Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 24

Second Empire Style in Canadian Architecture

by Christina Cameron and Janet Wright

Illustrations and Legends

91 917 Loch Lomond Road, Saint John, New Brunswick Material: Wood This charming residence, now situated in the outskirts of Saint John, may be modest in size but is certainly not modest in dress. Rarely have the decorative possibilities of wood been handled with such variety and exuberance. The brightly painted carved details which have been liberally sprinkled over the building and the contrasting patterns of the wood shingles and horizontal and diagonal planking produce an exceptionally fanciful version of the Second Empire style. Typical of the Maritimes are the dormer windows which cut through the eaves line and are edged by giant consoles. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

92 Birchwood 35 Longworth Avenue, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Constructed: 1876 Material: Wood According to the Charlottetown Examiner of June 2, 1877 the plans for Birchwood were drawn up by the owner, Lemuel Cambridge Owen, an important shipowner and merchant in the community. His house shows an awareness of Second Empire design in such features as the mansard roof, projecting central pavilion with its mansarded tower and delicate iron cresting that enlivens both the verandah and the roof. Yet beneath these elements, one recognizes the compact form and broader proportions of the earlier classicizing tradition. This conservative approach would seem to confirm the hypothesis that an amateur architect was responsible for the design. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

93 Queen Hotel 494 Saint George Street, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia Material: Wood Originally built as a private residence for Thomas Ritchie, the building served as a posh boarding house until 1897 when it became a boys' private school. In 1921 W.C. MacPherson bought the Ritchie House to replace the original Queen Hotel which had burnt down that year. Today it is still known as the Queen Hotel although it now operates as a boarding home for the aged. An unusually grand and showy residence for a small community such as Annapolis Royal, the design reflects that characteristic Maritime taste for minute, intricately carved wood detail in the shaped window surrounds, cornice brackets, and delicate fretted ornaments under the eaves. The addition of an extra cornice molding at the point where the mansard roof changes from concave to convex curve gives the roofline a highly individualistic appearance. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

94 Ship Cove Road Burin, Burin Peninsula, Newfoundland Material: Wood This modest house would seem to have little in common with the sumptuous and richly ornamented Second Empire style; yet the use of the mansard roof links it with the more formal tradition. Typical of Newfoundland vernacular interpretation are certain forms like the almost flat upper portion of the mansard and the dormers which have semicircular windows set into a gable shape. The projecting central section with flattened tower may perhaps be a distant echo of the Second Empire pavilion. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

95 176-182 Gower Street, Saint John's, Newfoundland Constructed: post 1892 Material: Wood This type of row house, characterized by clapboard siding and mansard roof with almost flat upper slopes, was built time and again after the fire of 1892 which destroyed almost all of the downtown core of Saint John's. Buildings of this nature can be found throughout the city and form an essential part of its distinctive architectural character. This plain, economical design is far removed from the flamboyant and extravagant Second Empire style; however, the survival of the mansard roof indicates the lasting mark left by this tradition. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

96 30 Monkstown Road, Saint John's, Newfoundland Constructed: 1875 Architects: J. and J.T. Southcott Material: Wood This residential building is one of a pair of identical structures situated side by side on the fashionable suburban street of Monkstown Road. Both were designed by the father and son team of J. and J.T. Southcott whose names became so closely associated with the Second Empire style in Saint John's that it has been locally referred to as the "Southcott style". The Monkstown Road pair are typical of the Southcotts' Second Empire residences in the use of the bellcast mansard roof, round-headed dormers, and two bay windows on the front. The absence of a prominent front entrance, a product of an interior plan with the central hallway running parallel to the main façade, is an unusual but often repeated feature of Southcott houses. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

97 31 Lincoln Street, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia Material: Wood In Lunenburg the mansard roof made a considerable impact although the Second Empire style was modified by established building traditions, imparting a distinctive local flavour to this style. The house at 31 Lincoln Street, constructed of wood, symmetrical in plan and restrained in detail is a typical example of larger domestic building of this style in Lunenburg. The three-sectioned projecting frontispiece, characterized by strong horizontal divisions, is unified by the semicircular forms of the doorway and windows. (Engineering and Architecture Branch, Department of Indian and Northern Affairs.)

