Description of Historic Place

Built between 1948-1950, on a hill overlooking downtown Edmundston, Pavillon Simon-Larouche is an imposing Art Deco style building. The grey brick building includes a four-storey main section with a central square tower that has another four floors. It is used as the central building of the Université de Moncton, Edmundston Campus.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of Pavillon Simon-Larouche as a local historic place resides in its importance as an educational institution in Madawaska. In addition to being the central building of the Edmundston campus of the Université de Moncton, Pavillon Simon-Larouche was the first classical education establishment in Edmundston in 1950. At the time, it was known as the Collège Saint-Louis in honour of Msgr. Louis Napoléon Dugal, parish priest of Saint-Basile (1880-1929) and leading educator in Madawaska.

The heritage value of Pavillon Simon-Larouche also lies in the fact that it symbolizes the importance of the pioneering role that religious congregations, particularly the Eudists and the Religious Hospitallers, played in the field of education in Madawaska.

Its heritage value also comes from its Art Deco architecture. The grey brick main façade is adorned with geometric ornaments of grey stones, giving it a distinctly Art Deco appearance.

Source: Société Historique du Madawaska, Site file: Pavillon Simon-Larouche

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of Pavillon Simon-Larouche include:
- location on a hill overlooking the downtown;
- imposing four-storey building;
- central square tower dominating the main section;
- grey brick construction with a grey stone façade;
- façade adorned by Art Deco geometric-shaped ornaments;
- frontispice located in the main section, capped by a stained glass lunette;
- coat of arms and motto of the Collège Saint-Louis engraved in stone above the lunette;
- cross on the front façade above the central tower;
- central interior staircase;
- terrazzo floors;
- coat of arms and motto on the floor of the central foyer;
- four pillars that frame the coat of arms and motto and serve as a support to the mezzanine.