Description of Historic Place

The Former Grand Trunk Railway Station (now Canadian National Railways) at Port Hope is a one-storey, stone railway station, built in 1856. It is located in the town of Port Hope. The formal recognition is confined to the railway station building itself.

Heritage Value

Built by the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) in the mid-19th century, the Port Hope railway station represents the first phase of construction of Canada’s first transcolonial and international railway. The construction of the GTR line dramatically altered the economic balance of Port Hope and contributed to the quality of architecture and engineering in the area. The unusual location of the station and tracks at the front of the town emphasized the industrial character of the transportation zone across the waterfront and significantly altered the landscape through the construction of the viaduct and track gradients.

The Port Hope railway station is one of nine surviving, mid-19th-century, GTR stations in Ontario. It is a good example of a first class, Type B, GTR station. Its Italianate style and stone construction are characteristic of first-generation GTR stations.

The Port Hope station retains its relationship with an elevated viaduct and railway bridge east of the river.

Sources: Heritage Character Statement, Former Grand Trunk Railway Station (now Canadian National Railways), Port Hope, Ontario, October 1992; Anne M. de Fort-Menares, Railway Station Report 092, Former Grand Trunk Railway Station (now Canadian National Railways), Port Hope, Ontario.

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of the Former Grand Trunk Railway Station (now Canadian National Railways) at Port Hope include:
-its Italianate style, evident in its snug profile, low-pitched roof, wide overhanging eaves supported by elaborate wooden brackets; four picturesque chimneys anchoring the roof; the round-arched openings puncturing all four sides; the exposed rafter ends; and the use of textural limestone masonry
-its size, consisting of six bays on each of the main elevations, and two on each end, in keeping with Type B GTR stations
-the late-19th-century operator’s bay, built of brick and centred on the track elevation
-round arched door and window openings
-its fine stonework, evident in: the regular coursed limestone of the walls and the structured arch treatments of the openings
-surviving original exterior lighting fixtures, attached to the eaves
-surviving original interior finishes, including: wainscoting; and wood floors.