98 143 Queen Street, Truro, Nova Scotia Material: Wood As seen in an old photograph published in a late 19th-century pictorial guide to Truro, Queen Street was lined with spacious Victorian homes situated on ample, well-treed lots — a typical suburban environment of the late 19th century. These residences offered a wide range of styles of which the Second Empire style, as typified by 143 Queen Street, was among the most popular. By Maritime standards the decoration of 143 Queen Street is quite reserved, being restricted to light scroll brackets under the eaves and boxed bay windows, a recurring feature of Second Empire residences in Truro which contributes to the angular appearance of the façade. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

99 Shaughnessy House 1923 Dorchester Street West, Montreal, Quebec Constructed: 1874-76 Architect: William T. Thomas Material: Stone Among the largest of Montreal's stately mansions, the Shaughnessy House was originally a double dwelling built jointly for textile manufacturer Robert Brown and Canadian Pacific Railway magnate Duncan Mcintyre. It bears all the standard features of high-style Second Empire including pavilion massing, bay windows, semicircular window openings, and an ornate mansard roof with oval dormers and rich iron cresting. True to Second Empire ideals, it enjoys a wide vista and a pleasing view over the Saint Lawrence River valley. The use of stone, however, puts the stamp of Quebec on this house. The design comes from William T. Thomas, one of Montreal's most prolific architects who specialized in fashionable residences in the Italian manner. The builders were master builder and mason Charles Lamontagne, and master carpenter and joiner Edward Maxwell. The house has remarkable associations with railway history, having been occupied by such notables as William Van Horne, who lived here from 1882 (the year he became general manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway) until 1891, and Lord Shaughnessy who moved into the eastern half in 1892 and later took over the entire house when he became president of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1899. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

100 3532-3538 Sainte-Famille Street, Montreal, Quebec Constructed: 1872 (no. 3532); 1876 (no. 3538) Material: Stone Built in the 1870s by mercantile agent Charles Gagnon, these two houses reflect the particularities of small-scale development at this period. Gagnon began by occupying the earlier house, and moved four years later to the second house when it was completed. Although most of Sainte-Famille Street was developed at this time, land was owned in small parcels; consequently, houses are generally similar, but specific details are different. Gagnon's pair are typical of Montreal row houses in the Second Empire vein with their façades articulated by projecting pavilions capped by mansarded towers, their high basements serving as full living storeys, and especially in their use of contrasting textures of stone. Although no architect has been identified for the design of Gagnon's houses, it is interesting to note that his next door neighbour was architect A.G. Fowler in 1873 and then architect A.F. Dunlop from 1874-76. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

101 661-675 Grande Allée East, Quebec, Quebec Constructed: 1882-83 Architect: Joseph-Ferdinand Peachy Material: Stone This residential row on Quebec's most prestigious thoroughfare was put up by Abraham Joseph, a prosperous merchant who occupied a splendid residence on an adjoining site. The specifications called for work of the best quality, including such requirements as fine bush-hammered Deschambault stone, without veins, marks or other defects, for the ground storey, and metal-covered roofs similar to the new construction at the Séminaire de Québec (see text 42). Following the plans of Joseph-Ferdinand Peachy, the architect who so favoured the Second Empire style, the builders achieved a picturesque effect, by conservative Quebec City standards, through the rugged masonry, bay windows, decorative dormers and a mutlitude of brackets. Attractive details like the segmental openings and the door and window surrounds lend coherence to the overall design. The contractors were John O'Leary for masonry, Joseph Garneau for carpentry and joinery, William McDonald for painting and Zepherin Vaudry for plumbing and metalwork. When these houses were completed, two of his sons, Andrew and Montefiore Joseph, active partners in the business, occupied Nos. 665 and 675, residing there until well into the 20th century. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

