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Naden Museum Square, Building 20

Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1990/03/01

Corner view of Building 20, showing the projecting bays and the segmentally arched windows with stone surrounds, 1988.; Department of National Defence / Ministère de la Défense nationale, 1988.
Corner view
Façade of Building 20, showing the double front door, and the verandah with decorative woodwork and railing, 1988.; Department of National Defence / Ministère de la Défense nationale, 1988.
Façade
Side view of Building 20, showing the low massing of the one-storey, rectangular, hipped-roofed brick building, 1989.; Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, 1989.
Side view

Other Name(s)

Naden Museum Square, Building 20
Former Officer's Ward
Ancien pavillon des officiers

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1891/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2008/09/11

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Building 20, part of Naden Museum Square in Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, also known as the Former Officer’s Ward, stands back from a road, and faces a formal lawn and gardens. The building is a one-storey, rectangular, brick structure of low massing with a hipped roof, and a verandah with decorative woodwork. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

Building 20 is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value
Building 20 is a good example of a building constructed as an integral part of the original Royal Naval Hospital complex, an essential service for Esquimalt as the headquarters of the Pacific station of the Royal Navy from 1865 to 1905. On loan to the Military Hospitals Commission, it subsequently served as part of the Esquimalt Military Convalescent Hospital from 1915-1922. From 1922 until the mid-1930s, the former hospital buildings housed the first west-coast Royal Canadian Navy training establishment as part of HMCS Naden.

Architectural Value
Building 20 represents a significant phase in the evolution of hospital planning and design. The complex is a rare surviving Canadian example of a ‘pavilion hospital’, a building type popular in the late 18th and 19th centuries designed to counter overcrowding and the spread of disease through improved ventilation and a greater separation of functions.

Environmental Value
Building 20 stands within the original Royal Naval Hospital complex and reinforces the military character of the Canadian Forces Base at Esquimalt. Complementing its adjacent buildings, Building No. 20 is carefully integrated into its well-planned setting. Its exterior façades and its integrated setting within the surviving Royal Navy Hospital complex define the building.

Sources: Ian Doull, Museum Square, (Former Royal Naval Hospital, Seven Buildings), Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, British Columbia, Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office, Report 88-154; Museum Square – Building No. 20, CFB Esquimalt, Esquimalt, British Columbia. Heritage Character Statement 88-154.

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements of Building 20 should be respected.

Its functional design and good quality materials and craftsmanship, for example:
- the low massing and symmetry of the one-storey, rectangular, hipped-roofed brick building;
- the projecting bays and the segmentally arched windows with stone surrounds;
- the double front door, and the verandah with decorative woodwork and railing on the main elevation.

The manner in which Building 20 reinforces the present character of Museum Square within Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt as evidenced by:
- its architectural vocabulary consistent with the other buildings of the hospital complex.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Federal

Recognition Authority

Government of Canada

Recognition Statute

Treasury Board Heritage Buildings Policy

Recognition Type

Recognized Federal Heritage Building

Recognition Date

1990/03/01

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Function - Category and Type

Current

Leisure
Museum

Historic

Defence
Military Support

Architect / Designer

John Teague

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

National Historic Sites Directorate, Documentation Centre, 5th Floor, Room 89, 25 Eddy Street, Gatineau, Quebec

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

3455

Status

Published

Related Places

Aerial view

Esquimalt Naval Sites National Historic Site of Canada

Esquimalt Naval Sites National Historic Site of Canada is a historic district that incorporates four important naval station sites forming a ring around Esquimalt harbour, British…

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