We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.
— Winston Churchill
In this workers’ district of Valleyfield known as the North Quarter “Quartier Nord” there are still wood houses to be found and a very typical Quebec architecture. Most of these houses were built in the mid-1850s and were built using pattern books from Eaton and Sears Roebuck which sold ready-to-mount houses.
Le quartier-nord de Valleyfield est un quartier de travailleurs où il existe toujours des maisons en bois et qui sont typiques de l’architecture québécoise. La plupart de ces maisons ont été construites vers les 1850 en utilisant des “pattern books” de Eaton et Sears Roebuck qui étaient des maisons “prêtes-à-monter”.
Paper: Pentalic Sketchbook
Colours: Raw Sienna, Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Sienna, Cobalt Blue
Fountain Pen: Pilot Prera EF
Ink: Noodlers’ Lexington Grey
Painting to see : Peindre pour voir 
This reminds me of street in Alexandria, Va. Those little clapboard homes go for over a million dollars in the historic district. Furthermore, you can’t upgrade them on the outside without going through the city to approve changes (which rarely get approved.) Even that brown building center reminds me of the Torpedo Factory on the Potomac River. Great sketch.
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Hi — how interesting to know that this could be in Virginia? The prices on the street are not over a million $… this is still a very poor sector of Valleyfield and thankfully have not been clapboarded up. I do not know if they are considered historical houses, but they should! Your Torpedo Factory used to be the Montreal Cotton Co. — thanks for commenting -)))
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love the color and detail in this. it really draws my eye down the road.
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Thank you Stacey — really glad that you like it -)))
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