Formal Recognition Type

Registered Heritage Structure

Heritage Value

Harbour Grace Railway Station was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2016 due to its historic and aesthetic value.

Harbour Grace Railway Station has historic value because of its association with early railway history in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Harbour Grace branch line was conceived in the 1881 Blackman contract and started in 1883 for the bondholders of the bankrupt Newfoundland Railway Company. Completed in 1884, it is likely around this time the current station was built. The station passed to the control of the Reid Newfoundland Company when it took over control of provincial railway interests in the 1890s and operated until rail service on the branch line ended in 1984.

Harbour Grace Railway Station has aesthetic value as an excellent example of a style that became common railway stations in the early 1900s. The style is exemplified by a large hip roof with deep overhangs, a multi-bay façade with multiple doors, the use of shiplap and clapboard siding, and a dominant horizontal orientation. While it was painted yellow and green by the Reid company, an earlier colour was uncovered to be a traditional ochre red. The interior of the Harbour Grace Railway Station has aesthetic value because of its largely intact finishes. The Reid colour scheme is continued from the exterior and built-in benches and a small ticket window speak to its use as a railway station.

Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador property file “Harbour Grace – Harbour Grace Railway Station – FPT 5254”

Character Defining Elements

All original features of the exterior which relate to the age and style, including:
-number of storeys;
-hip roof with deep overhangs;
-narrow wood clapboard and shiplap siding;
-wood cornerboards and trim;
-size, style, trim, and placement of wood windows;
-size, style, trim, and placement of wood doors;
-location of building near former Harbour Grace rail line and;
-dimensions and orientation of building.

All original features of the interior which relate to the age and style, including:
-original floor plan;
-wood planking on walls and ceiling;
-built-in wood furniture;
-wood ticket window and;
-interior layout as it relates to its function as a railway station.

Community

Harbour Grace

Municipality

Town of Harbour Grace

Civic Address

Station Road