Description of Historic Place

The Lighthouse at Pointe Mitis, located on the shore of the St. Lawrence River at Métis-sur-Mer, stands tall on a low-lying point of land surrounded by rocks submerged at high tide. It is an attractive, white, concrete, hexagonal tower that flares gently at the top to join a hexagonal gallery with a red lantern. Its base is further supported by buttresses at each point of the hexagon. The tower is joined to a two-storey, gable-roofed keeper’s house by an L-shaped passageway. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

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

Historical Value
The Lighthouse is associated with a national transportation system that was initiated in the years immediately after Confederation by the new Dominion government. This ambitious program served a number of purposes, including the improvement of internal communications, the encouragement of settlement, and the interchange of goods within, and to and from, a newly created national market.

Architectural Value
The Lighthouse exhibits a good, simple aesthetic and is an early example of a reinforced concrete tower in Canada. Its construction marked the first year that reinforced concrete was used for lighthouses by the Department of Marine and Fisheries. Demonstrating good functional design, its base is further supported by 13-foot high (3.9 metres) buttresses. A reinforcing coating of cement, applied in 1923 and 1924, transformed its original cylinder form into its attractive hexagonal shape. Overall, the tower exhibits good craftsmanship and use of materials.

Environmental Value
The Lighthouse maintains an unchanged relationship to its site on the shore of Métis-sur-Mer. The Lighthouse reinforces the picturesque character of its shoreline beach setting and it is perhaps the best-known structure in the Métis-sur-Mer area.

Sources: Bryan Dewalt, Lighthouse, Cap de la Madeleine, Québec, Lighthouse, Pointe Mitis, Québec, Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office, Building Report, 87-090, 87-092; Lighthouse, Pointe Mitis, Québec, Heritage Character Statement, 87-092.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Lighthouse should be respected.

Its good aesthetic and functional design and good craftsmanship and materials, for example:
- the simple massing, which consists of a white, concrete, hexagonal tower, a hexagonal concrete gallery and a red iron lantern;
- the reinforced concrete construction;
- the concrete buttresses at its base;
- the L-shaped passage that leads to the keeper’s dwelling.

The manner in which the Lighthouse maintains an unchanged relationship to its site, reinforces the picturesque character of its shoreline beach setting, and is a regional landmark, as evidenced by:
- its ongoing relationship to its exposed treeless site, that consists of a low-lying point of land surrounded by rocks, which form the beginning of a reef that extends into the St. Lawrence River;
- its ongoing relationship to its adjacent buildings, such as the keeper’s dwelling;
- its overall scale, massing, design and materials, which complement the surrounding local summer resort community of Métis-sur-Mer;
- its high visibility from both land and sea, which makes it a landmark of its region;
- its recognition by the local community as a historic lighthouse.