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Napanee Town Hall National Historic Site of Canada

Greater Napanee, Ontario, K7R, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1984/11/23

View of Napanee Town Hall, showing its stately Greek revival style, evident in its overall form and proportions, 1995.; Agence Parcs Canada / Parks Canada Agency, 1995.
Side view
View of Napanee Town Hall, showing its two-storey, gable-roofed massing with a monumental pedimented portico with giant free-standing columns approached up broad steps, 1995.; Agence Parcs Canada / Parks Canada Agency, 1995.
Front elevation
No Image

Other Name(s)

n/a

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1856/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2008/12/12

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Napanee Town Hall National Historic Site of Canada is a striking mid-19th-century town hall, built in the Greek Revival style. It is prominently located in the small town of Napanee Ontario. The imposing, columned portico was added in 1928. Formal recognition consists of the building on its legal property at the time of designation.

Heritage Value

Napanee Town Hall was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1984 because:
- this attractive town hall is an enduring symbol of the development of local government in the 19th century;
- with its dual function as town hall and market, its prominent location, and its use of classical detailing, this structure has remained a centre of community life.

Erected in 1856, Napanee Town Hall is an early example of a combination town hall and market, an arrangement popular in Ontario before 1870. Designed by Kingston architect Edward Horsey with its simple yet stately design and porticoed entry added in the twentieth century, the town hall is a rare extant example of a town hall in the Greek Revival style.

Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, November 1984.

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that relate to the heritage value of Napanee Town Hall include:
- its location in the heart of the town;
- its simple brick construction;
- its stately Greek Revival style, evident in its overall form and proportions, the regular placement of openings and the classical detailing, particularly its two-storey, gable-roofed massing with a monumental pedimented portico with giant free-standing columns approached up broad steps, and its smooth ashlar masonry construction;
- remnants of its original plan, which testify to its dual function as town hall and market.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Federal

Recognition Authority

Government of Canada

Recognition Statute

Historic Sites and Monuments Act

Recognition Type

National Historic Site of Canada

Recognition Date

1984/11/23

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

1928/01/01 to 1928/01/01

Theme - Category and Type

Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Architecture and Design
Governing Canada
Government and Institutions

Function - Category and Type

Current

Commerce / Commercial Services
Market

Historic

Government
Town or City Hall

Architect / Designer

Edward Horsey

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

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

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

426

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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