Description of Historic Place

The Old Bathurst Post Office Provincial Historic Site is a masonry building reflecting the influence of the Romanesque style, it is located at the corner of Main and Douglas Street in the downtown core at 96 Main Street, City of Bathurst.

Heritage Value

Overlooking the downtown and serving as a customs office, this stone building in the Romanesque style is an example of the post offices constructed in Canada’s small towns from 1881 to 1896.

Designed by the Department of Public Works under the direction of chief architect Thomas Fuller in an architectural style identified with the federal government, the building was meant to demonstrate the presence of the federal government in the country’s small municipalities. It presents characteristics typical of Fuller’s post offices. It was built in 1885 under the supervision of John Black, a contractor from Hull, Quebec

Source: New Brunswick Culture and Sport Secretariat, Heritage Branch, Site File # 77.

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of the Old Bathurst Post Office include:

- two and a half floors, mansard roof, and two access doors. These elements and the Gothic appearance are all characteristics typical of Fuller’s post offices;
- facades covered in quarry-faced stone, except south facade, which is covered in red brick;
- wide voussoirs above the arched windows and doors, soffits decorated with serrations;
- italian bracket and hipped roof;
- campanile or tower with an electric, illuminated four-sided clock.
- the medieval-looking timbers supporting the roof of the tower typical of the Romanesque style of the late 19th century;
- basement of solid cut stone;
- small circular staircase leading to the basement and spiral staircase leading to the second floor;
- decorative sheet metal ceiling;
- corbie gable on the vestibule of the secondary entrance on the building’s east façade;
- built of sandstone brought by schooner from Grande-Anse and brick made locally by a Mr. Heffner.