Place Description
The palatial Dalvay-by-the-Sea house is located in the PEI National Park on spacious grounds with a view of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is built in the Queen Anne Revival style. The registration includes the footprint of the building.
Why is this place important?
Dalvay was constructed in 1895 as the summer retreat estate of the wealthy family of Alexander McDonald (1833-1910) who, together with John D. Rockefeller, had been president of the US based Standard Oil Company. It is a rare example of a Victorian seaside estate in PEI. Island architect, Charles Benjamin Chappell, designed the ornate home. McDonald was born in Scotland and emigrated to the US, eventually settling in Cincinnati, Ohio. After visiting PEI on vacation, he fell in love with the north shore area and became determined to build an estate. All local materials and workmanship were employed in the project, including Island sandstone boulders for the lower half of the house and for the decorative interior fireplaces. It cost $50,000 to build and $10,000 to maintain each year because of all the servants and support staff it required.
McDonald and his guests enjoyed carriage rides around the property, billiard tables in the third floor billiard hall, sailing on nearby Dalvay Lake, and even bowling. He used windmills to generate power and water for the estate. By 1909, McDonald spent his last summer at Dalvay, dying the next year in Long Beach, California. In the aftermath, the property had a series of owners. By 1938, it was sold to the federal government when plans unfolded to build a national park in the area. It has been operated as a hotel in recent decades and underwent extensive renovations in 1999-2000 with the expansion of the dining room facilities.
Source: PEI Heritage Advisory Committee Files
Special Characteristics
The heritage value of Dalvay is embodied in the following Queen Anne Revival style elements:
- the asymmetrical massing of the building with various rooflines
- the numerous dormers with decorative bargeboard
- the decorative finials at the peaks of the gable roofs
- the large dominating verandah with pillars set on sandstone piers
- the fenestration of the doors and windows, including the bay windows
- the location of the brick chimneys
- the large landscaped grounds
Other important elements include:
- the location of the large hotel near the seaside at Dalvay in the Prince Edward Island National Park
