Description of Historic Place

The Canadian National Railways Station at Mont-Joli is a one-and-a-half-storey, brick-and-stone-clad railway station, built in 1913. It is centrally located on the main street of the town of Mont-Joli, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. The formal recognition is confined to the railway station building itself.

Heritage Value

The Canadian National Railways Station at Mont-Joli represents the early-20th-century period of prosperity and expansion for the Intercolonial Railway (ICR). Built by the ICR to replace an earlier station, the station confirmed the central role of Mont-Joli in the railway system of the Lower Saint Lawrence. Mont-Joli continues to serve as an important stop on the Montréal-Halifax corridor.

The large scale and the design qualities of the Mont-Joli station reflect its relative importance on the ICR line. During alterations in 1978, all of the original brick facing and wood canopy brackets were replaced with new materials.

The station retains its relationship with related structures, including the main railway tracks and sidings, a warehouse to the east and the platform light fixtures. The station is a valued part of the town’s history to its citizens.

Sources: Heritage Character Statement, VIA Rail/Gare du Canadien National, Mont-Joli, Québec, September 1993; Yves Laframboise et Louise Côté, Ethnotech inc., Railway Station Report 167, Gare du Canadien National, Mont-Joli, Québec.

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of the Canadian National Railways Station at Mont-Joli include:
-its form and massing, consisting of a one-and-a-half-storey, rectangular block with a projecting operator’s bay on the track side, capped by a gablet roof with wide, overhanging eaves forming a platform canopy on three sides and punctuated by large, central dormers on both track and street sides, and smaller, flanking, shed dormers on the street side
-features typical of early-20th-century railway stations, including the gablet roof, the wide, overhanging eaves forming a platform canopy on three sides, the wood brackets supporting the canopy, and the projecting operator’s bay
-its wood detailing, including the wood brackets supporting the canopy and boarded soffits,
-its stone trim, including rough-faced foundation walls (obscured by the platform on the track side), coursing above the foundation, lintels and keystones, mullions, sills, and corbels supporting the canopy brackets
-its symmetrically arranged fenestration, including the wood sash windows arranged singly and in pairs, two large, Diocletian windows on the street elevation with rounded, stone lintels, stone keystones and stone mullions, a small, semi-circular gable window on the street side with stone surround
-its use of window units with multiple lights, including sash and fixed units
-surviving original windows and doors
-surviving original interior finishes and fixtures, including a coffered ceiling, tile dado with an embossed floral motif along the top edge and a tiled chair rail.