Description of Historic Place

The Light Tower in Pointe-au-Père is located at the Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse National Historic Site of Canada, northeast of the City of Rimouski, Québec. The elegant profile of the reinforced concrete tower is highlighted by eight concrete flying buttresses, with a webbed design, that support the structure at three levels. The tower is capped by an encircling concrete walkway, itself supporting a glassed-in steel lantern, surmounted by a steel cupola and a weathervane. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Light Tower is a Classified Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.

Historical Value
The Light Tower is closely associated with the efforts of the Canadian government to improve navigation along the St. Lawrence River in the early 20th century to meet the growing demands of trade. The construction of this lighthouse at Pointe-au-Père in 1909, the third on the site, was the most significant element of this modernization program begun in 1903, at 14 lightstations along the St. Lawrence River from the Strait of Belle Isle to Pointe-au-Père. The lightstation had also gained significance through the 19th century as a home for river pilots, and provided an excellent staging point for the required exchange of personnel. This function encouraged additional improvements to navigational aids during the period of light station modernization.

Architectural Value
The Light Tower is valued for its very good aesthetic qualities and is one of the few surviving examples of an octagonal, flying buttressed, reinforced concrete tower built to designs prepared by chief engineer lieutenant-colonel William P. Anderson. This very good, functional concrete design was developed to be durable and relatively maintenance free. Restoration works undertaken in 1980 have been careful to maintain the form, materials and details of original elements.

Environmental Value
The Light Tower establishes the character of its present maritime, lightstation setting. It is recognized both as a physical landmark of exceptional prominence, and as a symbol of the site’s navigational importance in Canadian history and was recognized by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC) as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1976.

Sources: Normand Lafrenière avec la collaboration de Yvan Fortier, bureau régionale de Québec, La station de phare de Pointe-au-Père, Pointe-au-Père, Québec, Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office, Building Report, 90-011; Lighthouse, Pointe-au-père, Québec, Heritage Character Statement, 90-011.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Light Tower should be respected.

Its very good aesthetic design, very good functional design and very good materials and
craftsmanship, for example: the octagonal massing capped by an encircling concrete walkway, itself supporting a glassed-in steel lantern, surmounted by a steel cupola and weathervane; the eight concrete flying buttresses with their webbed design supporting the structure at each of its three principal floor levels; the domestic-scale entrance portico and the windows placed regularly at each level; the interior spiral stairway which provides access to each level and to the lantern; the enabling mechanism for rotation and signalling of the light.

The manner in which the Light Tower establishes the present character of its maritime setting and is a well-known landmark, as evidenced by: its octagonal, flying buttressed, reinforced concrete tower design, which establishes and dominates the lightstation in the maritime environment; its recognition as a physical landmark, given its prominent location and design, and its role as a navigational aid; its role as a symbol of the site’s navigational importance in Canadian history, which was recognized as being of national importance by the Historical Sites and Monuments Board of Canada and which makes it a well-known landmark.

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 lighthouse at Pointe-au-Père, was built in 1909 to designs prepared by William P. Anderson, chief engineer of the Department of Marine and Fisheries. It was transferred by Transport Canada to Parks Canada in 1976. Under an agreement with the latter, the site on which the lighthouse sits is operated by the Corporation du Musée de la Mer, a local historical society. See FHBRO Building Report 90-11.

Reasons for Designation

The lighthouse was designated Classified for its historic associations, is strong architectural importance and its exceptional environmental value.

The construction of the lighthouse in 1909, the third on the site, was the most significant element of a modernization program begun in 1903 at 14 light stations along the St. Lawrence River, from the Strait of Belle Isle to Pointe-au-Père. This program represented an effort to improve navigation along the St. Lawrence River in the early 20th century to meet the growing demands of trade. The site had also gained significance through the 19th century as a home for river pilots, its prominent position providing an excellent staging point for the required exchange of personnel. This function encouraged additional improvements to navigational aids during the period of light station modernization, including a new quay in 1902 and a Marconi Station in 1909.

The lighthouse is one of only five surviving examples of octagonal, flying buttress, reinforced concrete towers built by the Department. The use of concrete for lighthouse construction was introduced by the Department only three years before construction of the Pointe-au-Père light, and illustrated the desire of designers to develop a durable and relatively maintenance-free response to needs, in their modernization efforts. Still very much experimental in design and construction, by 1978 the original structure had badly deteriorated. Restoration works undertaken in 1980 have been careful to maintain form, materials, and details of original elements.

Though most of the buildings present on the site when the lighthouse was built have disappeared and been replaced by later structures, the site has preserved its essential identity as a light station. The lighthouse itself clearly establishes the character of the present site and is recognized both as a physical landmark of exceptional prominence and as a symbol of the site's navigational importance in Canadian history. This national importance was recognized by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada which designated it in 1976.

Character Defining Elements

The architectural importance of the lighthouse resides primarily in the aesthetic and functional integrity of the reinforced concrete tower and its contributing elements. The octagonal tower is reinforced by eight concrete flying buttresses, their webbed design supporting the structure at each of its three principal floor levels. The tower is capped by an encircling concrete walkway, itself supporting a glassed-in steel lantern, surmounted by a steel cupola and weathervane. An interior spiral stairway permits access to each level and to the lantern, and should be respected spatially and structurally in any future functional improvements. The domestic-scale entrance portico and the windows placed regularly at each level also make important contributions to the structure's value, and should be carefully maintained in future. The enabling mechanism for rotation and signaling of the light is still in place and should be preserved in future work.

The site has evolved with changes in lighthouse technology over time, and every effort should be made to maintain the site's present integrity, all existing component parts and the key role played by the lighthouse in defining existing site use patterns and visual relationships.