Hon. L. J. Forget House (Bois-de-la-Roche)(3/1900-1908)
290 Senneville Road, Senneville, QC, Canada
Residential, Country house [detached, basement, 3 floors, 7 bedrooms, 6 servants' rooms]; stone; wall bearing

Client: Louis Joseph Forget
Architect: E. Maxwell & G.C. Shattuck

Description: During his illustrious career, the Hon. Louis-Joseph Forget, born in Terrebonne in 1853, served as the president of the Montreal Stock Exchange, president of the Richelieu & Ontario Navigation Company, and founder of the brokerage firm L.J. Forget et Cie. He was the first French-Canadian to be elected to the CPR board. His large country house on St-Louis Lake was destroyed by fire in 1896 and he commissioned Maxwell and Shattuck to build a new one. Certain of the drawings for the Merchant’s Bank of Canada (156), C.R. Hosmer House (106) in Montreal, and Sir William C. Van Horne House (238) in Saint-Andrews carry the name Maxwell and Shattuck, Architects. Shattuck had been a colleague during the last three years Maxwell was in Boston. He graduated from MIT in 1888 and almost immediately joined the new firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, where he appears to have been continuously employed. The printed card issued by Edward Maxwell, dated August 1, 1899, announced the formation of the partnership of Maxwell and Shattuck. However, Shattuck appears not to have continued his association with Edward after 1902 when William joined the firm. Both Edward and Shattuck paid great attention to every detail of the plans for the country house they designed for Mr. Forget. The house, also called Bois-de-la-Roche, resembles a small stone chateâu, with a high copper roof enhanced with three windowed turrets, and a broad façade with two lower wings inspired by chateaux of the Loire Valley. The lakefront façade is symmetrical, with French windows on the ground floor, above which a pair of dormers rise two storeys high. These windows projecting from the building rise from the stone string course with the frames set on cut stone modillions. The two ends of the façade are occupied by two conical spires, one being round and the other hexagonal. The eastern façade is marked by a long roof with dormers covering a loggia two storeys high which leads into a small tower with a Byzantine roof. The western side, facing the lake, is devoid of all decoration except for the stone jambs of the openings. A double loggia covered by the roof leads into the bedroom wing, and further to the service rooms and kitchen. The massive character of the rusticated walls, reminiscent of the boulders used by H.H. Richardson, the jambs of the high dormers, turrets and French windows, the grey shade of the stone, the white of the cut stone detail and the color of the oxidized copper roofs are the testimony of the materials and decor that blend well with the surrounding landscape. The interior plan focuses on the living hall with a tall fireplace and a grand staircase on the western side. The hall leads into the drawing room and library on one side and into the dining room, pantry and servants’ hall on the other side. The interior decoration is enhanced with the elements inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement. The warm mahogany wainscoting, brass lighting fixtures, ceilings with their visible joists and the furniture designed by Edward Maxwell all contribute to an atmosphere of refined and elegant comfort. Certain places in the house provide an ambiance of recreational spaces: niches in the rotundas, an inglenook in one of the wings for the master of the house, large loggia opening into the spacious drawing room and dining room, and French windows leading directly to the grounds. The landscaping around the house was designed by F.L. Olmsted and completed by F. Todd in 1908. Eventually, Maxwell designed the stables, sheds, root house, power house, chapel and other outbuildings surrounding the main house. They were shingled and displayed many of the architect’s favourite touches: the eyebrow dormers, the way the gables were set back, the semicircular arched windows and the design of the shingles covering the exterior. Bois-de-la-Roche remained in the family after Mr. Forget’s death. Alot of improvements were made to the house without altering the original appearance and design of the building.

Holdings: Country house (detached, basement, 3 floors, 7 bedrooms, 6 servants' rooms); stone; wall bearing
69 Drawings: 51 ink on linen; 3 ink on paper; 5 pencil on paper; 3 blueprints; 5 sepia; 2 photocopies
4 Measured drawings: elevations, dressing room, sill, jamb
16 Working drawings: floor plans, elevations, sections, structure, verandah
39 Detail drawings: elevations, entry, turrets, structure, staircases, mantelpieces, windows, dormers, bays, doors, furniture, radiator screens, fittings, wainscotting, entry gate, garden seats, woodwork
10 Consultant drawings: landscaping
Comment: 5 drawings by Olmsted Brothers, Landscape Architects, dated 21/3/1900; and 2 by Frederick G. Todd, Landscape Architect, dated 1908, are included.

Comments: 5 drawings by Olmsted Brothers, Landscape Architects, dated 21/3/1900; and 2 by Frederick G. Todd, Landscape Architect, dated 1908, are included.