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Alphonse LeBlanc House

91 Olivier Street, Dieppe, New Brunswick, E1A, Canada

Formally Recognized: 2008/12/08

Looking north; City of Dieppe
Alphonse LeBlanc House
Plan for the Ashton design, Aladdin Company, 1938 catalogue, page 10; Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University
Alphonse LeBlanc House
Looking west; City of Dieppe
Alphonse LeBlanc House

Other Name(s)

n/a

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2009/06/03

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Built circa 1948, the Alphonse LeBlanc House is a one-and-a-half storey, irregularly shaped structure built perpendicular to Olivier Street in Dieppe.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Alphonse LeBlanc House lies in its representation of the economic and social conditions of its era and in its architectural style.

This house is representative of the economic and social conditions of its era. With many soldiers returning from the Second World War, there was a need for inexpensive housing that could be produced rapidly. This led to the popularity of houses purchased in precut pieces (kits), delivered by rail and assembled by the owner. These houses, which existed in different models and were produced by several companies, are the precursors of today’s prefabricated house. In the United States, Sears Roebuck sold houses by catalogue from 1908 to 1940. The T. Eaton Company sold its houses mainly in Western Canada from 1910 to 1932. In Ontario and the Maritimes, the American firm Aladdin with its subsidiary, the Canadian Aladdin Company Limited, produced a separate catalogue for Canada. With hundreds of different models, Aladdin sold houses in Canada from 1905 to 1952. Besides its head office in Toronto, Canadian Aladdin had offices in Saint John, Winnipeg, and Vancouver, as well as mills in Ontario, New Brunswick (Sussex), and British Columbia.

A house similar to the Alphonse LeBlanc House had been built earlier at 120 Saint-Thomas Street in Memramcook (Saint-Joseph ward). Alphonse LeBlanc travelled to Memramcook a few times to examine that house. He was a barber, and his wife, Marie, was postmistress of Léger's Corner beginning in 1953.

The heritage value of this house also lies in its architectural style. When the house was built, around 1948, by Alphonse and Marie LeBlanc, there were no other such houses in the neighbourhood. Its simple, unadorned architecture seems to be inspired by the Cape Cod style. It resembles that style by the steep pitch of its roof with negligible overhang, its rectangular shape, and its economical and practical appearance. It differs from the Cape Cod style by its irregularly shaped sections and its street-facing gable.

This house is probably a slightly modified version of the Aladdin Company’s model called The Ashton (1938 catalogue, p. 10). The fireplace was an option in that model. A dormer was added to the west side to allow for the addition of a large room on the upper floor. This house has changed very little in appearance since its construction. The windows were replaced in the original openings.

Source: City of Dieppe, Historic Places File (2), A6

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Alphonse LeBlanc House include:
- its placement perpendicular to the street;
- door and window openings;
- steep pitch of the roof;
- negligible roof overhang;
- irregular massing;
- sandstone chimney.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

New Brunswick

Recognition Authority

Local Governments (NB)

Recognition Statute

Local Historic Places Program

Recognition Type

Municipal Register of Local Historic Places

Recognition Date

2008/12/08

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

1938/01/01 to 1938/01/01

Theme - Category and Type

Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Architecture and Design

Function - Category and Type

Current

Historic

Residence
Single Dwelling

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

Alphonse LeBlanc

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

City of Dieppe, Historic Places (2), file A6

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

1657

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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