Roberval Town Hall National Historic Site of Canada
Roberval, Quebec
General view
(© Parks Canada/Parcs Canada 2009.)
Address :
851 Saint-Joseph Boulevard, Roberval, Quebec
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1984-11-23
Dates:
-
1928 to 1929
(Construction)
Event, Person, Organization:
-
Charles Lafond
(Architect)
Other Name(s):
-
Roberval Town Hall
(Designation Name)
Research Report Number:
Town Hall Study - 1984
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: 851 Saint-Joseph Boulevard, Roberval, Quebec
A town hall has long been regarded as a reflection of a community's prosperity and significance within its region. This inspired many Canadian towns and cities to erect substantial civic buildings, especially during the years between 1900 and 1930. Roberval built this, its second town hall, in 1928-1929. Local architect Charles Lafond provided a plan featuring pavilion-crowned towers, classical ornamentation and a monumental staircase, to create an imposing civic building which proclaimed the town's growing importance as an administrative and service centre in the Lac Saint-Jean region.
Description of Historic Place
Roberval Town Hall National Historic Site of Canada is located near the shore of Lac Saint-Jean in the centre of the present town of Roberval, Quebec. The site consists of a large, three-storey brick building with steeply pitched metal roofs in a late interpretation of the Second Empire style. It was built in 1928-1929 to demonstrate the increasing importance of the town as an administrative centre and regional capital in the Lac Saint-Jean region. Official recognition refers to the building and its legal property boundary at the time of designation (1984).
Heritage Value
Roberval Town Hall was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1984 because: the monumental presence of the building demonstrates the increasing importance of the town as an administrative centre and regional capital of the Lac Saint-Jean region, and because it reflects the prosperity and significance of the community that built it.
The heritage value of this site resides in its historical associations with the city of Roberval as illustrated by its monumental design, form and materials. Constructed in 1928-1929 to a design by local architect Charles Lafond, the Roberval Town Hall reflects the prosperity and significance of the community. Conceived in the tradition of Second Empire style of civic buildings so popular in Quebec, the town hall is consistent in its design, form and construction with Beaux-Arts principles. The building features pavilion-crowned towers, classical ornamentation and a monumental staircase, to create an imposing civic building which proclaimed the town's growing importance as an administrative centre and regional capital in the Lac Saint-Jean region. It originally served a multi-functional role, housing the fire department, a theatre and a residential apartment, as well as serving its primary role in providing space for civic administration.
Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, November 1984; November 1986.
Character-Defining Elements
Key elements that relate to the heritage value of the site include: its location near the shore of Lac Saint-Jean in the town of Roberval, Quebec; its relatively large scale and substantial symmetrical massing; its late Second Empire-style design evident in the tripartite massing with larger central projecting frontispiece and flanking end pavilions, each capped by a steeply-pitched châteauesque metal roofs punctured by elaborate dormers, its symmetrical arrangement of apertures, including grouped, round-headed windows over an arched main entry and projecting, classical decorative motifs including pediments on the central and end pavilions, and pilasters separating bays on the main facade; construction elements associated with public buildings of the period conforming to Beaux-Arts principles, including: its axial plan, prominent, central public entrance, fireproof construction materials including brick walls and stone foundation; surviving original interior layout, including the main staircase and major public spaces; surviving original finishes and decorative materials in the major public spaces; its continued function as a municipal building; viewscapes from the site across Lac Saint-Jean.