Description of Historic Place

Building 37, part of Naden Museum Square in Canadian Forces Base Esqiumalt, also known as the Administration Building, is a single storey, brick structure located in the former hospital complex. It is connected to two other buildings by a covered verandah and features a hipped roof. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

Building 37 is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.

Historical Value
Building 37 is associated historically with the role of providing essential medical services in maintaining Esquimalt as the headquarters of the Pacific Station of the Royal Navy from 1865-1905. From 1922 to the mid-1930s it became a central element of a national medical program set up to care for World War I casualties and service personnel suffering from tuberculosis. The former hospital houses the first west coast Royal Canadian Navy training establishment illustrating the evolution of Canadian control over all aspects of national defence.

Architectural Value
Building 37 represents a significant phase in the evolution of hospital planning and design. It is part of a rare surviving Canadian example of a ‘pavilion hospital’. This building type was popular in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to counter overcrowding and the spread of diseases, through improved ventilation and greater separation of functions.

The Environmental Value
Building 37 reinforces the character of its integrated setting within the Royal Navy Hospital complex. It maintains a visual and physical relationship with two linked buildings. The landscape setting is important to the historical and architectural integrity of the building.

Sources: Ian Doull, Museum Square (Former Royal Naval Hospital, Seven Buildings), Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, British Columbia, Federal Heritage Building Report, 88-154; Building 37, Museum Square, CFB Esquimalt, British Columbia, Heritage Character Statement, 88-154.

Character-Defining Elements

The character defining elements of Building 37 should be respected.

Its pavilion hospital design, craftsmanship and materials such as:
- its one-storey brick structure;
- its hipped roof, covered verandah, raised foundation, bracketed cornice and the segmentally-arched door and window openings with stone surrounds, that give the building an architectural vocabulary consistent with the other buildings in the compound.

The manner in which Building 37 reinforces the character of its integrated landscaped setting as evidenced by:
- the building’s relationship to Buildings 35 and 39 and the arrangement of site features within the compound;
- the open space quality on the building’s harbour side, promoting the façade;
- the architectural vocabulary of the building that is consistent with buildings in the compound.