Description of Historic Place

Outside of the walls of the Québec Citadel National Historic Site of Canada and partially camouflaged within the counterscarp on the lower ditch of the St-Louis Bastion, a plain stone façade and west side wall is all that is exposed of Building 24, also known as the Former Guards’ Quarters. Its low-sloped roof covered with grass is pierced with five stone chimneys. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

Building 24 is a Classified Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.

Historical Value
Building 24 is one of the best examples illustrating the defence of North America during the period in which the Citadel was completed. The quarters were the first and largest building constructed at this time to reinforce the defensive capacity of the Citadel outside the wall. They are an excellent example that highlights the military role of the Citadel, which had a major impact on the civilian administration and local development of Québec.

Architectural Value
Building 24 is a good example of a 19th-century British military defence building. Its excellent functional design camouflaged within the counterscarp and its solid masonry bomb-proof construction, was a response to its purpose of serving as a guardhouse and commanding the lower ditch with artillery fire.

The Environmental Value
Located in the lower ditch outside the Citadel, the relationship between Building 24 and the lower ditch of the St-Louis Bastion is compatible with the defensive military character of the fort setting at the Québec Citadel. Its materials and design allow the building to blend in well with the other defensive works in the fortress.

Sources: Rhona Godspeed, The Citadel, Québec, Québec, Federal Heritage Building Report 89-161; Former Guards Quarters, Building 24, The Citadel, Québec, Québec, Heritage Character Statement, 89-161.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Building 24 should be respected.

Its functional, defensive military design, materials and construction methods such as:
-its functional, solid masonry construction, made bomb-proof with the use of vaulted ceilings.
-its low-sloped roof covered with grass and pierced with five stone chimneys.
-its stone main section laid out in irregular courses and its brick walls and vault along the corridor.
-its few decorative details such as the band course at the roof level on the main section and the voussoirs of the five embrasures on the façade.
-its interior comprised of five casemates separated by walls with one wall of each casemate pierced by a semi-circular embrasure.

The manner in which Building 24 is compatible with the historical defensive military character of its fort setting located at the Québec Citadel.