102 3837-3893 de Bullion Street, Montreal, Quebec Constructed: 1876-81 Material: Brick This long terrace, put up on what used to be called Cadieux Street, occupied most of the city block between Napoleon and Roy streets. Development began in 1876 and houses were gradually added until 1881 when the terrace contained eighteen identical structures. Unlike some of the grand stone terraces in Montreal, this row was built on an economic scale, only one storey in height with inexpensive brick. Token reference to Second Empire influence is given in the slight wall projection on each unit that suggests pavilion massing, the shallow mansard-roofed towers with some iron cresting still intact, and the semicircular dormers. The terrace was intended to provide housing for modest income groups as a random sample of the 1881 street directory confirms. The occupants at that time included merchants, clerks, stenographers, bookkeepers, insurance agents and grocers. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

103 28 Guénette Street, Lévis, Quebec Constructed: Before 1889 Material: Brick This imposing dwelling is just one of several substantial mansard-roofed residences recorded by the Canadian Inventory of Historic Building in Lévis, a concentration that reflects the growth in size and stature of this urban centre in the last quarter of the 19th century. Little is known about the house except that building contractor Joseph Paquet lived here from at least 1889 until after 1915. Whether Paquet was the original owner and/or builder is unknown. While the walls are handled in a relatively simple manner, enlivened mainly by the use of different colours of brick (a favorite device of Gothic Revival designers), the mansard roof ranks among the sophisticated characteristics of Second Empire influence. The curved ribs of the main roof are echoed by the tower, which also features delicate round windows similar to models illustrated in American pattern books. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

104 118 Fraser Street, Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec Constructed: ca. 1880 Material: Brick This attractive suburban villa in the community of Rivèere-du Loup, formerly known as Fraserville, proves that Second Empire influence extended far beyond Canada's principal cities. Though the wall surfaces are flat and the ornamentation timid, the overall design is appealing for its play of semicircular and segmental forms. A fine touch is the graceful flare of the ribs on the main roof and tower. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

105 52 Vachon Boulevard, Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce, Quebec Constructed: 1885 Material: Wood Shortly after it blossomed in major urban centres, Second Empire reached the more remote communities in Canada like the Beauce region south of Quebec City. This residence at Sainte Marie-de-Beauce reflects a regional preference for frame and clapboard construction, but in design, follows the new Second Empire craze. The sophistication of certain details — the convex ribbing on the mansarded tower and the round decorative windows — suggests the influence of pattern books from the nearby northern United States. The architect has not yet been identified. The house was built for a local merchant, Gédéon Beaucher dit Morency, who sold both house and contents two years later to notary Georges Théberge when he left Saint-Marie-de-Beauce for Montreal. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

106 7214 Royale Avenue, Château Richer, Quebec Constructed: ca. 1880 Material: Wood In its main form, this house represents the culmination of the vernacular tradition in rural Quebec, the result of slow evolution over two centuries. Typical features include the one-and-a-half storey height, raised basement, full-length verandah, symmetrical design of the façade and classicizing doorway trim. What is new is the mansard roof. Permitting full use of the attic storey, it was probably adopted for its practical advantage rather than for any connection with fashionable Second Empire style. Characteristic of the Quebec interpretation of the two-sided mansard are the marked rise in the upper slope and the bellcast eaves or larmier which has such a pronounced extension that it provides shelter for the verandah. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

107 2 Saint-Joseph Boulevard, Charlesbourg, Quebec Constructed: ca. 1885 Material: Wood If one disregards the mansard roof, this building represents the fully evolved Quebec farm house with its raised basement, symmetrical arrangement of door and windows, and full-length verandah, in this instance sweeping around each side of the house. What is unusual in the context of the traditional rural house in Quebec is the mansard roof. This particular kind of mansard roof — four-sided with steep upper slopes — appeared suddenly in Quebec in the latter decades of the 19th century. A characteristic and attractive Quebec feature is the uninterrupted bellcast curve at the eaves of each slope which flares out to form the roof of the verandah. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

