Castles of "Canada" CHATEAU ST. LOUIS vs CHÂTEAU DE VAUDREUIL

The Chateau St. Louis (French: Château Saint-Louis) in Quebec City was the official residence of the French Governor of New France and later the British Governor of Quebec, the Governor-General of British North America, and the Lieutenant-Governor of Lower Canada. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2002. Construction of a replacement on the same site began in 1694 under Governor General Louis de Buade de Frontenac. Frontenac died there in 1698. A new pavilion and two new wings were added from 1719 to 1723 by Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry. The building was then severely damaged during the Siege of Quebec in 1759, after which time it passed into British hands. The house was gradually rebuilt in sections over the next forty years. In the meantime the governors split their time between the St. Louis and a new building, called the New Chateau or Chateau Haldimand after governor Haldimand. The St. Louis was destroyed by fire in January 1834. Afterward it was replaced by a series of terraces. The site of the New Chateau is now occupied by the Chateau Frontenac hotel, which is named after Governor Frontenac. During the 1830s the governor and his family also used a summer home in Sorel and the Chateau de Ramezay in Montreal.

See statistics

Château Vaudreuil was a stately residence and college in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was constructed between 1723 and 1726 for Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil, as his private residence by Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry. Though the Château Saint-Louis in Quebec City remained the official residence of the Governors General of New France, the Château Vaudreuil was to remain as their official home in Montreal up until the British Conquest in 1763. In 1767, it was purchased by the Marquis de Lotbinière. He sold it in 1773, when it became the Collège Saint-Raphaël. It was destroyed by a fire in 1803. Completed in 1726, it was built in the classical style of the French Hôtel Particulier by King Louis XV's chief engineer in New France, Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry. The central building was flanked by two wings with two sets of semi-circular stairs leading up to a terrace and the main entrance. It stood beyond the end of Rue Saint-Paul, which was kept clear of buildings on that side to afford it a clear view, while formal gardens led up to Notre-Dame Street. Following the fire in 1803, a group of merchants, led by The Hon. Jean-Baptiste Durocher and The Hon. Joseph Périnault, purchased the land. On the condition that it would be used for public markets, they gave the government a small, oblong, strip of land (that had made up part of the formal gardens), which was first named New Market Place and from 1847 became known as Place Jacques-Cartier. This canny deal made by the merchants had the effect of increasing the value of the adjacent properties built around the 'square', which remained in private hands. In 1809, Nelson's Column was built by the citizens of Montreal in what had been part of the Château's formal gardens.

See statistics