Historically speaking, January was a fire-filled month throughout Québec's history. Today marks the 180th anniversary of the destruction of the château Saint-Louis in January of 1834.
In part damaged during the 1759 siege of Québec, the château was initially used by Canada's new British governors. At the behest of Governor Frederick Haldimand, a new building in Québec, dubbed the château Haldimand, assumed the role of official residence for the governor in the mid-1780s. This structure stood next to the original château Saint-Louis, which regained its place of prominence upon the arrival of Governor James Henry Craig in the early nineteenth century. Craig's short tenure as governor from 1807 to 1811 sparked major expansion of the château Saint-Louis, including the addition of a new floor and the complete reconfiguration of its exterior. What had been conceived as a Norman-style château in the eighteenth century emerged a thoroughly Anglo-Palladian "castle of Saint Lewis" in the 1810s. A watercolor by John Pattison Cockburn depicts the renewed château Saint-Louis and the neighboring château Haldimand in the late 1820s.
Unfortunately, fire struck the new château in the night of 23 January 1834. By the morning of the 24, most of the building had been consumed by flames, and the residence was never replaced. A pedestrian boardwalk, the Terrasse Dufferin, was created upon its ruins and remains to this day. The sole vestiges of the French and British colonial power at the site exist underground, and the ruins are now an historic attraction in Old Québec. I had the chance to visit them this summer, you can read more here.
In part damaged during the 1759 siege of Québec, the château was initially used by Canada's new British governors. At the behest of Governor Frederick Haldimand, a new building in Québec, dubbed the château Haldimand, assumed the role of official residence for the governor in the mid-1780s. This structure stood next to the original château Saint-Louis, which regained its place of prominence upon the arrival of Governor James Henry Craig in the early nineteenth century. Craig's short tenure as governor from 1807 to 1811 sparked major expansion of the château Saint-Louis, including the addition of a new floor and the complete reconfiguration of its exterior. What had been conceived as a Norman-style château in the eighteenth century emerged a thoroughly Anglo-Palladian "castle of Saint Lewis" in the 1810s. A watercolor by John Pattison Cockburn depicts the renewed château Saint-Louis and the neighboring château Haldimand in the late 1820s.
Unfortunately, fire struck the new château in the night of 23 January 1834. By the morning of the 24, most of the building had been consumed by flames, and the residence was never replaced. A pedestrian boardwalk, the Terrasse Dufferin, was created upon its ruins and remains to this day. The sole vestiges of the French and British colonial power at the site exist underground, and the ruins are now an historic attraction in Old Québec. I had the chance to visit them this summer, you can read more here.
The Château St-Louis Looking West Towards The Citadel, 1829
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