108 3525-3527 Royale Avenue, Giffard, Quebec Constructed: ca. 1880 Material: Stone This dwelling representing a rare combination of the so-called Quebec artisan home with Second Empire features, indicates the extent to which the new style penetrated vernacular building in Quebec. Usually located on a sloping piece of property, the artisan house is characterized by having the main living quarters on the upper storey and a workshop or commercial area on the ground storey. Access to the upper storey is provided in this case by a winding metal staircase that leads to a full-length balcony. Although this type was usually found on the Beaupré coast east of Quebec City, it rarely appeared with a fashionable mansard roof. The fine quality of the rough-faced masonry with smooth ashlar trim is a tribute to the continuing fine tradition of stone construction in Quebec. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

109 Lismore 215 South Street, Cowansville, Quebec Constructed: 1881 Material: Brick The Eastern Townships saw the construction of a number of fine high-style Second Empire residences during the 1870s and 1880s and Lismore, built for Cowansville mill-owner George K. Nesbitt, is its most outstanding surviving example. The modifying influence of a strong vernacular building tradition, which is so often evident in Quebec's domestic architecture of the Second Empire mode, is completely absent in this flamboyant, thoroughly up-to-date design. The picturesque quality of light and shadow created by varied wall planes, pavilioned and towered roofline, textured surfaces and abundant wood and iron ornamentation, has rarely been so fully and unabashedly exploited. Lismore remained in the Nesbitt family until the 1950s when it was donated to the Anglican diocese of Montreal. Since 1957 it has served as a home for the aged known as the Nesbitt Anglican Residence. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

110 Avenue de Gaspé, Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec Constructed: ca. 1890 Architect: Charles Bernier Material: Wood This modest wooden house is one of several in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli which reflect the renewed popularity of the mansard roof in rural Quebec. There are other dwellings of similar design on neighbouring lots in this village, renowned for its woodworking virtuosity. This example displays a suppleness of form and carved decoration, especially in the treatment of the doorway and the graceful dormer windows. The raised basement and full-length gallery are familiar features that belong to the rural house tradition in Quebec. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

111 168 Rutherford Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba Constructed: 1881-82 Architect: L.A. Desy Material: Brick This is one of a pair of similar dwellings erected for partners Alexander Brown and Thomas Rutherford on the banks of the Red River adjacent to their flourishing lumber mills at Point Douglas. No. 168 Rutherford Street was built for Rutherford, No. 170 for Brown, with each man acting as his own contractor. Although neither house is enormous by Second Empire standards, being one-and-a-half storeys high and three bays wide, they nevertheless attain a sense of style through the use of the projecting central section with mansarded tower and the elliptical doorway. A contemporary account insists that they "may be classed among the handsomest buildings." While one newspaper account cites "E. Desy" as the architect, the only one residing in Winnipeg in the early 1880s was L.A. Desy, architect of the Cauchon Block (known today as the Empire Hotel). (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

112 Houlahan's Terrace 395-409 Alexander Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba Constructed: 1883 Material: Brick In 1883 a Winnipeg newspaper announced that "Mr. J. Houlahan, plasterer, has built a very fine brick terrace, three stories high and containing eight good sized houses." Houlahan's Terrace, as it came to be known, provided decent economical accommodation for working-class people including railroaders engaged at the nearby Canadian Pacific Railway yards. Though accordingly simple and unadorned, Houlahan's Terrace makes reference to the Second Empire style in its use of the mansard roof and the rhythmic series of projecting and recessing walls capped by alternating large and small conical dormers. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

113 W.H. Lyon House Graham Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba Constructed: 1881 Demolished: ca. 1912 Architects: Edward McCoskrie and Joseph Greenfield Material: Brick The Lyon House, built for W.H. Lyon and occupied in 1883 by Dr. James Kerr, a prominent physician who had recently emigrated from Ontario, offers a good example of the gracious housing that was being produced for the well-to-do in a boom-town atmosphere. Designed by architects McCoskrie and Greenfield and built by contractors Paterson and McComb, it is a simple but substantial brick block, dressed up with ornate roof cresting and tall chimneys. The roof lantern, an unusual feature for Second Empire, and the delicate verandah are later additions carried out about 1890 for owner George Strevel under the direction of architect George Browne. (Public Archives Canada.)

