Description of Historic Place

The Louie A. Hall is a two storey building with a mid-pitched gable roof. Built in 1946, this property was used as a nursing station, serving the south coast of Labrador. It is located in Forteau, Labrador. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Louie A. Hall has been designated as a heritage building because of its historical, social, and architectural values.

The Louie A. Hall is historically significant because of its associations with healthcare in southern Labrador. Grenfell Association built the nursing station in 1946 to replace an older building that existed there. At the time of its construction, the station and its one nurse served the 2,500 people who lived along the Labrador Straits from Red Bay to L'Anse au Claire. With the nearest doctor at the Grenfell Mission in St. Anthony, the nurse often had to make life or death decisions on her own. The only way to get assistance from the Grenfell Mission was by radio or by taking a boat to St. Anthony.

Within the community of Forteau and the surrounding region, Louie A. Hall has great social value. Today, almost everybody along the Labrador Straits has a link to the nursing station. For many, it is where they were born; for others it may have meant a job and a desperately needed source of income during hard times along the coast. Often, when people ran out of food for their families, they went to the hall for assistance. It was also, of course, the place to go when they were sick or injured. For the people of Forteau, the Louie A. Hall is an important landmark in the community.

Architecturally, this building is significant because it is representative of the cottage hospitals and medical care facilities built throughout Newfoundland in the mid 1900s. The two storey building has a mid-pitched gable roof, a common roofing style at that time for both houses and larger buildings. The majority of the original materials remain in the building, both inside and out, giving this building a sense of history. There are a number of windows throughout the building, allowing maximum natural light to enter each of the rooms during the day. In regards to decoration, there is minimal ornamentation on the building. The enclosed porch is slightly more decorative, with a pedimented roof and decorative windows surrounding the door.

Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, unnumbered property designation file: "Forteau - Louie A. Hall Property."

Character-Defining Elements

All original features which relate to the age and cottage hospital design of the building including:
-mid-pitched gable roof;
-return on roof;
-shed dormer;
-enclosed porch on front façade;
-pediment on porch;
-cornice board on porch;
-original windows;
-placement of windows;
-original doors;
-placement or doors;
-wooden shingles on exterior or building; and,
-all existing interior features which reflect the original usage of the building.