|
 Sir Howard Douglas Hall - Fredericton, NB Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 45° 56.891 W 066° 38.483
19T E 682801 N 5090995
Today the oldest university building in Canada still in use, the old Arts Building initially housed the first school of engineering in Canada.
Waymark Code: WM164DX
Location: New Brunswick, Canada
Date Posted: 05/02/2022
Views: 10
The Place:
More commonly known as The Arts Building, Sir Howard Douglas Hall was named for Sir Howard Douglas (1776-1851), Governor of the Province of New Brunswick from 1823 to 1831 and first Chancellor of King's College, installed January 1st, 1829, on the opening of the college.
When built in 1826-1828 what is today known as the University of New Brunswick Arts Building comprised the entire campus of New Brunswick's King's College. Established by petition as the Academy of Liberal Arts and Sciences on December 13th, 1785, by 1829 it had become known as King's College, officially opening, by Royal Charter, on January 1st, 1829. On April 13th, 1859 King's College became the University of New Brunswick by an act of the Legislature of New Brunswick.
Originally constructed as a two storey building, in 1876, when it was nearing the age of fifty, it was renovated, the third floor and the Second Empire style mansard roof added. This latter essentially changed the style of the building from a Georgian Classical flavour to Victorian Second Empire, suiting the architectural tastes of the time. Note that the original bronze King's College sign and year of opening, 1829, remain on the façade above the main entrance.
Sir Howard Douglas Hall, commonly referred to as “The Old Arts Building”, was constructed by William Cross and John Murray with James Taylor and Co. They were hired in July 1826 to construct the building, for £ 10,300. The building was formally opened on January 01, 1829. It is named after Sir Howard Douglas (1776-1861), who was Governor of New Brunswick from 1823 to 1831. He founded, and was the first Chancellor of, Fredericton College (King’s College), now the University of New Brunswick.
Historic Significance: This is the oldest university building still in use in Canada. The Old Arts Building is the location of the first formal university-level program in Civil Engineering in Canada. The first lecture on Civil Engineering in Canada was delivered here on February 15th, 1854.
From the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering
The Person:
DOUGLAS, Sir HOWARD, soldier, educator, author, inventor, and colonial administrator; b. 23 Jan. 1776 at Gosport, England, son of Sir Charles Douglas*, whose naval force relieved Quebec in 1776, and his second wife, Sarah Wood; m. 4 July 1799 Anne Dundas of Edinburgh, Scotland, and they had three daughters and six sons; d. 9 Nov. 1861 at Tunbridge Wells, England...
...Following service with the Royal Artillery, the Royal Horse Artillery, and Congreve’s Mortar-Brigade, Douglas had been appointed commandant of the senior department of the Royal Military College at High Wycombe, England, in 1804, and afterwards inspector-general of instructions. From this position, which he held until 1820, he influenced a generation of imperial and Indian army officers. He eventually became widely known as a military theorist and teacher. Proficient in mathematics, he wrote on military bridges (1816), fortifications (1819), naval gunnery (1820), and later naval tactics (1832), and, after his North American governorship, on naval warfare with steam power (1856). He was also an inventor, notably of an improved reflecting circle or semicircle for land and marine surveying patented in 1811. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1816...
...Douglas is chiefly honoured today as a founder of the University of New Brunswick, to which he gave a fund for an annual prize, still presented, the Douglas Gold Medal. Just before his appointment as lieutenant governor, the assembly had passed an act supporting the College of New Brunswick, with the understanding that a new charter would be obtained removing religious tests. Douglas accepted this objective, arguing that a college which was open to all would keep the youth of the province from seeking higher education in the United States and that a single adequately endowed institution was preferable to a number of denominational colleges. But the colonial secretary was pressed by a resurgent ecclesiastical establishment in England to oppose efforts to secularize colonial university education.
Douglas proceeded with plans for the college and was active in choosing a site and arranging for a fine Georgian building. The royal charter he presented with a flourish of optimistic rhetoric on New Year’s Day 1829 was, however, far less liberal than the one that had been sought: King’s College, Fredericton, of which he was the first chancellor, was clearly an Anglican institution. Yet his mastery of New Brunswick politics is most clearly evident in his success in persuading the assembly, with its non-Anglican majority, to make grants for the operation of the new college and to pay more than half the cost of the new college building...
From Biography Canada
Arts Building National Historic Site of Canada
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
The Arts Building is a large, three-storey, classically inspired masonry structure located on College Hill, at the centre of the picturesque, hillside, campus of the University of New Brunswick. Noted as the oldest university building in Canada still in continuous use, the Arts Building overlooks the city of Fredericton and the Saint John River. The formal recognition refers to the building on its footprint.
HERITAGE VALUE
The Arts Building was designated a national historic site in 1951 because it is the oldest university building in use in Canada.
The heritage value of the site resides in its historical associations with the beginnings of tertiary education in Canada as illustrated by its site, design and materials. The Arts Building was built in 1826-8 for King's College, a post-secondary institution that became the University of New Brunswick in 1860. The building opened and the first classes were held there in 1829. A mansard roof providing the building with a third storey was added in 1876. For many years the building housed the offices and living quarters of the university president. It is presently used by the University of New Brunswick as administrative offices.
The building is also known as Sir Howard Douglas Hall, so-named in honour of Sir Howard Douglas (1776-1861), Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick and founder of King's College, who spearheaded the construction of the Arts Building in the 1820s.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
Key elements which relate to the heritage value of the Arts Building include:
- its siting on a hillside above Fredericton on the campus of the University of New Brunswick;
- elements of its design and materials which mark it as an early-19th century institutional building, including its stone construction, its conservative architectural design with its classical rectangular massing with slightly projecting central and end pavilions, symmetrical placement of window openings, central entry with a top- and sidelights, and the columned portico, classical proportions and detailing, and its multiple chimney stacks;
- elements of its design which relate to its continued and evolving use as part of an educational institution, including remnants of its original layout and interior finishes;
-its continued use as a university building.
From Historic Places Canada
Year it was dedicated: 1829
Location of Coordinates: At the building
Related Web address (if available): [Web Link]
Type of place/structure you are waymarking: Building
|
Visit Instructions:- Please post a comment and distinct photo.
- A "visited" only remark will be deleted.
- A "visited" remark by the 'Waymark Owner' at the time of posting is not appreciated and won't be accepted. If visiting at another time a "Visit" would be acceptable.
|