Description of Historic Place
Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Building 27, also known as Panet House, sits close to the water at the east side of the RMC campus. This two-storey residential structure, designed in the Classical Revival style, is clad in brick with stone and wooden details. The gable roof features a large front-facing, gabled dormer and three shed dormers to the rear. A broad and deep front porch contains the main entrance to the building. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.
RMC Building 27 is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.
RMC Building 27 is associated with the theme of military officer training and the emergence of a professional armed force in Canada. The building is also associated with Major Raymond N.R. Reade, a British officer sent to the RMC from London in 1901, who authorized construction of a gymnasium, a hospital, an electrical plant, and a permanent accommodation for the staff-adjutant and his family. The first occupant of the permanent accommodation for staff-adjutant was the notable RMC graduate, Captain H.A. Panet. RMC Building 27 and the other constructions furthered by Reade were intended to improve both educational and program facilities at RMC, and recognized RMC as an institution that produced officers able to serve throughout the British Empire.
RMC Building 27 is valued for its very good aesthetic design. Its design is influenced by the Classical Revival style, with details that make aesthetic connections with architectural precursors at the RMC itself, other defence establishments of the era and region, and contemporary domestic architecture in eastern Canada. The masonry and wooden details are evidence of its quality craftsmanship.
RMC Building 27 is compatible with the character of its campus setting at Royal Military College of Canada and is a familiar building in the area.
Sources: Panet House, Building #27, Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario, Federal Heritage Building Review Office Building Report SCR 93-099; Panet House, Building #27, Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario, Heritage Character Statement, 93-099.
The character-defining elements of the RMC Building 27 should be respected.
Its Classical Revival style, functional design, good materials and craftsmanship, for example:
- the two-and-a-half storey symmetrical block, topped by a gable roof with a large front-facing gabled dormer and three shed dormers to the rear, and end chimneys;
- the exposed side gable that is truncated to give the impression of a very large dormer on a hip;
- the brick cladding with stone embellishments and the random ashlar basement;
- the front porch and the smaller sun porch at the rear that are supported on large panelled-box posts, with large dentils on their eaves;
- the wooden eaves and fascia.
The manner in which RMC Building 27 is compatible with the character of its campus setting at RMC and is a familiar landmark, as evidenced by:
- its residential appearance, Classical Revival style and materials, which complement the adjoining academic buildings, and harmonize with the domestic architecture of the period in and around Kingston;
- its familiarity at the college, given its ongoing relationship to the attached gymnasium building, its prominent waterfront location on the east side of the campus and its familiarity as a residence for RMC staff.