Description of Historic Place

The Federal Building is located at a major intersection in the business district of Fort Frances. It is a large, symmetrical building of brick and stone. An imposing frontispiece features large columns, which flank the central entrance. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Federal Building in Fort Frances is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value:
The Federal Building in Fort Frances was built as part of an initiative to upgrade federal facilities in small towns across Canada in the late 1920s.

Architectural Value:
The Federal Building in Fort Frances is a good example of a Beaux-Arts design built to a standard plan. The simple, classically styled building is representative of major institutional buildings constructed by Public Works between 1927-1934. This functional building exhibits good workmanship in the formal columned entrance.

Environmental Value:
The Federal Building in Fort Frances reinforces the present character of the business centre of downtown Fort Frances where it is a familiar local landmark.

Sources: Shannon Rickets, Federal Building, 301 Scott Street, Fort Frances, Ontario, Heritage Buildings Review Office Report 88-048; Federal Building, 301 Scott Street, Fort Frances, Ontario. Heritage Character Statement 88-048.

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements of the Federal Building in Fort Frances should be respected.

Its Beaux Arts style and good quality materials and craftsmanship, for example:
-the large, symmetrical, two-storey façade;
-the horizontal massing of the nine-bay façade;
-the classical features and detailing executed in stone, including the base plinth, capping cornice and formal central entrance with paired Ionic columns rising to a heavy stone entablature;
-the brick walls punctuated by two storeys of regularly spaced, double hung windows.

The manner in which the Federal Building reinforces the present character of the core of downtown Fort Frances and is a local landmark, as evidenced by:
-its impressive architectural contribution to the commercial and institutional streetscape;
-its visibility given its prominent location in the business centre;
-its high use by local and regional residents.