Description of Historic Place

The buildings at 68 Princess Street, 70-72 Princess Street, and 346-352 King Street East, together known as the Rochleau Property, are situated near the north-eastern corner of the intersection of Princess and King Streets in downtown Kingston. The Rochleau Property consists of three buildings (two fronting Princess and one fronting King) connected at the rear to form an “L” shaped building.

The exteriors of these three buildings are protected by an Ontario Heritage Trust conservation easement. The Rochleau Property is also designated by the City of Kingston under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act under By-law 9227 (70-72 Princess Street) and By-law 81-101 (68 Princess Street and 346-352 King Street East).

Heritage Value

The Rochleau Property is situated in the heart of downtown Kingston in close proximity to many of Kingston's most historic places including the celebrated Kingston Market Square and the shores of Lake Ontario. The heritage setting of the Rochleau Property is further enriched by the large courtyard space that exists to the rear of its buildings. The courtyard, which can be accessed via alleys on Princess and King Streets, is defined by the old stone walls of the surrounding buildings and possesses a distinctive heritage charm characteristic of Eastern Ontario.

The Rochleau Property is one of the earliest complexes of stone buildings remaining in Kingston. First registered to French Canadian stonemason Francis Xavier Rochleau in 1798, by 1808 he had constructed a permanent stone residence on the site at 70-72 Princess Street. Rochleau enjoyed a reputation as one of the most skilled tradesmen in Kingston. He was involved in the construction of a number of the town's early structures including the stone wall surrounding the burying ground at St. Paul's Church (1802) and the “French Church” (1808-1812), of which he was warden in 1823.

The property owned by Rochleau was subdivided in 1818 and during the following year a stone building (68 Princess Street) was constructed directly to the east of the original Rochleau residence. Further development around 1839 produced a nine-bay stone commercial block on the portion of the site that fronted onto King Street (346-352 King Street). These buildings were used for a variety of noteworthy commercial and residential purposes throughout the 19th century. The most significant time period for 70-72 Princess Street however, may have been its mid-century time period when barrister Sir Alexander Campbell set up his professional offices there. Campbell, who is best known as one of the Fathers of Confederation, was appointed to the Senate in 1867 and became the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario twenty years later, in 1887.

The Rochleau property buildings are early examples of Quebecois-influenced design. The building at 68 Princess Street is significant as an early commercial building featuring a retro-fitted Gothic facade. The Rochleau House (70-72 Princess Street), designed and built by Francis Xavier Rochleau in 1808, is a four-bay limestone structure which was substantially altered when it was converted to a commercial building. The design of the building at 346-352 King Street East is quite similar to that of the Rochleau House, however, the rusticated ashlar blocks of the ground floor level provide a distinguishing feature and give the structure a unique identity. It is believed that this building was designed by Kingston architect Thomas Rogers in 1838. Although the base structure of the building at 68 Princess Street is composed of limestone, this building is distinguished from the others by its handsome brick facade. Designed by Kingston architect William Newlands it was constructed in 1893 with a facade compatible in scale to the surrounding buildings. The facade includes late Victorian Gothic detailing and a central gable that corresponds with the gable dormers of the neighbouring structures.

Source: Conservation Easement Files, Ontario Heritage Trust

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of the Rochleau Property include the:
- complex of stone buildings forming a unique collection illustrating early, mid, and late 19th century architecture
- location in the heart of downtown Kingston
- rear courtyard defined by the stone walls of surrounding buildings

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of 70-72 Princess Street include the:
- early 19th century Quebecois design
- tall end walls
- simple ornamentation
- close proximity to the street
- facade in local limestone framed with prominent quoins
- wooden storefront addition on the eastern half of the main (north) facade with large expanses of glazing, simple cornice and four pilasters
- jack arches over the main (north) facade window and door openings
- rectangular transoms of the recessed entranceways on the main (north) facade
- medium-pitched gable roof clad in cedar shingles and punctuated by two dormers on the north side
- prominent firewalls with large stone chimneys
- inscription reading 'FXR 1808' on the north side of the western firewall

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of 68 Princess Street include the:
- late Victorian Gothic detailing of the main (north) facade
- brick design of the main (north) facade
- wooden storefront on the ground level with large expanses of glazing
- recessed central entranceway
- dentil detail at the cornice
- second storey window openings with flat stone lintels and sills
- central gable with broken pediment, decorative brackets and dentil detail at the cornice
- triangular date stone in the pediment tympanum that reads '1893'
- corbelled blind arch sprung from the pilasters that flank the central upper-storey window
- billet design of bricks in the tympanum
- medium-pitched gable roof clad in cedar shingles

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of 346-352 King Street East include the:
- overall design as a well-proportioned early commercial building
- considerable length of the two-and-a-half-storey, nine-bay, limestone facade
- treatment of the main (east) facade with the ground floor in large blocks of rusticated ashlar and the upper storey of even-coursed squared rubble
- four-part transoms above the ground floor entrances
- large storefront windows on the ground floor level
- ashlar corbels supporting the main cornice on the east facade and the ashlar stringcourse separating the first and second storeys
- jack arches over the upper-storey window openings
- large jack and segmental stone arches over the ground-floor entrances on the rear (west) side of the building
- medium-pitched, standing-seam metal roof punctuated by four metal-clad dormers on the east side
- prominent chimneys rising from the end and middle firewalls