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St. Stephen Post Office National Historic Site of Canada

34 Milltown Boulevard, St. Stephen, New Brunswick, 046, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1983/06/13

Façade of St. Stephen Post Office, showing its generous door and window trim, 1989.; Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, 1989.
Façade
Rear view of St. Stephen Post Office, showing its use of contrasting red brick and pale stone, 2003.; Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, 2003.
Rear view
No Image

Other Name(s)

n/a

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1885/01/01 to 1887/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2009/06/04

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

The St. Stephen Post Office National Historic Site of Canada is a splendid two-and-a-half-storey brick and stone structure executed in the Romanesque Revival style, featuring contrasting colours and textures of materials, a symmetrical elevation with paired entrances and a prominent central gable with decorative carving. Prominently sited on one of the town’s major streets, it now serves as the town hall. The designation refers to the interior and exterior of the building on its lot at the time of designation in 1983.

Heritage Value

St. Stephen Post Office was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1983 because:
- it is representative of small urban post offices by Thomas Fuller.

Built from 1885 to 1887, this building was constructed to house the local post office, customs offices and internal revenue offices. Designed under the federal government’s chief architect Thomas Fuller, the structure is one of a series of buildings erected with the aim of establishing a visible federal presence throughout the country. It is a fine example of late 19th-century design in its picturesque composition and in the varied colours and textures of the exterior building materials. The round-arched doors and windows and the decorative carving show the influence of the Romanesque Revival style. Since 1965, this building has served as the St. Stephen town hall.

Sources: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, June 1983, November 1988.

Character-Defining Elements

Aspects of this site which contribute to its heritage value include:
- its prominent setting within the sympathetic context of an urban area of the small community of St. Stephen;
- those elements which speak to the qualities of a small urban post office, namely its conspicuous setting in the community, its public accessibility signalled by the prominent main doors and the vestiges of the interior layout and materials surviving from its time as a post office;
- those elements which speak to the building’s architectural merit and integrity, namely, its elevation and massing, its Romanesque Revival design as illustrated by its use of contrasting red brick and pale stone, its generous door and window trim, and the pediment with decorative carving.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Federal

Recognition Authority

Government of Canada

Recognition Statute

Historic Sites and Monuments Act

Recognition Type

National Historic Site of Canada

Recognition Date

1983/06/13

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

1885/01/01 to 1967/01/01

Theme - Category and Type

Developing Economies
Technology and Engineering
Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Architecture and Design
Governing Canada
Government and Institutions

Function - Category and Type

Current

Government
Town or City Hall

Historic

Government
Post Office

Architect / Designer

Thomas Fuller

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

210

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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