Frontenac County Court House National Historic Site of Canada, Kingston, Ontario
Posted by: 
colincan
N 44° 13.650 W 076° 29.371
18T E 381036 N 4898219
Frontenac County Court House joins City Hall amongst Kingston's monumental buildings. The city was briefly capital of the Province of Canada. The site of the court house would have become that for Parliament had not the capital been moved.
Waymark Code: WM7XGK
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 12/18/2009
Views: 36
Frontenac County Court House sits on an elevated site once set aside for Parliament, overlooking Lake Ontario. In the 1840s it seemed Kingston would become the capital of the United Province of Canada for the foreseeable future. That was not to be, but the site was soon chosen as the location of the court house, built here 1855-1858. The domed building, topped by a cupola, joins City Hall as a dominant feature on the community skyline. It is built to the designs of architect Edward Horsey and his son Henry. Edward is known for the architectural achievement of two other national historic sites in Kingston, Elizabeth Cottage and Kingston Penitentiary, the latter done in collaboration. The architecture of the court house is elegant and adopts neoclassical lines. The building has a central portico with Ionic pilasters. It is constructed of limestone quarried on site. John Power was called upon to rebuild the dome of the building after a fire in 1874. To-day the Ontario Heritage Trust holds an easement on the court house, underscoring its merit as one of Ontario’s finest heritage structures. It was designated a national historic site in 1980 and plaqued by the HSMBC in 1986.
Classification: National Historic Site
Province or Territory: Ontario
Location - City name/Town name: Kingston
Link to Parks Canada entry (must be on www.pc.gc.ca): [Web Link]
Link to HistoricPlaces.ca: Not listed
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