What is the Oldest Building in Your City?

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Great pics. We really need to see more of Victoria on SSP - it doesn't get nearly the love it deserves.

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by lio45

Not at all...

For the exact same reason Sherbrooke's oldest building (George F. Bowen's house, Sherbrooke's first mayor) also has no business being on that list!

Are you sure about this? I thought the oldest building was on Dufferin St. This one to be more exact. I think it was built in 1834.

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

I wonder what the oldest building in Canada is? somewhere in Quebec I'm sure.

As mentioned on the list of the oldest buildings in Canada, the Maison des Jésuites in Quebec City (1637) appears to be the oldest building in Canada. I did my research on the subject some time ago and couldn't find anything older, so I'm 99% sure it is the oldest.


trekearth.com

[lio45]

Originally Posted by Mongo62

Here is a short UNESCO video about earliest colonial Santo Domingo, focusing on the Columbus family. It does simplify the history quite a bit, though.

• Video Link

Thanks for sharing!

I can't help but nitpick again, though It irks me that in that video they call the father and son "Christopher Columbus" and "Diego Colombus". Pick one and stick with it (i.e. call them Cristóbal Colón/Diego Colón or Christopher Colombus/James Colombus). And yes I'm aware his original name is the Italian version...

Colonial Santo Domingo sure is a treasure!

[lio45]

Originally Posted by le calmar

Are you sure about this? I thought the oldest building was on Dufferin St. This one to be more exact. I think it was built in 1834.

I have always been wondering how much of the (much smaller) original structure is still visible 'inside' the current building. Apparently the American House (1855) was still there hidden behind the new facade in the old Labonté building (which from the outside did not let the slightest bit from the 1855 building show) that burned down a few years ago -- would be interesting to know if it's also the case here.

I have only been in the bar part (Le Magog; does it still exist?) and needless to say there's nothing old to be seen there...

[FrAnKs]

Originally Posted by le calmar

Are you sure about this? I thought the oldest building was on Dufferin St. This one to be more exact. I think it was built in 1834.




As mentioned on the list of the oldest buildings in Canada, the Maison des Jésuites in Quebec City (1637) appears to be the oldest building in Canada. I did my research on the subject some time ago and couldn't find anything older, so I'm 99% sure it is the oldest.


trekearth.com

La Maison Puisseaux near La maison des Jésuites was built in 1637 aswell.




How cute she's. It remind me of Brittany's and/or Normandy rural houses.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by lio45

I can't help but nitpick again, though It irks me that in that video they call the father and son "Christopher Columbus" and "Diego Colombus". Pick one and stick with it (i.e. call them Cristóbal Colón/Diego Colón or Christopher Colombus/James Colombus). And yes I'm aware his original name is the Italian version...

They also have buildings like this in Latin America (I guess these are from circa 500-700 AD):


(photo is mine)

They also explain why the Spanish settlers preferred to stick to Hispaniola for a while.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

We've already discussed the oldest building in Moncton (the Treitz Haus, 1769). I now present you the Free Meeting House (1821)

That's very interesting. I didn't know about Moncton's past before it emerged as a railway town.

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

Great pics. We really need to see more of Victoria on SSP - it doesn't get nearly the love it deserves.

Agreed. It's an amazing and historic city, not just by Western standards, by any British North American standard. I'm hoping to make a day trip there while I'm on the coast later this month, but it might be a tossup between Victoria (which I've already spent tons of time in in the past) or Nanaimo + Tofino (which I've hardly/never spent any time in), tough choice!

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by lio45

I have always been wondering how much of the (much smaller) original structure is still visible 'inside' the current building. Apparently the American House (1855) was still there hidden behind the new facade in the old Labonté building (which from the outside did not let the slightest bit from the 1855 building show) that burned down a few years ago -- would be interesting to know if it's also the case here.

I have only been in the bar part (Le Magog; does it still exist?) and needless to say there's nothing old to be seen there...

I was not aware of this, but I always found it weird that Sherbrooke already had a 3 stories building while it was still a backwater town (even though that could have been possible back then). Knowing this, maybe I could also consider the Bowen's house to be the oldest building in the city. Just to be sure, is it the big and run-down house at the corner of King and Bruno-Dandurand? (it appears to be undergoing renovations)

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Andy6

That's very interesting. I didn't know about Moncton's past before it emerged as a railway town.

Indeed, Moncton's history can be neatly encapsulated in series of discrete historical epochs:

1733-1755: Le Coude - Acadian marshland farming village
1755-1766: Townsite abandoned after the Acadian deportation and during the Seven Years War
1766-1845: The Bend - Pennsylvania Dutch era, traditional farming community.
1845-1862: Wooden shipbuilding era. Moncton becomes a town.
1862-1871: Shipbuilding era ends. Local economy collapses
1871-1988: The great railway boom. Moncton becomes a city and grows to become a regional transportation hub.
1988-present: Railway era ends, the post industrial era begins. Moncton reborn as a back office business centre and IT centre but continues it's traditional role of being a regional transportation and distribution centre and retailing hub. Growth explodes (population increases 50% since 1988).

[lio45]

Originally Posted by le calmar

Knowing this, maybe I could also consider the Bowen's house to be the oldest building in the city. Just to be sure, is it the big and run-down house at the corner of King and Bruno-Dandurand? (it appears to be undergoing renovations)

Pas du tout! Ça, c'est la maison du maire Félix Hébert (30e maire de Sherby). Construite en 1906, style Queen Anne, loin d'être vraiment ancienne -- à peine fraîchement centenaire!

