Description of Historic Place

The Fortune Fishing Sheds are a collection of fifteen fisheries structures including sheds, wharfs, walkways and slipways. Constructed between 1900 and 1970, the structures are located on Harbour Drive in Fortune, NL. The designation includes the sheds, associated structures such as wharfs, walkways and slipways and the land between the sheds.

Heritage Value

The Fortune Fishing Sheds have been designated a municipal heritage site by the Town of Fortune because of their aesthetic, historical and cultural values.

The Fortune Fishing Sheds have aesthetic value as good examples of intact fishing structures in the region. There are few examples of clusters of such structures in the province left in their original shapes and conditions. Such buildings were designed for practical use and had to endure the rigours of a harsh environment. The use of rough materials, simple design elements and utilitarian construction techniques exemplify these fishery buildings.

The sheds have further aesthetic value due to their continuity in terms of form, design, materials, massing and setting. Most roofs are low pitched gable roofs and most stand one storey high. The sheds are devoid of decoration, serving a strictly utilitarian purpose. Wide trim and corner boards, narrow wooden siding and wood shingles are common building materials and the use of recycled building materials is common in many of the structures. The sheds are aligned with Harbour Drive and show uniformity in length, their facades creating an almost unbroken line on the sea-facing side. Raised wooden walkways, wooden wharfs and wooden slipways located adjacent to some of the stages create interesting structural features and spatial usage patterns are evident in the adjacent open spaces associated with some of the sheds.

The Fortune Fishing Sheds are of historical importance because of their extended use as fisheries premises and their association with the inshore fishery. Built between 1900 and 1970, the sheds have been used for the same purpose over several generations. They are a physical reminder of a way of life once common in Fortune and throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. These fisheries buildings were a vital part of an industry dependant on the ocean and remain an important physical link to the past.

The Fortune Fishing Sheds are culturally important as they are a physical reminder of a specific time and place, particularly of a time when life was intrinsically linked to the sea. The sheds originally served a vital purpose in a subsistence economy based on the bounty of the ocean surrounding the community and on the procurement, curing and storage of fish. The continued use and maintenance of this collection of fisheries buildings is a testament to the value the community places on the site.

Source: Town of Fortune Regular Council Meeting June 19, 2006.

Character-Defining Elements

All those elements that reflect simple design elements and utilitarian construction techniques, including:
- original form, small scale and low, simple massing;
- typical one storey design;
- low pitch gable roofs;
- narrow wooden clapboard;
- exterior wood shingle sheathing;
- wooden corner boards;
- window size, style, trim and placement;
- size, style, trim and placement of exterior doors;
- traditional exterior colours;
- wooden post building supports;
- location and orientation of sheds in relation to the community wharf to the east and Harbour Drive to the west;
- associated wooden wharfs, walkways and slipways, and;
- adjacent open spaces associated with some of the sheds.