Description of Historic Place

The Bourque Hotel, built around 1870, is a two-storey wood-frame building with a flat roof located on Robichaud Street in Cap-Pelé.

Heritage Value

The Bourque Hotel is designated a Local Historic Place for its association with the economic boom in the Cap-Pelé area during the last quarter of the 19th century and for its association with the Bourque family.

The Bourque Hotel is recognized for its association with the economic boom, arising from the lobster industry that Cap-Pelé experienced during the last quarter of the 19th century. This boom warranted the erection of a hotel. During this time, along with being the proprietor of the Bourque Hotel, Philippe Bourque owned a large farming operation and a lobster cannery, had investments with his brother Aimé in the lobster industry, as well as investments in land speculation. His son Joseph, a Justice of the Peace, owned a store in Cap-Pelé. Thanks to his marriage to Domithilde Hébert, he was related to one of the most politically influential families in the region. The Bourque Hotel also served as the residence of the Bourque family and the building remained in the family until the 1940s.

Source: Historic Places File No. 12, Municipal Building, Village of Cap-Pelé

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that reflect the former use of the building as a hotel include:
- location on a main artery of Cap-Pelé;
- rectangular two-storey massing;
- rectangular door and window openings;
- cut stones of the cellar.