La maison du maire Bowen est sur Prospect, dans un segment où on retrouve les quelques plus anciennes maisons de la ville. (À l'époque, c'était la route de Melbourne, la seule quittant le centre-ville vers le nord.)

https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4084...u_TjaseZQQ!2e0

Juste à côté, on retrouve:

Maison Morkill (1839, 2e maison la plus ancienne, style cottage Regency)
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4086...B-MdkRV8GQ!2e0


Maison Edgell-Walsh (1845, plus ancienne en brique de la ville)
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4085...XWq91SogTA!2e0



Le manège militaire du Sher-H (rue William) date de 1839, ce qui en fait aussi un des plus anciens bâtiments de la ville; il est bien conservé. J'ai été réserviste deux ans dans cette unité, j'ai eu l'occasion de l'explorer pas mal, passant entre autres du temps dans le mess des officiers (je ne sais pas quel rôle cette pièce bourrée de boiseries jouait à l'époque, le bâtiment ayant été construit à l'origine comme palais de justice; je ne m'intéressais pas autant à l'architecture dans ce temps-là... si c'était à refaire, j'aurais beaucoup plus de détails architecturaux intérieurs à observer et analyser!)

[PhilippeMtl]

Some oldest by city around Montreal

Brossard
Maison Sénécal ( 1799)


source: www.historicplaces.ca

Boucherville
La Chaumière ( 1741)

source:http://lapointe56.deviantart.com/

Chateauguay
Maison Lepeilleur ( 1792)

source:http://www.ville.chateauguay.qc.ca/m...pailleur-musee

Longueuil
Maison Michel-Dubuc (1690)
source:http://www.historicplaces.ca/

mascouche
Maison Renaud ( 1737)

source:http://sdb902.schiavonmj.com/histories/maisonrenaud.php

Terrebone
Maison Bélisle ( 1759)
source:www.larevue.qc.ca

[mattgrande]

I believe the Bamberger House is one of the oldest buildings still standing in Hamilton (even Ontario, maybe). Built circa 1810.



source

[aastra]

Apologies for being so late to this party. Victoria's oldest remaining town (as versus country) buildings of note would probably be stuff from the 1860s or 1870s: the old custom house/Malahat building (shown earlier in this thread), the synagogue (1863), Angela College (1865), the wooden Episcopal church (1876), the old wing of St. Ann's Academy (1871, now sandwiched between the 1880s wing and the 1910s wing). There's also the old Victoria Hotel from the 1850s, but it's been wearing a Tudor costume for about a hundred years now.

Temple Emanu-El back then:


A-05964 from BC Archives

Temple Emanu-El now:

Our synagogue today is the oldest house of worship in British Columbia and the oldest synagogue in continuous use in Canada.
from http://www.congregationemanuel.ca/history.html

pic from Google's street view

*****

Angela College back then:


A-02869 from BC Archives

Angela College now:


pic from Google's street view

*****

St. Ann's back then:


A-02584 from BC Archives

St. Ann's now:



pic from TripAdvisor.com

*****

Church of Our Lord back then:


A-00718 from BC Archives

Church of Our Lord now:


pic from Google's street view

******

The city of Victoria's roster of lost buildings from the 1870s through the 1910s is appalling, so it's quite amazing that these buildings are still around.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by le calmar

I was not aware of this, but I always found it weird that Sherbrooke already had a 3 stories building while it was still a backwater town (even though that could have been possible back then). Knowing this, maybe I could also consider the Bowen's house to be the oldest building in the city.

Speaking of this, I swear it's not me who started the fire that made me 100% right and made you have to rally to my point.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by le calmar

As mentioned on the list of the oldest buildings in Canada, the Maison des Jésuites in Quebec City (1637) appears to be the oldest building in Canada.

In 1733, Samuel Madden, an Irish writer, wrote a futurist book about the world of 1998.

He didn't predict that we would have flying cars or go to the moon. He predicted that technology in 1999 would be like 1733 but we would all be controlled by Jesuits.

(He also predicted that the Ottoman Empire would fall and be replaced by a Tatar Empire, which is pretty good.)

[J.OT13]

The Bytown Museum (oldest stone building), between the Rideau Canal and the Parliament Hill escarpment.

Built in 1827, it was originally the Commissariat Building, used as a store house, site office and treasury for the construction of the Canal.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bytown_Museum

The oldest prominent structure dating back to Bytown era (renamed Ottawa in 1855) would be Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica. The main structure was completed in 1846 and the spires were added in later (date varies).



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-...silica_(Ottawa)

Here's a painting of Ottawa dated 1855. Bytown Museum can be seen on the lower, right, with its twin, now demolished, across the canal. Top left, we can see (right to left) the Cathedral, La Salle Academy (aka Hotel Champagne, aka Bytown College (uOttawa), built 1843) and the first wing of the old General Hospital (1849), now Elizabeth Bruyere long-term care.

[Laceoflight]

This random farm house on Vieux-Moulins road is the oldest still standing in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, finished in 1745. The neighbours' house, called Lorrain House, is from 1777. Other than that, only the ruined walls of old fort Saint-Jean are of some competition, dating back from 1775. Stone survives. Stone was quite rare in this area - the seabed of Champlain sea... Most wooden buildings went rundown and were replaced with bricks in the last quarter of the 18th century around here. Plus the wooden homes and stores didn't manage to survive the assaults of a few violent wars (1690, 1759-60, 1775-76, 1838) and quite a few fires...

Farm house from 1745.


Lorrain house, 1777


Walls of the 3rd fort Saint-Jean, 1775

[north 42]

Fort Malden in Amherstburg was built in 1795, and the Duff Baby House in Windsor’s historic Sandwich neighbourhood was built in 1798. They are the two oldest structures in Essex County!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Malden
http://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/on/malden

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duff_Baby_House

[MolsonExport]

Oldest surving bldg? Probably this one (~1820)

londonculture

Elgie Log House -Representative of the first home of the Talbot settlers in London Township, circa 1820.