Former Brockville Post Office National Historic Site of Canada
Brockville, Ontario
Former Brockville Post Office
(© Parks Canada / Parcs Canada 1980 (HRS 0239))
Address :
14 Court House Avenue, Brockville, Ontario
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1983-06-13
Dates:
-
1883 to 1886
(Construction)
Event, Person, Organization:
-
Thomas Fuller
(Architect)
Other Name(s):
-
Former Brockville Post Office
(Designation Name)
-
Thomas Fuller Building
(Other Name)
Research Report Number:
Fuller Post Office
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: 14 Court House Avenue, Brockville, Ontario
Completed in 1886 this structure was designed under the direction of Thomas Fuller, Chief Architect of the Department of Public Works from 1881 to 1896. The Brockville Post Office shows the sensitivity often displayed by Fuller and his staff. The basic design with a double entrance and steep roof was adapted to many small post offices across Canada, but varied here by the presence of superb stonework and a central pedimented gable with flanking gables. Each post office was unique but collectively they shared a resemblance that came to symbolize the federal presence throughout Canada.
Description of Historic Place
The Former Brockville Post Office is a late-19th-century, two-and-a-half-storey, stone building. It is prominently situated in the core of Brockville within a group of 19th-century public buildings. The formal recognition consists of the post office building on the legal property on which it sat at the time of recognition.
Heritage Value
The Former Brockville Post Office was designated a national historic site in 1983 because: it is representative of small urban post offices designed by Thomas Fuller; it possesses architectural merit, this is to say it has not undergone major exterior alteration; it possesses integrity, that is to say that its siting is sympathetic.
The Brockville Post Office is a good example of the post offices erected by the Department of Public Works in smaller urban centres during Thomas Fuller's term as Chief Architect (1881-1886).
Sources: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minute, June 1983; Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Plaque Text, June 1986.
Character-Defining Elements
Character-defining elements of the Brockville Post Office include: its eclectic style, blending Flemish, Queen Anne and classical elements; features typical of Fuller-designed buildings, including its: two-and-a-half-storey height; five-bay width; steep roof; round-arched double entrances; and window treatment, with large panes of glass in the lower sash and a multi-paned sash above; its symmetrical five-bay arrangement in which a protruding central bay with pedimented gable is flanked by recessed bays and by flanking pavilions with Flemish gables; the central raised pediment, which extends through the second floor and is supported by massive stone brackets; the rich, textured surfaces created by the smooth-dressed stone detail and trim set against the rusticated stone walls; the provision of two entrances for separate access to the ground floor (formerly the post office) and to the second and attic floors (formerly the customs office and caretaker's quarters); its tight siting, bordering the sidewalk along the length of the façade; its excellent craftsmanship, evident in the superb exterior stonework; the lively hues created by the blending of sandstone walls and gables with a copper roof; its original exterior materials, comprised of Nepean and Credit Valley red sandstone.