114 113 Princess Avenue East, Brandon, Manitoba Constructed: ca. 1888 Material: Brick This large yellow brick house, now subdivided into apartments, served as a single family dwelling until the 1930s. Certain details recall in a vague way Second Empire prototypes. In addition to the mansard roof, there is the attempt to articulate the wall surface through the use of bay windows and recessed panels. The plain effect of the façade was originally relieved by a verandah that ran across the front and down one side of the residence. Local tradition claiming that this house was erected for barrister and M.P.P. Clifford Sifton remains to be proven. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

115 Creighton Terrace 33 Fourth Street, Emerson, Manitoba Constructed: 1885-86 Material: Brick Creighton Terrace was put up at the peak of Emerson's boom-town growth, before an alternate railway route dimmed the town's hopes of becoming the permanent gateway to western Canada. Erected by developers Noble and Fallis, the terrace was probably named in honour of W.D. Creighton, part-owner of the property in the early 1880s. Conveniently located near the Red River and original town core, and fitted up with a fashionable mansard roof, this triple dwelling offered superior accommodation for newcomers to Emerson. The first tenants to occupy Creighton Terrace were barrister Archibald Mackay, law clerk David Mackay and deputy postmaster and operator of the Canadian Pacific Railway Telegraph Company, T.W. Mutchmor. According to local information, the builder was a man called Bryce. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

116 Villa Laurier Hotel 9937 108th Street, Edmonton, Alberta Demolished: ca. 1972 Material: Wood The Villa Laurier Hotel would appear to have been built as a single family dwelling; however, since 1914 it has been used as a boarding house. This is one of the few examples of residential building in the Prairies, with the exception of Winnipeg, where the influence of Second Empire goes beyond the borrowing of the mansard roof. The two-storey bay windows, central tower and iron cresting indicate a more serious attempt to imitate the purer examples of this style. Perhaps its name, Villa Laurier, was chosen to reflect the "frenchness" of its design. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

117 610 Buxton Street, Indian Head, Saskatchewan Constructed: 1890-91 Material: Stone Erected in 1890-91 for a local farmer, Joseph Glenn, this is the only surviving stone house in Indian Head, an early western community on the main Canadian Pacific Railway line. In addition to its stone construction, the dwelling is remarkable for its flat mansard roof trimmed with gay iron cresting, so popular in the Second Empire idiom. Although no architect was apparently involved in the project, the builders have been identified as stone mason John Hunter and carpenter A.M. Fraser. The house remains the property of the Glenn family to this day. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

118 1124 Fort Street, Victoria, British Columbia Constructed: ca. 1887 Material: Wood This substantial dwelling is one of Victoria's oldest surviving buildings. Following the trend set by contemporary buildings in the city such as the Post Office, Custom House and Public School, this house pays tribute to Second Empire fashion in such details as the mansard roof, projecting central pavilion crowned by a mansard tower and the repetition of semicircular motifs in the attic windows. The roof has regrettably lost its fish-scale shingles arranged in bands of different colours. The original owner, Thomas Joseph Jones, a native of Toronto, was one of Victoria's most successful dentists. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

119 507 Head Street, Esquimalt, British Columbia Constructed: 1893 Material: Wood One of the most picturesque Second Empire houses on Vancouver Island, 507 Head Street bears witness to the late flowering of this fashion in the west. The house has an elaborate mansard roof with convex ribs and shaped shingles as well as two asymmetrical towers, one on the main façade, another along a lateral wall. A curious feature is the iron cresting placed above the cornice and not on top of the roof. The house was built for Captain Victor Jacobson, a sealer who anchored his schooners just off the beach in front of the property. He apparently did all the fancy carving for the roof trim himself. According to his daughter, the oak panels in the dining room, depicting flowers, animals and fish, were carved "by my father ... while waiting for seal herds to enter the Bering Sea or while his schooner was be calmed, from the patterns my mother drew." (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)