Description of Historic Place

Building 35, also known as the Guard Post, is located in the village in the Grosse Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site of Canada. The small, picturesque, two-storey wooden building has a square-shaped ground-floor and an octagonal first floor. The roof is polygonal with bell-cast eaves. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

Building 35 is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value
Building 35 is closely associated with Canadian immigration and quarantine. Situated on the St Lawrence River 50 km from the Port of Québec, which it served, Grosse Île functioned as the most important quarantine station for immigrants arriving into Canada between 1832 and 1937. Immigrants were disembarked and passed health examinations at the station. In 1857, with the end of British control, the Canadian government became responsible for the Grosse Île quarantine station. Building 35 was used to isolate the healthy immigrants from the village inhabitants until the closure of the quarantine station in 1937.

Architectural Value
Valued for its very good aesthetic design, Building 35 shows the influence of the picturesque heritage of the nineteenth century and also of the Shingle style of New England. Its very good functional design permitted an unobstructed view thanks to its octagonal-shaped first floor, a configuration which made it possible to avoid the blind corners of the square plan, and by means of its eight windows that provide a 360-degree view. Very good craftsmanship and materials are evidenced in the woodwork construction techniques.

Environmental Value
Building 35 maintains an unchanged relationship to its site, reinforces the present historic character of its Grosse Île setting, and is a well-known local landmark.

Sources: The Guard Post (no.35), Grosse Île (Part 4 1901-1920), Quebec, Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office, Report 90-031; The Guard Post (No.35), Grosse Île, Quebec, Heritage Character Statement 90-031.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of Building 35 should be respected.

Its very good aesthetics, very good functional design and very good craftsmanship, for example:
- the two-storey massing on a square-shaped plan with a polygonal roof;
- the timber construction;
- the small pitched roofs on the corners of the lower level of the building;
- the regular placement of the doors and windows, four windows on the first floor and eight on the second floor;
- the exterior walls clad in clapboard, and the exterior treatment, including the touches of darker colour of the roofs and the corner posts;
- the interior spatial configuration and finishes, the staircase, the panelled front door, the casement windows and the panelling of the walls and ceilings.

The manner in which Building 35 reinforces the historic character of Grosse Île, and is a landmark on the St. Lawrence River, as evidenced by:
- its imposing scale, design and materials, which complement the related adjacent structures including the Vaccination and Medical Examination Office and the Guard’s Residence;
- its high visibility and familiarity within the local area, due to its location on a small rise at the entrance to the central sector on Grosse-Île.