Home / Accueil

Office of the First World Acadian Congress

705 Acadie Avenue, Dieppe, New Brunswick, E1A, Canada

Formally Recognized: 2008/12/08

View from the northeast; City of Dieppe
Office of the First World Acadian Congress
View from the northwest; City of Dieppe
Office of the First World Acadian Congress
Roman arches on the front façade; City of Dieppe
Office of the First World Acadian Congress

Other Name(s)

Office of the First World Acadian Congress
Résidence Jean-Robert LeBlanc
Jean-Robert LeBlanc Residence

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2009/06/30

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

The Office of the First World Acadian Congress is a residence composed mainly of a two-storey, square, beige brick structure with decorative Roman arches and a rectangular one-storey red brick structure on Amirault Street, at the corner of Amirault and Chapelle streets in Dieppe.

Heritage Value

The Office of the First World Acadian Congress is recognized for its association with Retrouvailles 1994 (the 1994 World Acadian Congress), for its architecture, for its association with Saint-Anselme’s first chapel and for the agricultural use of the site.

The heritage value of this building lies first in its use as an office by the organizing committee of the first World Acadian Congress (COCMA) in 1992 and 1993. In the months leading up to the event, a larger office was rented at 909/911 Champlain Street in Dieppe. The first World Acadian Congress, Retrouvailles 1994, was the largest gathering of Acadians ever seen since the Deportation. From August 12 to 22, 1994, over 200,000 Acadians from around the world took part in a multitude of activities organized in nine municipalities in southeastern New Brunswick.

The heritage value of this building also lies in its architecture and its subsequent transformation. Built around 1928-29, the original two-storey square structure is built in the American Four Square style. Inspired by the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, this style is practical and economical and generally consists of a cube topped by a four-sided roof with a central hip dormer. Although the original shape has remained intact, the look of the house has been changed significantly with the addition, around 1972, of two extensions: a two-storey extension to the west, and a one-storey extension to the south. The use of different coloured brick makes it possible to distinguish the extensions from the original square. The designer of this transformation wanted the house to be different from the others in the neighbourhood and achieved this through the use of brick and the construction of two Roman arches on the front façade around the stucco frame of the exterior door and one window.

This building’s heritage value also resides in the fact that it is on the same grant as Saint-Anselme’s first chapel and in its former agricultural use. The Acadians built a first chapel in 1802, dedicated to Saint Anselme, which was later moved to the site of the current church. The presence of the apple trees is a testimony to its agricultural use, especially by the LeBlanc and Brown families.

Source: City of Dieppe, Historic Places file (2), C6

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that describe the Office of the First World Acadian Congress include:
- the original Four Square plan ;
- hipped roof ;
- central hipped dormer;
- exterior brick finish;
- Roman arches on the front façade;
- adjacent one-storey brick construction;
- apple trees.

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)

1994/01/01 to 1994/01/01

Theme - Category and Type

Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Architecture and Design
Building Social and Community Life
Community Organizations

Function - Category and Type

Current

Residence
Multiple Dwelling

Historic

Residence
Single Dwelling
Commerce / Commercial Services
Office or Office Building

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

Thomas Dupuis

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

City of Dieppe, Historic Places File (2) C6

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

1660

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

SEARCH THE CANADIAN REGISTER

Advanced SearchAdvanced Search
Find Nearby PlacesFIND NEARBY PLACES PrintPRINT
Nearby Places