Haut-Fond-Prince Lighttower

The Haut-Fond Prince Light Tower is a “Recognized” Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values:

Historical value

The Haut-Fond Prince Light Tower is a significant hazard marker with a range of 18 nautical miles. It is a channel marker on the St. Lawrence River, a major navigable river serving as an international shipping route. As such, it serves as a very good illustration of the theme of aids to navigation. Designed to replace a previous, seasonal lightship, the light tower also illustrates the evolution of facilities to accommodate maritime shipping into the winter season. Construction of the light tower was started in 1961 in response to the year-round opening of the seaway the year before. During the Christmas storm of 1966, it was pounded by high waves, fierce winds and snow for two days. Despite sustaining major damage, it was able to withstand conditions far worse than those for which it was designed, protecting the keepers inside.

Architectural value

The Haut-Fond Prince Light Tower is an elegant aesthetic engineering solution for a modern light tower. Its composition maximizes the visual impact of the innovative, waisted caisson structure, in balance with the horizontal accommodation unit and vertical pillar light. Although not the first light tower to use a caisson design of this type, the Haut-Fond Prince light tower is situated in a much more challenging and dangerous location than earlier examples. The caisson’s ability to resist the climatic stresses of ice and waves in this location, the efficiency of its radial interior layout of living and working bays, and the integrated helipad on the deck above attest to the building’s very good functional design. Based on a custom plan of the Department of Transport, the steel and reinforced concrete structure was constructed using proven marine technologies and standard industrial materials for the time. Its careful craftsmanship and durable, good quality materials are evidenced by its survival of the 1966 storm.

Environmental value

The light tower sits in the St. Lawrence River at the mouth of the Saguenay River, south of Tadoussac Bay. Surrounded by water, it is anchored to the hazardous shoal below. Despite repairs and rebuilding of the caisson to secure its attachment, the relationship between the structure and its site has retained its maritime aura. The Haut-Fond Prince is one of a number of light towers in the vicinity that are visited by tour groups from both sides of the St. Lawrence. As such, it reinforces the human presence and river life in the area. It is promoted by government departments as an icon of modern Canadian light tower design, and has been featured as a modern marine structure in many national publications. The image of Haut-Fond Prince appears as one of four examples of modern light towers in Canada Post’s 1984-85 series on the Lighthouses of Canada, stressing its symbolic value at the national level.