Description of Historic Place

Rivière-du-Loup Town Hall National Historic Site of Canada, located on a prominent site in downtown Rivière-du-Loup, Québec, is an eclectic, two-storey red-brick city hall constructed in 1916. The building, was renovated and enlarged between 1972 and 1973. The formal recognition consists of the building on its legal property at the time of designation.

Heritage Value

Rivière-du-Loup City Hall was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1984 because:
- a symbol of civic pride and aspirations, it harkens back to a centuries-old European design tradition which established town halls as conspicuous landmarks and public gathering places.

The decision by the town of Rivière-du-Loup to build a new municipal building in the middle of the First World War symbolized the town’s determination to modernize its municipal services and to increase its profile in the Lower St. Lawrence region of Québec. The eclectic styling of the elegant building, including references to the Arts and Crafts movement in its decoration, sets it apart from the surrounding commercial buildings in the town.

Sources: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, November 1984, November 1986.

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that relate to the heritage value of this site include:
- its prominent siting in the commercial centre of Rivière-du-Loup;
- its eclectic style, notably its Second Empire derived two-storey massing with a projecting central section and flanking corner pavilions, symmetrically organized window and door openings, including its large, square-headed double-hung windows, and its classically derived decorative vocabulary including a stone entablature, and brick corner quoins;
- the elements associated with town hall buildings, including its imposing central entry, square clock tower, and its brick facing material;
- its use of architectural devices associated with the Arts and Crafts movement such as the use of polychrome and textured surfaces created by varied brickwork and contrasting masonry trim, the deep eaves and angled corners of its gabled roof cap, and the picturesque composition of its side elevation windows.