of the country’s waterways, and helped to support the national system of defence. The Lachine Canal workshops, including the Machine Shop, served as material storage facilities as well as repair shops, and as such played a key role in the on-going maintenance and repair of the canal. The Machine Shop is also associated with the rapidly expanding city of Montréal and the urbanization of the banks of the canal during the second half of the 19th century, when the Lachine Canal served as the principle industrial artery.

Architectural value
The Machine Shop is a good example of classically inspired, utilitarian building in which the structure is expressed in the exterior elevations. The building is also a very good example of a standard, open, axial factory plan which consists of well-lit, double height work spaces on either side of a central aisle. The Machine Shop is notable for its use of new methods of construction and materials, namely the use of a self-supporting steel structure erected on a concrete foundation and clad with cast-in-place concrete. The Machine Shop is one of Quebec’s oldest known industrial buildings built of concrete.

Environmental value
The Machine Shop reinforces the utilitarian character of the industrial zone of the Lachine Canal, which includes several similar workshop buildings from the same era, and is familiar to the local neighbourhood.

Sources: Gilles Proulx, Jean Belisle in collaboration with Christine Chartre, The Workshops of the Lachine Canal. Federal Heritage Buildings Report 90-018 to 90-023; Machine/Workshop #2, Lachine Canal N.H.S., Montréal, QC. Heritage Character Statement 90-019.

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements of the Machine Shop should be respected.

Its classically inspired, utilitarian aesthetic, functional plan, and good quality materials and competent craftsmanship, as manifested in: the classically inspired proportions and treatment of the exterior elevations including the use of pilasters to divide the exterior walls into five equal bays each of which has a large double-hung window, the smooth stucco finish of the exterior walls, and the rusticated treatment of the foundation; the building’s self-supporting steel structure with its cast-in-place concrete cladding which is expressed in the exterior pilasters; the standard, open axial factory plan with a central aisle and mezzanines; the open, well-lit, double height work spaces on either side of the central aisle; the use of durable materials such as steel and concrete.

The manner in which the Machine Shop reinforces the utilitarian character of this industrial setting, as evidenced in: its materials and scale, which are in keeping with the other workshop buildings from the same era located along Mill Street; its location in an industrial zone of the Lachine Canal.

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 Machine Shop appears to have been built in 1909 according to plans prepared by an engineer from the Department of Railways and Canals. An extension was added in 1955. Designed for utilitarian purposes, the building currently serves as a workshop and warehouse for maintenance equipment for Parks Canada property in the Montreal region. Environment Canada is the custodian department. See FHBRO Building Report 90-19.

Reasons for Designation

The Machine Shop was designated Recognized for its architectural and environmental significance.

The Machine Shop evokes the period of urbanization on the shores of the Lachine Canal and attests to the important role played by the canal in the economic development of Canada.

The architectural interest of the building resides in the use of new construction methods and new materials. As one of the oldest industrial buildings in Quebec constructed entirely of concrete, the Machine Shop is a valuable example of the earliest applications of this material. Designed by engineers to meet functional requirements, the Machine Shop nevertheless presents an attractive architecture and a surprising aesthetic quality for a building of this type.
The Machine Shop and adjacent buildings form a coherent whole which constitutes a cultural landscape and merits preservation.

Character Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Machine Shop resides in the type of construction, the materials, the massing as well as the regular and symmetrical arrangement of the openings.

Several components of the building envelope demonstrate attention to detail; the footing is expressed through false blocks of dressed stone formed into the concrete, the wall framing is accentuated by the addition of concrete buttresses and the gables are covered with shingles. All these characteristics deserve to be retained and protected.

The massing of the Machine Shop is simple and well-ordered. The long walls are divided into five sections separated from each other by pilasters. Each section is pierced by a large window or a door. The balanced distribution of the openings on the two facades must be respected. It would be desirable to restore the composition of the southern gable wall by reintroducing the two windows which once flanked the main door.

On the inside, the Machine Shop adapts the form of an axial factory plan with very sober finishes. The resulting free space facilitates the movement of large, heavy objects. There is no division except a small office space. In order to respect the original function of this building, the current volume should not be fragmented.

The concrete addition, built onto the northern gable wall around 1955, changed the functional design of the building by not extending the axial plan. While this structure does not really add to the aesthetic quality of the Machine Shop, it does not necessarily merit demolition. Its preservation may be justified by Parks Canada’s functional requirements. If a decision is made to keep it, the blocked-up openings should be replaced by a window or door. These options should be confirmed by historical research.

It is recommended that emphasis be placed on preventive maintenance of the building in order to preserve all its historical components. Priority must be given to repairing the steel and concrete structure, and to restoring the crumbling parging. The hung sash windows are important elements and merit restoration. If the roof must be replaced, it would be advisable to redo it in sheet metal, the original material. It would be wise to conduct an inventory of the interior and exterior hardware.

The site on which the Machine Shop is located still has an industrial character today despite various changes, the most important of which is the construction of the nearby Bonaventure highway. It is important that no attempt be made to change this environment. The functional aspect of the site must continue to be evident in order to highlight the original function of the building.