Building B-37

Building B-37 is situated on a flat, open site facing the parade square at the Canadian Forces Base (CFB) in Kingston. It is a two-storey concrete structure clad in white-painted stucco. Topped by a hipped roof, primary elevation features a projecting central portico supported by rectangular columns. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Building B-37 is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value

Building B-37 is associated with the massive construction and modernization program undertaken by the Department of National Defence after the Second World War. This program was part of a move toward a permanent peacetime army, toward meeting military commitments in Korea, and western Europe. In the 1950s Building B-37, as part of the McNaughton Barracks, was used as a staging and training location for Canadian peacekeeping operations.

Architectural Value

Building B-37 demonstrates good aesthetic qualities as seen in the modernistic style combining Prairie style and neoclassicism. The original flat-roofed configuration remains evident beneath an added hipped roof. The Department of National Defence staff developed the new, improved standard design for a 250-man barrack design. The highly functional building exhibits good craftsmanship and materials.

Environmental Value

Building B-37 reinforces the present formally planned character of McNaughton Barracks within CFB Kingston and is a familiar landmark to local residents.

Sources: McNaughton Barracks – 4 Buildings, CFB Kingston, Barriefield, Ontario

Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office Report 93-116 (Notes); McNaughton Barracks, No. B-37 (Sherman Hall), CFB Kingston, Ontario, Heritage Character Statement 93-116

The following character-defining elements of the Building B-37 should be respected.

Its role as an illustration of the expansion, modernization and diversification of the Canadian military in peacetime as reflected in:

- its exemplary role for new standards of military accommodation of its period.

Its standard design completed in a modernistic style combining Prairie-style with neoclassicism using good quality materials and craftsmanship as evidenced by:

- the building’s symmetrical and horizontally emphasized massing;

- the articulated corner accents, the emphasized and elaborated principal entrance with projecting portico, and the recessed entrance of classical derivation;

- the wrap-around continuity of the belt courses;

- the concrete construction with white painted stucco cladding;

- the regular window openings.

The manner in which Building B-37 reinforces the formally planned character of McNaughton Barracks setting within CFB Kingston and is a familiar local landmark, as evidenced by:

- its large scale, concrete and stucco materials, and formal symmetry which harmonizes with the other buildings facing the parade square;

- the formal symmetry of its location and orientation addressing the principal open space of the McNaughton Barrracks;

- its visibility and familiarity given its prominent freestanding location and ongoing use as a barracks that make it a well-known building in the area.