The British Contribution to the Architectural Identity of Old Quebec

The author points out that the process of creating a French identity for Quebec City began with the late-nineteenth century penchant for creating history. This popular movement saw the introduction of buildings and monuments inspired by French architecture of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, giving the town the desired image of historical continuity. The author explains that the reality is that ninety percent of the buildings in Quebec's historic district date from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and not from the French Regime. Only a few traces and fragments survive from the earlier period, alongside buildings largely rebuilt or restored since the end of the nineteenth century. He argues that an overall, objective assessment reveals an important paradox: the oldest buildings in Old Quebec, the symbol of the continued French presence in North America, date from the British Regime. As examples, the author points to how the British authorities created a nucleus of public buildings for Old Quebec following the Conquest. A courthouse, the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the Union Hotel. the Chateau Haldimand, and the Chateau Saint-Louis (an existing building, renovated and enlarged by the addition of a storey) were all rendered in the classical English style of architecture. Much of this English style of architecture was forgotten in the province's later "Frenchifying" process of Old Quebec.

Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada Bulletin / Bulletin de la Société pour l'étude de l'architecture au Canada

Vol. 21

no. 1

4-10

March 1996

en