Description of Historic Place

Building 2, also known as the Administration and Base Orderly Building, is a low, wood-frame structure designed with an E-shaped plan and intersecting gable roofs located at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Cornwallis. The building faces a two-hectare parade ground and forms part of an enclosing ring of military structures that were constructed during the Second World War. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

Building 2 is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value
As the main administration centre for the base, Building 2 is associated with the development of naval training in Canada. The buildings on the base constructed in 1942-1943 are representative of the phenomenal expansion of Canada’s naval training program during the Second World War, and with the establishment of Canada’s principal naval training facility. The construction of HMCS Cornwallis training establishment had an immense impact on the development of the Annapolis Basin and the local economy, which has benefited over the years.

Architectural Value
Building 2 is a good example of the simplified classical style broadly used in temporary wartime buildings in Canada. The characteristic features of this distinctive building type are the low massing, the symmetrical E-shaped plan, and the intersecting pitch gable roofs. The building’s good functional design and quality craftsmanship are reflected in its wood based design and in the construction approach adopted by the military in response to temporary circumstances, restricting the use of masonry and steel.

Environmental Value
Building 2 is compatible with the wartime character of its military base setting. As one of two matching structures flanking the main entrance, it is a well-known building on the base.

Sources: Edgar Tumak, Buildings 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 26, Canadian Forces Base Cornwallis, Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office Building, Report 93-001; Administration/Base Orderly Building (No. 2), CFB Cornwallis, Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, Heritage Character Statement, 93-001.

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements of Building 2 should be respected.

Its simplified classical style, functional design, and quality craftsmanship, for example:
- its modest, low, single-storey massing and symmetrical E-shaped plan with intersecting gable roofs;
- its wood-frame construction and exterior wood cladding;
- its symmetrical arrangement of door and window elements;
- its shallow concrete foundation.

The manner in which Building 2 is compatible with the wartime character of its military base setting and is a well-known landmark in the area, as evidenced by:
- its specialized military design which harmonizes with and forms part of a grouping of buildings that encloses and faces the parade ground;
- its familiarity, visibility and physical prominence as one of two matching structures flanking the Main Gate, and its function as the main administration centre on the base.