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Arvida National Historic Site of Canada

Arvida, Saguenay, Quebec, Canada

Formally Recognized: 2012/06/05

Example of houses in the city built in 135 days; Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Example of houses in the city built in 135 days
The Britanny Row apartment building, made of stone; Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
The Britanny Row apartment building
Example of a house in the city built in 135 days; Parks Canada | Parcs Canada
Example of a house in the city built in 135 days

Other Name(s)

n/a

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1926/01/01 to 1935/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2014/01/16

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Arvida National Historic Site of Canada is located in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, 250 kilometers north of Quebec City. This company town, built to house employees of the local Alcoa aluminum plant, was designed as a whole, built in three phases and retains many original features. Arvida stretches northwest from the Rio Tinto Alcan plant along the shore of the Saguenay River. Crisscrossed by ravines, the residential town has an institutional zone at its heart and is encircled by a green belt. The town features family dwellings, a hotel, churches, schools, a manoir, green spaces, parks. Official recognition refers to the company town of Arvida that was designed and built in three phases from 1925-1950.

Heritage Value

Arvida was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2012. It is recognized because:

- Arvida is a well preserved example of a Canadian company town and is a singular instance of planned quality worker housing, where a diversified urban landscape was rapidly established through a wide variety of housing styles, some of which constitute a particularly successful manifestation of regionally inspired architecture;

- laid out starting in 1925 according to the plans of architects Brainerd and Skougor, the town of Arvida was completed in three successive phases running until 1950, and constitutes an excellent synthesis of the town planning concepts of the time, such as the City Beautiful and garden city movements, that are expressed by an organic layout following the lie of the land, a hierarchy of thoroughfares, and a network of parks, green spaces, and plentiful trees;

- associated with Canada’s first aluminum complex, Arvida’s founding and later expansion is a testament to the growth and development of the country’s aluminum industry.

Arvida’s original plan remains clearly legible. The City Beautiful Movement is expressed in Arvida’s wide boulevards lined with trees and gently curving streets with set-back buildings. The Garden City Movement is expressed in the functional separation of zones, the presence of a greenbelt and hierarchical street patterns and the use of natural features. Both movements sought to counter the harsh environmental impact of industrial development. During the first phase of construction an impressive 270 residences were built in 135 days. In 1927 a landscape architect oversaw a campaign that resulted in the planting of 709 trees. The second and third phases of development at Arvida saw the emergence of a distinctive regionalist architecture. Many residences reflect the stylistic influence of French-Colonial vernacular in their large dormers windows and high gable roofs with curving eaves, wooden shutters, turrets, the use of rustic stone and distinctive chimney design.

Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, December 2011.

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements contributing to the heritage value of this site include:
- its location in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, 250 kilometers north of Québec City;
- its proximity to the Îsle Maligne power plant, to Canada’s first aluminum smelter and to the Canadian National Railroad and station;
- clear evidence of City Beautiful town planning principles including streets that radiate from the centre, boulevards, regular setbacks for houses, ordered spaces directed towards central nodes, and extensive plantings;
- clear evidence of the Garden City town planning principles, including the separation of residential, service and commercial areas, a focus on social and community life, and the presence of a greenbelt;
- well-constructed and well-preserved housing stock dating from all three major development periods, featuring variations on single-family home plans and apartments;
- continued residential use that reflects the original vision for the town;
- significant and diverse forest canopy that includes American elms, hybrid poplars, Bay willows and silver maples;
- uninterrupted extensive lawns;
- well-built wood-framed houses with a variety of facing materials including clapboard, wood shingles, asbestos shingles, and brick;
- use of stone on buildings from the second and third phases of construction such as the Saguenay Inn and the Brittany Row apartment;
- residential aluminum roof tiles;
- the strategic integration of natural forms and rock formations in the landscape into the urban plan.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Federal

Recognition Authority

Government of Canada

Recognition Statute

Historic Sites and Monuments Act

Recognition Type

National Historic Site of Canada

Recognition Date

2012/06/05

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

1926/01/01 to 1926/01/01
1926/01/01 to 1927/01/01
1942/01/01 to 1942/01/01
1942/01/01 to 1950/01/01
1945/01/01 to 1945/01/01

Theme - Category and Type

Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Architecture and Design

Function - Category and Type

Current

Historic

Community
Town

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Indigenous Affairs and Cultural Heritage Directorate Documentation Centre 3rd Floor, room 366 30 Victoria Street Gatineau, Québec J8X 0B3

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

13336

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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